The Story So Far: After clearing up some requests that have been stacking up for him, Luka manages to defeat the Queen of the Southern Ocean in order to unite Meia in marriage. However, their next stop takes them to a mansion, inhabited by an infestation of zombies created by the Necromancer Succubus Chrome. Luka manages to lie to rest the revived zombies, and thwarts her plans of creating the ultimate zombie. An unfamiliar face observes them as they leave, but without warning, it vanishes.

Now, after gaining strength and resolving the common citizen's worries of their surroundings, Luka and company now head back north to the Forest of Spirits to confront the Spirit of Wind, Sylph.

"So that's how the fallen angel who rebelled against Ilias came to be known as the Monster Lord." Luka concluded.

Only one last leg of their journey to the Forest of Spirits remained as dusk set upon the three, who had settled for making camp. Alice eyed Luka as he told his story, leaving Balthazar to stoke the fire.

"Are you an idiot?" Alice shook her head. "Why are you explaining the origin of Monster Lords… To the Monster Lord herself?"

Luka shrunk. "Y-yeah, that's right…"

Alice scoffed. "Besides, monsters despise that legend. The Founding Monster Lord was never a subordinate of Ilias." She corrected. "The Founder was an equal to her. Humans went ahead and changed the truth to fit their view."

"The first Monster Lord was an equal to Ilias!?" Luka exclaimed.

"You look like you doubt me." She folded her arms in disappointment.

Rolling his eyes, Balthazar gave the fire an earnest jab before sitting with the other two. "Well, it makes sense looking at human society."

"Human society?" Luka repeated. "What does that even mean?"

Balthazar raised an eyebrow. "Oh, I guess I never told you yet." He eyed the fire. "I was raised by a vampire since I was a child. She told me all the stories you'd expect when one comes to wanting to know how everything around you originated."

"That answers one question, but raises so many others." Luka sighed.

"Well…" He sighed. "The vast majority of humans are inferior to monsters. Accept that as a fact for a moment." Balthazar began. "If you want reason to think otherwise, you've got to place yourself higher on the food-chain than everything else. Especially when all around you you're being hunted. If you place the First Monster Lord just one level below Ilias, than humans suddenly seem righteous and dignified, and monsters terrible… Well, monsters." Alice eyed him, but said nothing. "But to humans, it's basically auto-gratification; if they like it, they'll cut and paste it to form exactly what they want."

Luka leaned back. "I can tell you're mocking Ilias everywhere in there, but that's deep enough that…"

He rolled his eyes. "That it makes you think, huh? Oh crap, the fire…" He got up and added some brush to keep it going.

Alice rolled her eyes. "Alright, listen. Originally, this world was just darkness and light. The light and dark mixed together and Ilias and the Founder were Born. In other word, there were like Yin and Yang. Two sides of the same coin."

"If they were both gods… Why did one become the Monster Lord?" Luka questioned. "Instead of staying in the heavens, why would they come to the ground?"

Alice rubbed her chin. "That… I don't know. The Founder must have had a reason…"

Balthazar raised a hand as he sat back down. "Unless it's grudge match round seventeen-hundred, it might be the same reason why Ilias hates monsters today."

Alice's eyes widened. "What makes you say that?"

He shrugged. "From what my mother told me, all of the Monster Lords that have existed have been Lamias. So if the shoe fits… The First Monster Lord should have been, no wait, I bet you can guess."

Luka looked at the two. "The Founder was a monster!?"

Alice rolled her eyes. "I thought you were going to say something revelatory. Of course the Founder was a monster."

Balthazar pinched his nose. "What I'm saying is, if Ilias hates monsters, it's not too far of a stone's throw to say she hated her divine counterpart…" He paused.

"Are you an idiot?" Alice's tail twitched. "The two are Yin and Yang, two sides of a coin, two heads of a hydra. There's zero reason for them to hate each other."

"I dunno." Balthazar dropped to his back. "Maybe I'm just trying to rationalize reality, but it's what helps me sleep at night."

"So… Where is that founding Monster Lord now? If they're a god like Ilias, they should be immortal, right?" Luka continued.

Alice closed her eyes wearily. "The Founder entrusted the throne to the second generation of my family then returned to the heavens."

Luka sweated. "That doesn't sound very convincing, especially after Balthazar's doubts…"

Alice glowered at him. "Damn you… You're still doubting me!? The first Monster Lord was equal to Ilias!" She paused as Luka raised his hands in defeat. "Bah, whatever. More importantly, it's time to train again!" She raised herself up on her coils. "Your ability right now doesn't even come close to the Monster Lord's foot!" She cried.

"A-again with the third-person reference…"

The two sparred as Balthazar watched from the backdrop. "Your stamina is high enough… I can teach you an extremely useful move." She boasted. "Tonight, I'll teach you an attack that throws out slashes seemingly at random."

Luka tilted his head. "At random? Like when I flail wildly?"

She sighed. "That isn't a technique, that's a disgrace. You should feel bad for still considering it a move." She scolded. "You're an idiot for even comparing them."

After a lengthy insult, the two began on their work. Slowly, Luka's attacks began to chain, all linking in a single combo.

Alice stood back, a vague expression of impression in her. "It seems like you're getting better." She noted. "A barrage of attack that doesn't give the opponent any chances to defend themselves…" Alice explained once more. "… The Death Sword Chaos Star. It's very powerful, but it requires a taxing amount of stamina for you. If you use it like an idiot, you'll be put in a bad position. You'll be exhausted to the point of being unable to perform that freakish healing you do."

"It's not freakish, you taught me how to do that." Luka complained. "But I see how it works. I'll need to be careful if I use it now."

Alice nodded knowingly. "It's said that the mute swordsman Galla turned an entire legion of knights into lumps of flesh using that technique."

Luka looked at Alice in despair. "Why does every technique you teach me have such a horrible story about it?" It's like she's turning me into a mass murderer or something…

"Usually these skills can't be learned so quickly or easily. But, since it was you, I thought it might be possible."

Luka grinned. "So the great Alice is finally starting to acknowledge my ability?" He laughed.

Alice shuddered. "No, you idiot. It's because when you fell asleep, you used a skill that looked familiar…"

"Rakshasa." Balthazar stood up, his hand on his katana. "Speaking of that, actually…" He walked to the two. "I know of a technique that family is from. It's sort of what I based Mortal Sin from, but it's not as lengthy-battle-friendly."

Luka's eyes widened. "Are you finally…?"

Balthazar stretched. "Whelp, might as well." He picked up a sword-sized branch, and clipped off the offshoots. "This technique is sort of like Death Sword Chaos Star in that it'll completely exhaust you, but different in that even if you train yourself to use Chaos Star multiple times, this will always physically drain you."

"That sounds incredibly dangerous." Luka sweated.

He raised an eyebrow. "Haven't you heard the saying, 'the greater the risk, the greater the gain'? Besides, the damage it deals out is phenomenal, so the payout for risking the technique is well-worth it."

Alice folded her arms. "Just how many trump cards do you have?"

"Sorry, that's confidential." Balthazar teased. "But I'm not lying when I say that you almost have a full view of my deck of cards." He giggled. "Anyways, back on topic… Unlike Chaos Star, this is a single slash."

Alice backed off, watching the two train. Balthazar mimicked the move repeatedly with the stick he picked up as Luka copied. After a couple of hours of coaching, Luka fell down, too tired to move.

Balthazar sighed. "Maybe you just don't have enough stamina to effectively create it." He examined, but changed his mind. "It's very stamina extensive… But, you're feeling the after effects from its use."

Luka looked up. "But nothing happened! I just swung this sword repeatedly…"

Balthazar grabbed Luka's wrist, pulling him up. "Come on. One more shot, this time on me."

"On you!?" Luka exclaimed. "If this technique is all what you've cracked it up to be, isn't that dangerous?"

"I'll be fine. Now…" Balthazar stepped around him until he was in front of Luka's blade. "Once more!"

"You're crazy…" Luka took a deep breath. "Whatever." He grasped his bronze sword tightly, and a faint glow began to envelop him. "Now!" He swung horizontally, and a pale green arc traveled off his blade, causing Balthazar to grunt as he caught the shockwave. Wind blasted from Luka as Balthazar guided the arc of energy to the sky, cleaving several trees in the process. Once in the sky, the arc expanded while casting a luminous green light on the forest clearing the three had set camp on, then fizzled out like a firework. Luka collapsed to the ground, struggling to breathe.

Alice looked dumbfounded. "That…!" She shook her head. "What… Was that technique?"

Balthazar waited until Luka had caught his breath, then explained. "Arahabaki. It is a vicious move of which requires one to have a respectable mantel of stamina, but will completely drain you once you use it. If you don't have the required stamina and yet perform it, you'll be unable to move, and left open… But the damage it deals is quite staggering. It could even wound you, Alice." Balthazar smirked. "Well, on a bad day."

"…" Luka looked at Balthazar expectantly.

"…" Balthazar stared back. "Quit staring at me. It's creepy. What do you want?"

He tilted his head. "No… Horror story to accompany it?"

Balthazar shook his head. "Sorry to disappoint you. You can say you learned it from me, as the closest thing I can teach to Mortal Sin, but I learned Arahabaki from my mother. Er, not my human mother, obviously."

"That strength… Is beyond what humans should be capable of." Alice remarked. "Balthazar isn't human anymore, so I can overlook that, but what you just pulled off…"

Balthazar feigned pain. "Hey, I might not be a pure human anymore, but I still have feelings."

Luka sighed. "You don't really think I'm really a monster, do you?" My mother's a normal human, and my father should be as well…

Alice shook her head. "If you had monster blood in you, I'd be the first to notice. But I don't' sense anything from you… Even from that ring." She paused. "You really are a strange person."

"That's not something I want being told from by the Monster Lord." Luka complained.

Balthazar clapped his hands once. "If you're going to be of any use tomorrow, I suggest you recover from Arahabaki. I know I'm going to sleep now." He yawned.

"R-right." Luka looked down at his wobbling knees. "A technique I must be even more wary of… It's a lot to sleep on."

Night passed and gave way to morning. In a few hours, the three had finally arrived to a thick forest, almost overabundant with plant life even at the fringes. The three stopped, observing the sheer life force that exuded from the forest.

"So… This is the Forest of Spirits, huh?" Luka commented, trying in vain to look deeper inside the forest.

"Along with Sylph, there are lots of fairies and elves that live here." Alice stated. "They usually mean no harm to humans, however. But the fairies can be slightly mischievous."

"Mischievous, you say." Balthazar laughed. "Yeah, right."

Luka nodded. "In other words, there shouldn't be any fighting here. Let's go!" Luka began to dive into the brush, but stopped when he realized that he was the only one moving forward. "Guys?"

Alice folded her arms. "If the Monster Lord paraded through their forest, the fairies would be shocked. I'll be waiting outside." She explained.

Luka sighed. "What's your excuse, Balthazar?" He asked. In response, Balthazar strolled to a nearby bush and spread the bush to peer inside.

Bleakly staring, he shook his head. "Have I ever mentioned that I absolutely despise insects?"

Luka nearly fell over. "Insects?"

Balthazar laughed weakly. "I suppose you can say I have the irrational fear that whenever I see an insect, some part of my mind thinks that some Beelzebub is going to show up."

Alice and Luka both stared at him quietly. "…" Alice narrowed her eyes at Balthazar. "Have I ever told you that you're on a completely different level of screwed up?"

"Constantly, consistently, and without fail."

"Bah, whatever." Luka rolled his eyes, and set off into the forest.

As soon as Luka had disappeared into the incredibly dense brush and fell out of earshot, Balthazar stiffened. Alice rolled her eyes. "What's the matter, imagining a Beelzebub?"

He sighed. "Maybe it's nothing." He looked into the brush. "Wait, you actually believed that?"

Alice's eyes narrowed as she surveyed his meaning. "Then you're just legitimately not interested in going into that forest?"

Shaking his head, Balthazar grabbed one his Chains as a pulse of light traveled down it. "I've been feeling something for a while now." Faint shouts echoed in the forest. "I see the games have begun… Figures he'd screw something so simple up like this."

Alice grasped his shoulder. "What do you mean; you've 'been feeling something'?"

The anti-hero shrugged. "I could be wrong, but I've been surveying the forest with these chains to make sure."

She waited. "And?"

"There's something weird in the forest." He looked at Alice straight in the eyes. " I can sense Luka, running amok and trampling like an idiot, but moving around the center, there's a small but potent entity…"

Alice nodded. "Most likely Sylph. Is she what you're sensing?"

Balthazar grinned darkly. "I don't know what a Spirit feels like…"

Near the center of the brush, the trees had begun to thicken to extremes. An unnatural silence enveloped Luka, and the air became thick with a mysterious aura. He began to stiffen, until a slightly larger fairy similar to the ones that had played pranks on him before appeared.

"What's a human doing out here?" She asked.

Luka recoiled, surprised by the appearance of whom he could only assume to be Sylph herself. "A-are you one of the four spirits, Sylph?"

She nodded. "I am indeed. Is there some business you have with me?"

Luka scratched his head. "Erm… Yes. I'm a Hero on a quest to defeat the Monster Lord." He paused. "Eh… I'm not actually out to defeat Alice anymore though…" He paused again, awkwardly mumbling. "I mean, I heard from Alice that…"

Sylph cocked her head. "What are you saying? I don't understand you…" She closed her eyes. "Fine. I'll ask the wind instead." Luka was about to retort, but a breeze began to pick up in the clearing they occupied. "I see, I see… So you're a human who wishes for coexistence between man and monster, and wants to gain power to defeat the Four Heavenly Knights?" She questioned.

Luka mouth jarred open. "You got all that from a gust of wind?"

Sylph smiled. "You're not the type who'd use it for evil… But the spirit's power can't be given to just anyone. Hm… No, I should say that not just anyone can master the power. I've got to see if you're worthy of my power."

Luka shifted his weight. "How so?"

Sylph folded her arms. "In combat. If you can land a single blow to me, I'll lend you my assistance."

He couldn't help but to slightly smirk. "Only one blow?"

The spirit giggled mischievously. "It might just be impossible for you." A breeze began to pick up again. "Shall we begin?" Luka hesitantly drew Angel Halo. He waited for Sylph to attack, but as the breeze continued to flow about the clearing, neither of them moved. "Well? How is it? Isn't my wind simply amazing?"

Luka sweated. "I see you're not exactly lacking in the modesty department…" He noted as the wind ruffled his cloths.

Sylph frowned. "Well? Have you realized it's impossible?" She questioned. "This technique makes me tired, so hurry up and give up." She cheered.

Wait… This technique… Controlling the wind like this makes her tired? That means that she's actually been ready to counter me since we began! He thought as he steadied Angel Halo. If she gets tired from defense, will she come at me offensively if she realizes I'm taking advantage of her?

Luka began to step around Sylph as they eyed each other. Moments continued to pass, and eventually Sylph grew exasperated. "H-hey! Are you even fighting me? Come on, fight properly!" She begged as her wind continued to whip around the forest. "C-come on… You've gotta… Be getting tired, right?"

So… Is this really a battle with the Spirit of Wind? It seems kinda anti-climatic… Luka smiled wearily. Suddenly, Sylph faltered, and dropped to the ground.

"N-no… I can't keep it going…" She gasped. The wind began to slowly dwindle down. "No more!" She sighed, and the wind died off immediately.

Luka waited a few more seconds as Sylph rested on the ground, completely exhausted. As soon as he realized that she no longer posed an offensive threat, Luka tapped Sylph's head with Angel Halo. "Are we done here?"

Sylph's eyes began to tear up. "That's not fair! You cheated!" She pouted as Luka sheathed Angel Halo on his back. Luka sized Sylph up as she began to wail. "Oi oi…" He tried to comfort her.

A minute passed as Sylph calmed down. "Truthfully…" She hiccuped. "I can't really fight." She looked down. "That was the first time I tried fighting with my wind…" Luka nodded. That was sort of obvious when she fought. Spirit of Wind, not Master of Combat… "If it's you… Can you properly use my power?" She looked up, drying her tears.

Luka nodded. "I'll try my best to use them." He extended his hand.

She smiled. "Okay then! We'll be together forever from now on! When you're attacked, I promise to lend you my power!" With a bright flash, she grasped Luka's hand and vanished.

Luka gasped as his senses began to expand. "Does this mean… Sylph's inside of me?" He asked himself. Without warning, he began to hear the wind trickling throughout the forest, and could map out everything around him. I can feel exactly what's here… Insects, birds, leaves even… This is only Sylph's power, but it's so amazing! If I had the power from the other three as well, even the Heaven Knights would be no match! … Well, probably. He looked up. "Please look, Ilias! With this, I'll be able to make a peaceful world!" He declared as he began to make his way out of the forest.

Near the forest entrance, Luka began to feel the shift of the living animals in the forest begin to flee. Luka ran ahead, and found Balthazar and Alice, who had entered the forest of their own accord. Balthazar's Chains were strewn about him, but were slowly disappearing. Alice noted Luka's arrival, and walked in between the two.

"It seems like you were able to gain Sylph's power safely."

Luka nodded. "Yeah… But… What's this presence I'm suddenly feeling."

Balthazar's drawn katana shifted in his hand. "It's nothing natural… If you can feel it too, than you should know what I'm talking about…"

The hero exaggeratedly pointed at Balthazar's sword. "Wait! There's not even a battle and you've already drawn your sword? You didn't even unsheathe it until after you fought Granberia!"

The ominous presence shambled towards them from beyond the brush. "It's getting closer." Alice commented. "It's strange… This monster… If I can even call it that… It's like nothing I've ever encountered before."

Luka took a step back. "A monster that even the Monster Lord isn't aware of?"

"Something like this shouldn't even exist…" Alice mumbled.

"Save it." Balthazar slid his katana through the air, cutting it so delicately that Luka barely noticed the movement even with Sylph's powers. "Whether or not it should exist, it does."

"Shut up, Balthazar. I know that already…" Alice shook her head. "We'll make sure that its existence is ended here."

With a sudden crash through the brush, a large abomination of a plant crushed its way in front of the three. Eventually, unfurling from the flora, a pale feminine body covered ivy and thick leaves revealed itself to the three. A large bark mace crashed into the ground as Luka avoided her attack, sending soil flying into the air. Two more branches, seeming growing from the woman's back, descended on Alice and Balthazar.

Alice swatted the bludgeoning attack with her tail, seemingly unimpressed by the attack. "Attacking the Monster Lord? What's the meaning of this?" She growled.

With one feel swipe, Balthazar severed the mace-like appendage. "I don't think we'll get an answer out of it." He said, jumping back as yet another tree trunk-sized mace descended on him.

Luka pointed at the plant-woman's face. "Look at her eyes… It's like there's nothing up there…" He observed.

"It doesn't matter." Alice growled. "That is absolutely unacceptable." Flames began to gather around her, coalescing into her palms. "You shall pay for attacking the Monster Lord!" She extended her hand and an inferno of fire engulfed the abomination. However, as the flames died out, the plant-corrupted woman inside resurfaced from the charred leaves that protected her. "She didn't even flinch!" Alice observed as the empty-eyed woman continued to stare at the three.

"Perhaps-" Balthazar began, but Luka interrupted him.

"Alice, you're the Monster Lord." He stated. "Let the fights with monsters up to me, the Hero!" Luka brandished Angel Halo, and stepped ahead of Alice.

Alice shook her head. "Don't speak such foolishness right now. This thing… It isn't a normal monster."

Balthazar shrugged. "The same could be said about you, considering everything." He commented.

"Please, Alice. I'll take care of this monster." Luka turned his back to Alice. "I don't want to see monsters fighting each other, especially if you don't want to hurt your own comrades."

Alice scoffed. "This thing isn't a comrade. This thing is an abomination…"

Luka sighed. "I have a promise to keep with an elf… I'll defeat this thing and bring peace back to the forest!"

The Monster Lord took a deep breath. "Fine. But you be careful." She looked at Balthazar. "Make sure this thing doesn't get out of hand."

"You don't trust Luka to take care of this by himself?" Balthazar smirked.

Alice frowned. "Do it as my proxy in this battle."

Balthazar laughed as he took his stance. "That almost makes it sound like you trust me again."

"Shut up and get serious!" Alice scolded.

A large flower erupted out of the woman's chest as Balthazar turned to their enemy. With an unnatural ripple, the flower petals acted like lips, spitting out seeds at the two. Balthazar cleaved the seeds in half, while Luka deflected and dodged them.

"Before it loses its effectiveness…" Luka dashed in and stabbed the woman, only to have his strike parried by thick vines absorbing the blow. One of the maces adjusted itself to smash Luka overhead, but Balthazar had jumped in and threw Luka back, absorbing the blunt force with his katana.

"It's sacrificing its own body to protect itself…" Luka noted as Balthazar dodged a mace swinging at him from his side.

"We have to inhibit its ability to use those plants." He nodded. "Otherwise, this fight will get us nowhere."

The dryad turned and looked at a nearby tree. The wounded limb that Balthazar had severed earlier touched it, and with an extremely loud cracking noise, it fused with the tree, uprooting it and taking it into its own body.

"That's an uncanny ability…" Balthazar sweated as the dryad examined its freshly 'healed' limb.

Luka took a step back. "So wait… That means that all of those plants…" He muttered, observing the intensity of writhing gigantic and small flowers, vines, and tree limbs that covered the dryad's body. "She somehow fused with all of those in the area to become like this?"

The dryad focused on Luka, a brilliantly red rose developing from the center of her chest. "She's up to something…" Balthazar warned.

Luka guarded, watching the dryad carefully. After several moments, the rose shot out of her chest, accompanied by a mass of thorned tendrils, all laying siege to Luka's general area. However, sensing her intents, Luka beheaded the rose and cut a path to safety away from her attack.

"That could have been pretty terrifying…" Luka noted as he began to take into perspective the fist-sized thorns on the vines the flower had attacked with.

"Guarding and taking hits will get us nowhere, Luka. We need to be more aggressive." Balthazar jumped forward, slashing apart several vines that protected her body, and used the momentum of one of the dryad's maces to jump back near Luka.

"But those tree limbs and vines make it nearly impossible to hit her, not to mention that she'll probably just regenerate whatever we cut…" Luka complained. "See? Like I just said!" Luka pointed as some of the tree limbs acted as hands to rip nearby vines off of their habitat, fusing them to herself.

"Good point…" Balthazar narrowed his eyes. "Too bad you drove Alice away with you hero talk… I had a plan and everything…"

Luka timidly scratched his head. "Well, seeing her fight her own minions isn't something I think I could take on a moral level…"

"You're pretty thick sometimes…" Balthazar sighed, but readied his blade. "I'll continue where Alice left off." Flames began to dance around Balthazar, hovering in the air around him, and burned on his sword. "Hellfire!" He swung his sword, and an arrow of fire struck the dryad, exploding into a large inferno. "Heads down! Alpha!" He commanded, throwing his sword in the air around him. Luka barely had time to understand Balthazar's intentions as flames began to ignite the nearby forest, as well as traveling high into the air causing flames and sparks to descend over them.

"H-hey! What the hell Balthazar!" Luka yelled, trying to stamp out a nearby fire. "How's this going to protect the forest!?"

Balthazar grimaced. "We all have to make a sacrifice eventually." He said, watching as the dryad's leaves try to shrug off the flames. "Hellfire!" He roared, sending another wave of fire to engulf the woman.

"You're going to end up burning the entire forest!" Luka gasped.

He sighed. "No I'm not, dammit." He tugged on one of his Chains, showing that just beyond the brush a mass of Chains had encircled the three. "Before you got here, I intended on trapping this thing on Alice's will. It'll also prevent the flames made by Hellfire from burning this entire place down." He explained. "Why else do you think that Alice would use her Omega Blaze so freely if no safeguards were in effect?"

Luka's mouth opened slightly. "I never expected you to have thought this out so far ahead…"

As the flames rapidly died down, Balthazar smirked. "Just who the hell do you think you're talking to?"

The dryad's plants, with a final push, quelled the flames on her body. The plants around them were thoroughly charred, and the air had turned dry from the mass of flames and sparks that fell. The plants on her body, however, began to quiver as several large roses began to grow all over her body.

'Luka!' Sylph's voice resonated throughout Luka's mind. 'You didn't forget already, did you? I said we'd be together forever, so that means you can use my powers!'

"That's right… I totally forgot somehow…" Luka smiled, before extending his hand in the air before him. "Come to me, Sylph!" He called out.

Balthazar lowered his katana. "So this is the power of a Spirit, huh?" He asked himself as the flames above in the air died out immediately as a tornado of wind engulf Luka.

'You're pretty compatible with the power of wind.' Sylph commented. 'With this, you should be able to protect yourself a lot easier now!'

The dryad, now weakened by the continuous flames, staggered, but rooted itself into the ground. Within seconds, color began to return to the plants in her body, and several thorned vines shot out at Luka. However, as soon as they hit the wall of wind, they were torn into pieces as if with scissors.

"Amazing…" Luka commented as the dryad's vines recoiled. The woman continued her emotionless stare at the two as Balthazar stepped behind Luka's tornado.

'The power of wind makes plant-type monsters like her no problem at all!' Sylph beamed. 'However, just like a breeze, it doesn't last forever, so you'll probably have to summon me again.' She warned.

"Got it. I'll be careful." Luka nodded.

Balthazar scowled at Luka. "Oi. Who the hell are you to?"

Luka snapped up. "Oh! Uh… I guess you can't her hear… I was talking to Sylph."

He rolled his eyes as the dryad's attempts to breach the tornado were consistently thwarted by Sylph's wind. "I thought I was crazy…" He laughed. "So, can you attack with this?"

Luka shook his head. "I can only use to guard myself right now."

The dryad, sensing failure in many repeated attempts, now grew several more of its bludgeoning trunks from her massive body. She slammed one of them down at Luka to test the strength of the new defense.

"I guess we can't say it's a perfect guard, can we?" Balthazar frowned as he blocked the attack in Luka's wall. It had slowed the attack down, but Luka's confidence would have left him open if he hadn't intervened.

"S-sorry…" Luka mumbled. "I should've guessed that she'd try something with more force."

Balthazar grunted as he took his place behind Luka. "It seems like anything with enough force can still break that defense. You should probably remember that… After all, I broke your defense as well by protecting you."

Luka jumped. "Y-you did! …Huh. So if it repelled everything, you wouldn't have been able to get in either… I see…"

The two dodged the dryad's next attempt to swat them. "It's nice to know your limits, but this really isn't the time." Balthazar furrowed his brow in though. "Oi. Ask Sylph if her wind can be used by another person."

Luka raised an eyebrow, but complied. 'Um… I suppose it could, if the other person could use the wind themselves… But I'm already one with you, Luka.' He conveyed her response back to him.

"Alright, Luka." He straightened his katana vertically, aiming through Luka. "Plants don't like wind, right? Then I'm sure she'll enjoy this. You should probably duck." Luka crouched to the ground as gusts of green-tinted wind encompassed Balthazar. "Destruction Gale!" He struck forward, a practiced basic move, but the cutting wind that was launched fused with Luka's tornado. Immediately, the single cutting arc of wind multiplied nearly exponentially, and the dryad was nearly torn to shreds as the hazardous blades of air tore her apart.

When the wind died down, Sylph's power dissipated. The remnants of the chimeric dryad writhed on the ground. Most of her outer brush that she had used as the extension of her body had been completely sheared off, leaving little more than her main body, as well as several vines, leaves, and small flowers seeming left uncut at random. However, even these were not unscathed as deep gouges in the plant material were present, and the main body of the dryad had been cut as well.

The two warriors walked around their writhing opponent on the ground, who still seemed as if she was unaffected by the onslaught of razor-sharp winds. Balthazar eyed the dryad, who's mangled vines still tried to attack them. "This is…" Luka took a step away from Balthazar.

In return, Balthazar scoffed. "You think that we could've shown mercy to this thing?"

Luka hung his head. "I know. It's still just… Brutal."

Balthazar smirked. "I seem to recall that it's pretty similar to those zombies." He teased. However, as Luka frowned, he gave up. "Whatever. Finish it off with that sword of yours… Maybe then you'll feel better knowing you didn't actually kill her."

Luka dealt the mortal blow to the dryad, who disintegrated to various leaves, petals, and vines, slowly becoming a large flower garden. "Did it seal her?" Luka wondered.

Alice reappeared, her expression grim. "It's finally over. What was that thing…?" She wondered aloud. Her eyes swept across the newly formed garden. "Apparently, a parasitic-type. The woman-form was probably just a host. Most likely, some corpse from who-knows-when."

Luka went pale. "Human? Then I was fighting…"

Balthazar rolled his eyes. "So you can consider some dead body possessed by a plant different than a zombie? Same game, different name."

Alice nodded. "Basically, if anything, you freed her from the plant."

"So what was that thing, in the end?" Luka asked.

Alice looked at the garden thoughtfully. "A mutating monster? If it was a parasitic plant that latched onto a human host… Could that really have been the result of a mutation?"

"That thing must've been a busy parasite then, or it got around." Balthazar commented. "Pretty sure those tree-clubs it used on us were more Tree-Ent than the average tree… And those flowers looked more Alruane than your common flower, even if those flowers got double-doses of whatever making these plants grow so well here."

"Well, no matter the case…" Luka looked at his palm. "Sylph's power was amazing. If we didn't' get to use her power, I don't think that battle would've gone our way that easily."

Alice scoffed. "It's powerful, but Balthazar did your work for you. Since you're still weak, you'll need to master it or else you'll be controlled by it."

"Pfft." Balthazar stretched. "If you ended up not using Sylph's power, my next plan was glazing this part of the forest in ice, see it try to regenerate from that."

Alice looked at him, surprised. "I was really wondering if a fire-based assault was all you were going to do. But… I didn't know you could use Ice-affinity spells."

He shrugged. "I can, but the whiplash akin to when I used Hell's Lightning would also come back." Sighing, he finally sheathed his sword. "The technique I had in mind used more stamina than Lightning anyways, so it was a one-shot move, considering my alarming lack of magical power at the moment."

A rustle from the nearby bushes set Luka on edge. However, after several seconds, instead of a threat, a large swarm of fairies began to fly out.

'Did they really defeat it?' 'They flower monster is scary… But they beat it!' 'Thank you, big bro!' 'Thanks, scary-looking snake-lady!' '…Try not to burn our home again, weird-looking chain-dude.'

The three looked astounded as the fairies began to chat excitedly amongst themselves. Eventually, the swarm of fairies began to take off, all headed back to San Ilia.

"Didn't they mention San Ilia…?" Luka sweated. "That… Doesn't sound good…"

The path back was filled with fairies flying overhead, and the occasional few decided to take pit stops on the shoulders and heads of the three. However, as the three returned, Luka had sensed a sudden change of wind as they approached, and the presence of the town seemed more chaotic than it did before.

When the three arrived, they came to the regular scenes of San Ilia, but in their absence, a population of both fairies and other-worldly entities had made the city their home. Children played in the streets with both ghost and fairy alike, as guards oblivious to the fairies' presence suffered their pranks. The King himself was not spared of the hijinks of the fairies and ghosts.

The new chaos had seemingly been taken in and accepted to some degree in the city, to Luka's relief. The three moved to the edge of San Ilia, and began plotting out their next move.

"So it seems the fairies are doing whatever they want now…" Luka observed.

Alice nodded. "Those tricksters can be pretty annoying at times."

Luka looked back at the children, spirits, and fairies playing in the streets. "I wonder what'll happen here now, with the ghosts and fairies… Will they get along with the humans?"

"Getting along? Or rejecting them? This place does love Ilias a lot… So it's hard to tell." Alice commented objectively.

Balthazar shrugged. "Either way, it's all up to the people of the town."

Alice suddenly took a step forward. "Anyway, let's get the hell out of here. We can't waste any more time here."

Luka nodded. "I suppose you're right."

"Excuse me, adventurers." A well-dressed man called out, running to catch up to the three. "Were you by chance the individuals who were investigating the requests on the bulletin board not too long ago?"

Luka looked back at the man. "Yeah. We investigated the mansion to the north, and helped a bit around town…"

The man nodded. "I see. Well, could you do me a small and quick favor?"

Immediately, Alice scowled. "No. We're busy."

"Come on, Alice." Luka rolled his eyes.

"I promise, it won't take more but a few minutes once you're there." The man pleaded. "All I need you to do is check on something for me."

Alice groaned. "Check on something? Do you think we're common errand-runners?"

Luka refrained from giggling. "Well, we have been helping around where needed a lot, recently."

The man produced a large bag the size of a head. "I'm a merchant that normally frequents Port Natalia. However, I haven't heard from a couple of my contacts there in the last few days." He passed the bag to Luka. "It's five thousand medallions : appraised around five million gold." Luka gasped. "I know it seems like a lot for the favor I'm asking, but the well-being of my men is worth ten times more than that."

Alice now looked intrigued. "You're just giving us this to persuade us to do this errand of yours?" She mumbled to herself. "I didn't think that humans had that level of empathy for each other…"

Luka handed the bag to Balthazar, who examined the coins inside. "Quite a sum. What're we in for?" Balthazar asked.

The man nervously chuckled. "Like I said, it's just a quick pit-stop. I need you to go to Port Natalia. Just visit the merchant's square, and make sure it's peaceful there. But if you're in the mood, if you find a man with a rather large black hat, then ask him why he hasn't sent an envoy lately and report back to me. "

Alice sighed, but Luka turned over the bag of coins as Balthazar returned it to him. "I'm not going to be able to persuade you not to go, are you?"

He nodded. "It's an easy detour that is literally us just looking around and being on our way and telling him what's going on."

Balthazar narrowed his eyes. "Hold on, guy." He sized up the man, drawing an impressive aura. "No one goes around giving five million's worth of gold for a favor that we could literally just walk away from."

Alice nodded. "Here's the catch. Listen Luka, you should negotiate these pointless tasks of yours like he is."

He continued. "The gold's a persuasion for us to go… And by the amount, I'm betting that even looking around may be dangerous. Why do you think that your man might not be safe?"

The well-dressed man sighed. "Look. Apparently, the Dreadnaught has been haunting the shores of Sentora of late. One of my men happened to be an economic negotiator with the captain of the Dreadnaught… And he sent envoys as to what new events were occurring."

Luka's eyes widened. "The Dreadnaught? That's that giant warship we passed by when we got to Port Natalia the first time!"

Balthazar folded his arms. "And terms with the Dreadnaught are uneasy at best. Are you thinking what I think you are?"

The man nodded. "It's better safe than sorry." He pointed at the gold. "Look, you can keep those medallions, it's only a small loss for us right now. However, those are medallions engraved with signals our guild recognize as potential emergencies amongst us."

Balthazar smiled, causing Luka to tilt his head. "So you're playing the scout. Either there are minor problems in your own guild and we resolve them for you, or you've lost a hold in a financial stronghold and you're sending a fast-acting message to the world. Clever game."

The man smiled. "You seem to know the ways of the world for one so young, or you're a clever tactician. In either case, that's the truth. I just need you to check on Port Natalia, to make sure The Dreadnaught hasn't done unusual."

"What'll we do if something has happened?" Luka asked.

The man shrugged. "The smartest thing would be to get the hell out of dodge." He grimaced. "If nothing's happened, go about your business, and if something has, just make sure to tell me before you go on."

Alice shrugged. "I don't like it, but money makes the foolish especially dumb."

Luka folded his arms as the three reversed their way back to Port Natalia. "Come on. It's easy money. And besides, we could use it for your little gourmet trip you're so fond of."

"…" Alice pondered over the thought. "You're probably right there." She brought out her book again, surveying the pages once more. "The prices might have changed, and your money might not be sufficient to cover the costs… Very well. For the sake of my Gourmet World Tour, I'll permit this detour."

"That's the spirit?" Luka laughed.

When the three grew close to Port Natalia, they noticed an immense change in the atmosphere of the city. The only activity that the three could recognize was the sheer amount of patrols guarding the borders of the towns. Around the city, they could easily make out that something had happened to the city. Several towers throughout it had collapsed, and the buildings closer to the docks had fallen into disrepair.

Near the entrance to Natalia a small brigade of guards, their weapons already drawn, stopped the three. However, it was quite clear to Luka that these were no commonplace guards: they bore the symbol of San Ilia emblazoned on their armor, and carried more than simple swords.

"Halt, travelers." A rougher-looking guard stepped forward, his sword pointed at Luka. "Port Natalia is blockaded. Under the orders of the King of San Ilia, we cannot allow anyone inside, nor allow anyone inside after the evacuation period."

Alice folded her arms. "Well, that about clears up why that merchant never got word of what was happening."

"The King? I've met with him not too long ago… I'm a Hero, by the name of Luka." Luka peered into the city streets. "What happened for this kind of security?"

"A Hero, huh?" The guard rolled his eyes. "We were sent a little rag-tag group of Heroes to help us, but those idiots wound up getting themselves slaughtered."

Luka perked up. "What? How?"

The guard simply sighed. "Couple days ago, the Dreadnaught showed up, with a fleet of ships behind her. Men started jumping off her, and started to attack the port. Ever since, we had lock down Natalia. No one enters, and after we ended the evacuation, anyone dumb enough that stayed stays."

"The Dreadnaught?" Luka asked, but a brief memory of the tense passage to Port Natalia returned to him. "Those guys attacked!? I thought you were on better terms!"

He shrugged. "No idea what set them off. The story we know is, they attack, messengers grab the king's soldiers, and here we are, playing waiting games to see who strikes first again."

Balthazar folded his arms. "So after that first strike, they didn't attack?"

The man shook his head. "Nope. A couple ships left right after we got here, but since then, they've been staring us down. It's unnerving how long they're waiting."

Luka looked at the coastline, just barely visible from where they now stood. Indeed, just off the shore, several large warships sat in place. "I don't know how to prove it to you right now, but I'm probably better than the Heroes that came before me."

"Even though you're fake…" Alice taunted from the background.

"I'd like to help."

Alice narrowed her eyes. "Now you're doing stupid stuff on your own again. I said I was doubting whether or not you'd get to the Monster Lord's castle before, right?"

Balthazar snickered. "Hey, hey, who knows? Maybe this'll be fun."

Alice stared at him. "Oh. Yes. Because I'll get to fight. Do you know what'll happen if I take part here?" She mimicked a frightened villager. "'Oh no, the monster lord is attacking the city! She's controlling those pirates to do her dirty work!' You'd never hear the end of it. Though, I did break the Goddess Sword by accident…"

He smirked. "You're never fun in social situations."

The guard folded his arms. "Fine. If the Dreadnaught attacks again, you can fight. But don't expect any help from us if you're going to be routing them from the port. Our own navy hasn't even arrived yet."

"What will you be doing?" Luka asked.

"Well, we have the city somewhat fortified, so if they attack again, we'll be focusing on making sure they don't reach the citizen's quarter." He nodded. "Apparently, they attacked at noon the first time, so it's about time to see what they're up to…" He walked off, waving them in to the other soldiers.

Luka led the three deeper into the city by the ports. "So… Even the King's men are here…"

"So now you know what's happened." Balthazar observed. "Why not be on our way again?"

He sighed. "Look, I didn't just plead with him to let me fight to just walk off. And besides, it's a Hero's duty to help the people."

"Not to fight a war, though." Alice reprimanded. "You don't really think you can fend off an invasion, do you?"

Luka rubbed his chin. "Not alone, but you two are here."

She laughed. "Oh, don't think I'll get involved. This is a dispute between humans here. I'm certain that the mermaids that populate this city can always come back when things have cooled off."

He flinched. "Well… It's not like I wasn't expecting that answer…"A loud horn sounded. Soldiers around the three began to dash around the city, and before Luka realized it, Alice had vanished. "Wait… Already!?"

Without any time to brace themselves, the ground shook as a volley of cannonballs collided into the city. A building nearby gave out and collapsed, but it was seemingly abandoned already. A group of soldiers approached them, the captain from before stopping just short of them.

"Looks like noon is the charm for these guys." He waved signals to a patrol closer to the piers. "If the battle will be anything like the last one, those guys are going to be dismounting their ship and fighting on foot." He advised. "If you're going to be useful, it's going to be now."

Balthazar yawned. "Well, looks like Alice has decided to go on one of her little walks." He observed, drawing his katana. "There's quite a few of them, too…"

Luka readied Angel Halo. "You don't think it'll be a problem, do you?"

He groaned. "Probably not, but I don't want to use my abilities with an audience this large unless I have to. 'Cause I'm not a Hero."

Luka rolled his eyes, but lowered his sword after he looked at the Dreadnaught growing closer. "H-hey… Don't you think there's a bit too many pirates for one ship…?"

"Hm?" Balthazar looked closer. "Wait a second… Now that you mention it…" He paused, and looked around, eventually coming across a pulley used for repairing roofs. "I'll be right back. For a band of pirates, this doesn't seem right…" He cut the rope, skyrocketing him into the roof.

The supporting vessels continued to pelt the port with their cannons, causing chaos in the streets. The Dreadnaught had finally docked, and dozens of soldiers began to split off into the city. Balthazar jumped back down, looking grim.

"Those aren't pirates. No pirate I know wears armor as ornate as what I can see. Those are trained soldiers." He commented. "The Dreadnaught was never a rogue pirate ship… That's a warship!"

"A… Warship!?" Luka repeated. "But then, who's it from?"

Balthazar shrugged. "I've never seen the flags it flies. But that's not our main concern. There's another little fleet of ships coming too."

"E-even more…" Luka said, nearly despairing. "How're we supposed to win with these odds?"

Balthazar smiled. "Oh come on, Mr. Confident. I thought you knew what you were getting into." He slowly readied his katana as a black spot started to grow close to them. Cleaving it in a single motion, the two black spots exploded behind them, marking the next volley of cannon fire. "Well, let's get this over with."

The two dashed forward, and intercepted a large group of soldiers, and split up to defeat as many as possible. However, their strength proved more challenging than Luka anticipated.

"These guys… They aren't normal!" He panted as a couple of soldiers overtook the single soldier he defeated. "These guys are as strong as monsters…" He swore.

Balthazar wrapped his Chains against an enemy, and sent him flying into his comrades. Executing a near-lethal combo, he swept aside several more soldiers. "What? You're having problems already? I mean, I knew that you weren't that strong yet, but still…"

"Shut up! These guys are stronger than your average soldier! They're probably stronger than Nanabi…"

Balthazar rolled his eyes. "Nah, they can't be." He parried a blow from one of the few remaining soldiers of the platoon, and disabled him with a swift punch. "I mean, these guys aren't too much of a problem."

"Says the guy who can use incredibly strong magic…" Luka sarcastically taunted.

The ground shook as another barrage of cannonballs fell. In the distance, the caravels in the distance had arrived, and a large legion of soldiers were beginning to spread forward. "This isn't looking very good for the city…" Balthazar shifted his weight.

"I don't know how much I can take of continuous battle…" Luka sighed, meditating.

"Well, how many of this group did you take out?"

Luka counted on his hands. "Around six of them?"

At that moment, squadrons of soldiers began to descend into the piers, openly challenging their invaders to combat. "I can't babysit you here." Balthazar complained. "But I don't want to go just yet…"

Luka's mouth swiveled open. "You're actually feeling moral obligatory feelings to protect the town?"

He laughed in response. "Nothing like that." He faced a group of invaders that had been spreading out which had finally found them. "There's a bunch of questions that this creates."

"Questions?" Luka asked. "I mean, yeah, it'd be nice to know who they are, but there's easily a couple hundred soldiers that have gotten off of those caravels… Don't you think this is beyond us?"

"And leave it to the Kings Incompetency?" Balthazar mocked. "They can't even get their army together. This place won't last if we don't take care of their problem."

One of the enemies charged forward, but the blow was parried. Luka dashed forward, using his momentum to push his opponent back. "Sylph, help me!" Luka called, summoning his spirit. The two made short work of the small squadron that had found them, and made their way closer to the chaos.

In the thick of battle, the two could easily see the invaders mowing down the soldiers the King from San Ilia had sent. Archers using crossbows picked off the guards at an alarming rate where platoons of soldiers carved paths of destruction. From their point of view, Luka was able to see the invaders dropping off weapons and other supplies in the safety of the now enemy-controlled docks.

"This is seriously not good." Luka grunted.

Balthazar nodded. "I think I back what I said earlier. As you are now, you could probably incapacitate a regular man with little difficulty, but these guys are just devastating them…" He watched the fighting seriously. "Luka. Leave."

He jumped back. "What? Leave!?"

Balthazar nodded. "I know you've come this far, but there's no chance you can make defeat these guys." He turned to face Luka, his right eye completely black with the Narcissus. "If the numbers I can read on them are anything relating to their power, those guys are colossi to you."

He closed his eye. Luka's number has gone up… I'm guessing this is an innate ability to read someone's potential power. However, it's only risen to twenty… The guys out there are all around forty or higher. He opened his eye, and looked at the back of his hand. Seventy nine. If this is anything to do with our power as it is, then I'm really the only one capable of ending this.

"I can't just flee now!" Luka complained. "I'm a Hero! I've got to save-"

"These guys are probably as individually strong as that dryad we fought." Balthazar frowned.

One of the swordsman in the background yelled at them. "Over there! Stragglers!"

Luka flinched. There's no way that's possible… Normal people can't possibly be that strong, can they? "So then, what do we do?"

Balthazar grimaced. "Alice is waiting…" He paused, trading blows with several more soldiers as they arrived, and using his Chains to stagger and keep the rest at bay. "For you to return." He paused, looking at Luka.

Luka froze, failing to understand Balthazar. I've fought some normal people, and normally they wouldn't pose even a match for me… But these guys are like oiled-up fighting machines… Luka frowned. "Wait… Are you telling me to just abandon you?"

Balthazar sighed, a green aura encompassing him. "Gale!" He shouted, blasting most of the nearest soldiers away from him in the air. "These aren't some soldiers trained by that crazy king in Sabasa… He'd never attack another human anyways!"

Luka parried a blow by one of the more lightly-equipped soldiers, and used the momentum Sylph gave him to send him through a wall. "So who are these guys?"

Balthazar sighed, sending another blast of wind and drew close to Luka. "I haven't figured that out yet. However, I am quite interested in them now…" He muttered. "Anyways, Alice'd be disappointed if you continued to take your time fighting these guys if you ended up dying. She's more interested in you than me, so I don't think she'd mind if I stayed behind to tidy up here."

Luka backed up and faced Balthazar. "Whoa. You can't be serious here. Those ships are firing cannons at this place! And there are hundreds of these guys in the city now, not to mention that fleet of ships!" He said. As if on cue, another volley began to pelt the city. The soldiers remaining panted heavily from the aftereffects of Balthazar's repeated Gale of Destructions.

"Look, Luka." He rolled his neck. "Have some faith, would ya? These guys are out of your league right now. If you leave, I promise to be your proxy here." He grumbled. "Will that work?"

Another battalion of soldiers arrived, blades already drawn and the foremost archers sending bolts at the two. "This is stupid! How will you know where we're going?" Luka complained, taking cover from the enemy.

Across the street, Balthazar shouted back. "Sabasa isn't that far away, right? Since a Spirit is there, and you're getting the spirits that are the closest to you so you can save time, you'll head there, right?" He peeked out, and closed the distance between him and the soldiers. Luka resumed combat, covering Balthazar's back as he incapacitated the weaker archers.

"That doesn't mean I like this idea!" He complained.

"Just get out of here already!" Balthazar grunted, swatting away the closest soldier. "See? I can hold my own here, so get going! Besides, you said yourself that you had no idea how you'd win."

The peace in their area only lasted moments before another volley of cannon fire ravaged the town. Luka cursed. "Fine. But you better make it out of this." He warned.

He gave a small chuckle. "You're warning me?" Balthazar looked amused as he saw several soldiers running around, the chaos the two had inflicted finally affecting the rest of the battalions. "If I recall correctly, you had problems with a crab-girl. If you're going to warn me, than you'd better still be alive when I catch up to you."

Luka sighed. "Alright. I'll leave this to you."

He nodded. "They've probably started to close off the area, but you can probably escape if you make a mad dash out of here. I've got a plan that they'll definitely love."

Luka hesitatingly began to step away from Balthazar as he ran back into the enemy's hastily set up center. Damn I wish I was a little stronger… He complained. He watched as Balthazar kicked an archer square in the chest. "Right. If he trusts me to keep going without him, I've got to trust that he'll make it out of this mess alive."

At the outskirts of Port Natalia, Luka came across Alice watching the destruction begin to halt, her eyes immersed in thoughts Luka couldn't fathom. When she noticed his arrival, she perked up, already prepared to leave.

"Balthazar?" She questioned. "Where is he?"

Luka averted his eyes. "It wasn't my choice. He said that we should keep moving."

Alice frowned. "That idiot. What does he think he's doing? " She looked behind, watching the smoke rise even higher. Noticeably, the caravels in the distance had stopped firing their cannons, but the two were now too far away to investigate.

After a few hours of hasty travel, Luka and Alice had returned to San Ilia and delivered the report to the merchant, but Luka also informed the King as well about the situation in Natalia. Without hesitation, he took the pseudo-Hero's advice, and began to rally more men to fight. The two left shortly after, and not long after they found themselves at a crossroad.

"He said that he'd meet up with us in Sabasa." Luka noted.

Alice nodded. "That makes sense. With Gnome in the Safina Desert, that makes her the closest to us." She tilted her head knowingly. "Looks like we're making progress. I guess he really does know what he's doing."

The Safina region is primarily desert, so there's probably going to be entirely new monsters there… Traveling the desert won't be fun, though. Luka noted.

Alice smiled in anticipation. "A desert now, huh? It looks like I'll be able to try some new delicacies."

Balthazar just sacrificed himself so we can keep going, and you're already going on about food? Luka sweated. At least nothing can faze her priorities…