Ilias was not happy. Not one bit. Her memories were all jumbled in her head. Somehow, she had lost all her power. Black Alice, Promestein, the Dark Goddess. All were potential candidates… But then why would she still be alive? Was this all part of some twisted game?

The Goddess of Creation certainly hoped not, but she couldn't brush off the possibility completely. Her day only got worse when the Hero Luka, who was once one of her loyal followers, spoke back to her! The nerve…

Even worse, he forced her to accompany the Dark Goddess's descendant. Ilias did not remember much about Alice or Luka, but she knew enough to know they were enemies. For now, she would have to use them to get her power back. Then…

"Hm. I should probably check in with the Village Chief before we go." Luka said. When Ilias looked at him, she felt strange. She remembered some things about him but not the whole picture. He was one of her heroes at first, and then…

Damn it, how come I can't remember anything!? Ugh… What happened to me…?

Seeing Ilias's miserable expression gave Alice some small joy, but it wasn't enough to offset her current mood. She too was not pleased with Luka's decision, not at all, but she had no choice but to follow him.

Well, once he realises how evil Ilias is, he'll side with me and leave her behind. Then, we can go the rest of the way without her.

"That's fine with me," Alice said. She followed the hero closely as they walked up to the biggest house in the village. Of course, Ilias also followed along.

Inside, they found what Alice assumed to be the Village chief and his wife. They were both quite old, easily in their sixties at least. Tamamo had taught her that with age comes wisdom, but Alice wasn't sure if the same applied to humans.

"Luka, I heard you were baptised." The man stood up and shook the young boy's hand. "I wish you luck on your journey."

"Thanks," Luka said. "Is there anything I can help with before I go?"

The older woman laughed. "Ah, you're too kind, Luka. Just like your father… before he disappeared. Anyway, you've done more than enough for us, for all of us. You should go to the storage cellar. There should be some gear there that could be useful."

Alice's stomach growled.

I hope there's food…

Luka thanked them again before leaving. But as soon as he stepped outside...

"There you are!"

A ginger-haired girl started shouting at him all of a sudden. "Sonya?... What are you wearing?"

The girl, apparently called Sonya, put her hands on her hips. "I'm going to join you on your adventure, obviously!"

"Really…? It's not going to be easy, you know? Are you sure you're up for that?" Luka asked.

"Of course I am! Why do you think I've been training so hard lately!?"

The boy shrugged. "I thought you wanted to be a priest though?"

"I can be a priest and still join you on your adventure!"

But what use would that be…?

Ah, whatever. She might as well come.

"Well, alright, I guess," Luka muttered. Sonya was a little annoyed by his nonchalant attitude.

"Huh? Who are these two kids?" She asked.

"I am not a child," Ilias said. "I am aware my current form is… deceiving, but I can assure you, I truly am the Goddess Ilias."

"Ilias herself…?"

Sonya looked the small girl up and down. "I somehow doubt it… Wait a second, what is an angel doing here in the first place? It's either those wings are fake, or you're a long way from home…"

Ilias frowned. "I'm as real as can be! And… I suppose I am a long way from home… perhaps in more than one way…"

This world is so different from the one I know… Have I been sent back in time, or is this another realm entirely?

Alice spoke up. "I am the Monster Lord, Alipheese the Sixteenth, but you may call me Alice."

Before Sonya could cast her doubts, Luka stepped in. "For the record, they found me, not the other way around. And… I don't know, for some reason I believe them, at least a little. Ilias does look like the one we saw in all those statues. And in the temple earlier."

"Shush!" Sonya said. "The Head Priest said we couldn't talk about that… But you are right, she does look like a smaller version of Ilias… But what about her?"

Sonya pointed at the small, silver-haired lamia. "Do you think she's really the Monster Lord?"

Luka shrugged. "...Maybe. Anyway, they seem pretty intent on joining me, so we might as well just get this adventure started."

Sonya sighed. "And here I thought it was just going to be me and you…"

Luka led the way. He planned to talk to Lazarus first before visiting the storage cellar. He didn't really trust the man on his own, especially not with his drinking tendencies. Since Sonya was going to join him on his adventure, there would be no one to watch over the middle-aged man.

A man wearing far too much black approached the group. Strange, Luka thought. He had never seen him in Iliasville before. His extraordinarily large scythe certainly didn't make him stand out any less, and neither did the belt that was tied around his legs.

…How does he walk with that?

"Greetings." The man said.

Luka was the first to speak. "Hi…?"

"I hear you're going off on an adventure today."

Luka nodded. "That's right…"

The young man coughed. "Well, I suppose I just wanted to see you on your way out."

…This is so awkward…

"So, uh, what's your name?"

"Hm? Me? Oh, it's Nero." He said.

"Hey, can we get a move on already?" Ilias asked. "We don't have all day!"

"What is an angel doing here…?" Nero muttered. "Wait a second… You… It couldn't be…"

"What's wrong?" Luka asked. "Did something happen?"

Nero looked away. "No, never mind me. Anyway, I wish you luck on your journey, young hero. No matter how tough it may be, you must push forward! For coexist—I mean, for… whatever reason you want to go on this journey for!"

"Thanks for your support…" Luka murmured.

Alice sighed. "Are you done?" She asked, looking at the man. "Can we go now?"

Nero looked oddly saddened by her annoyance. "R-Right… Sorry." But just before he slipped away, he noticed the final member of the group.

"Huh…? Who are you?"

Sonya tilted her head. "My name is Sonya but… Why do you look so confused?"

Nero shook his head. "Sorry, I've just never seen you before… Who are you again?"

"I'm Luka's childhood friend… But what do you mean you've never seen me before? You've never seen any of us before!"

"Uh… Right, of course. Anyway, I must be going!" Nero said. He started to run away, eventually slipping behind a house and not appearing on the other side.

…What was that?

"Who was he?" Luka asked.

"I don't know and I don't care," Ilias said. "Let's just get going already."

Luka nodded. They walked over to Lazarus's house, but not without talking to what must've been every person in Iliasville first.

"Quite the socialite, aren't you?" Alice pointed out.

Luka shrugged. "Not really. It's just that I'm about to leave for a long time. Who knows when I'll be back? It could be years!"

"You can just use a harpy feather to get back here anytime, you know?" Alice pointed out.

"Oh… good point."

"A harpy feather…? What good would that do?" Ilias asked.

"Huh? Do you not know, Ilias? You can use them to travel anywhere in the world! Though, I have heard there are certain limits…"

"Can they really be used for such a thing…? I've never heard of it before." Ilias said.

"Hmph. Some goddess." Alice smirked. "They've been used ever since coexistence became the norm."

That made Ilias take a step back. "Coexistence? The norm!?"

I thought there were a lot of monsters in this village… But… I didn't think it was so widespread.

To think, one of my villages is being disgraced with the presence of those disgusting monsters…

Luka looked confused. "Yeah… It's pretty much everywhere nowadays. Ever since the Great Disaster 30 years ago, everyone has been working together."

"Great Disaster…? 30 years ago…?"

Could he mean… The Slaughter of Remina? It's an odd name for it, but it could fit…

"Have you been living under a rock or something…?" Alice asked. "The Great Disaster was an event that shook the world itself. Unnatural calamities started to appear everywhere, not to mention the new magic in the air, the seven Tartarus's that appeared all over the world, and so on."

Luka continued. "But most importantly, monsters and humans were brought together by the disaster. Even 30 years later, coexistence has only gotten stronger."

An event that shook the world itself…? Only a few things could do that…

"If this is true then… Why are you going on a journey in the first place?" Ilias asked.

The group stopped in front of a small, run-down house. "I'm going to find my father," Luka said. "He went missing a few years back… But I know he's out there somewhere. I'll find him…"

But isn't Marcellus supposed to be dead?

Ugh, none of this makes any sense… What do I do now?

Luka opened the door. The air was stuffy inside and smelled of booze. Empty bottles were lying in the corners. "Is he serious!?" Sonya shouted. "I just helped him clean all this up too!"

Sonya was fuming. She walked over to the old man who was still asleep. "Wake up, you old fool!"

A kick in the leg was all that was needed. Lazarus rubbed his head as he rose. "Sonya…?"

"What did you do last night!? Were you out drinking again!?"

"Nonsense, I only had a few." Lazarus left his bed. "Quite the number of guests… Luka, I trust you were properly baptised?"

The boy nodded. "We're going to be heading out soon, so I just came here to make sure you'd be okay on your own."

"You're just like your father… I'll be fine." He said, stretching. "Now I won't have to deal with you kids anymore. Go, go out and explore the world. Just make sure you come home safe. Sonya, I'll leave that up to you."

"I'll make sure he doesn't get into any more trouble... But don't start speaking like some role model, uncle! You're the worst influence we ever could've had!"

"Well isn't that rude? It wasn't that bad. Besides, look at how you both turned out. Ready to conquer the world at a moment's notice." Lazarus laughed. "Anyway, how 'bout yous wait outside? There's something I'd like to talk with Luka about."

Sonya and the others reluctantly left the room. Luka walked over to the old man. "What is it?"

Lazarus sat down in a nearby chair. "...If you do find your father… Ask him why he left. I want to know too… Why would he just up and leave like that one day… It makes no sense… He should've known me and Merlin would've been glad to help him with whatever."

Luka nodded. "I will… Uncle, will you really be alright here on your own?"

The old warrior smiled. "I took care of myself for decades so far, haven't I? What's another few years… I'll be fine. Really. You should just be worrying about yourself now… Oh, and one more thing. Keep an eye on Sonya, won't you? I promised her mother I'd keep her safe but… It seems that the bird has now flown the coop."

"Well, you already trained her to be a fighter, right? She's probably stronger than I am right now." Luka pointed out. "Anyway, I better get going. I'll see you again, Uncle."

"Yeah, yeah. See ya."

The hero closed the door on his way out. Sonya and the others were all waiting outside.

"Well, let's get going then."

As the group started to leave, they failed to notice the rabbit girl following closely behind.

"Are you okay, Lime? That mean human didn't hurt you too much, did he?"

Lime shook her head. "No… I'm alright." She said, standing up. It was dark inside the cave, and the water hadn't been purified in a long time. Slimes had lived there before, long ago. But now they had all moved away, preferring to instead live on the mountain range north of Iliasville or in the village itself.

And now we're forced to hide out here…

"Let's go see what Bunni is up to." The other blue slime suggested. Lime nodded and followed along.

Lime was not exactly the adventurous type. She had lived in the Ilias continent all her life. In that time, she had only seen a few caves, but even still, she knew this one was particularly poor. She thought that the ones up north, in Sentora and Hellgondo, must've been better than this.

They say that in the past, before the Great Disaster, slimes used to inhabit caves all around the world… Nowadays, we can live just about anywhere.

Except… I've heard that some slimes still choose to live in caves regardless… Who in their right mind would want to live in a cave? It makes no sense…

Bunni was kneeling in some dirt when Lime and her friend came around. She was drawing something. Lime could just about make it out.

It was a boy, she thought. With a cape and a sword, and a squiggly line for a cruel smile. Above the drawing was the name, "Enemy Number One".

It must be that boy from earlier.

"His name is Luka," Lime said. "I've talked to him a few times before… He's not that bad once you get to know him."

"He attacked us!" Bunni said, rubbing out the words and replacing them with "Luka, enemy of all slimes".

"Well, to be fair… We kidnapped one of his friends…"

"Then he should've known we were just hungry! It's not like we were going to hurt him! And besides, if he cared that much, why didn't he just offer himself up instead?" Bunni pointed out.

"Hm. That's a good point… Still, I don't think what we did was right…" Lime softly murmured.

Bunni sighed. "I guess… But what else were we supposed to do, starve?"

Lime brought her hand up to her chin. "Hmm… I've heard that Iliasburg has a thing called a 'brothel'. Supposedly we can get as much food as we want there! Heck, we can even get paid for it!"

Bunni looked ecstatic. "Really!? Does such a thing truly exist!?"

"Well, there's no point standing around here! Let's go find out!" Lime shouted.

And so, the three slimes ran outside with all the haste they could muster. Iliasburg wasn't far, a day or so of travel.

A few hours passed. The energy from before was waning, but the group pushed on nevertheless. Dawn had turned to dusk, as it had every day. It was harder to see in the darkness, but with Bunni leading them, they had no issues.

"Huh? What's that smell…?"

Bunni stopped in her tracks. Lime smelt it too. It was delicious… the best thing she had ever smelt. Suddenly, hunger hit her. She hadn't eaten all day.

"...Let's go check that out," Bunni said. Her two friends kept close as they made their way to the source.

In the distance, through the woods, they could see a small fire with a pot over it. There were four figures huddled near it.

"Shouldn't we turn back?" Lime asked.

Bunni shook her head. "No… I see him, look."

The pink slime pointed at one of the figures. When Lime squinted her eyes, she could just about make him out. It was the same boy who attacked them on the mountain.

"Let's go," Lime said, holding her friend's shoulder. "There's four of them now, what if they attack us again?"

"No, we have the element of surprise this time. We'll take the boy first, get our revenge and then… Hmm, I guess we'll just take him with us. You two can deal with the others."

"Psst, what are yous up to?"

Bunni jumped back. Out of the darkness, a purple-haired rabbit monster approached. "No need to be scared." She said. "It's just a bit strange to spy on people like that, you know?"

"W-Who are you?" Lime asked.

"Little old me? I'm nobody… You on the other hand, your Lime, right? I remember you… And you, your name is Bunni, isn't it?" White Rabbit asked. She turned towards the last member. "And you… Hmm, I don't know actually… Maybe you never got a name."

"Eh? My name is—"

"Doesn't matter!" The rabbit girl said. "Now, what were you guys up to?"

Bunni stuttered out a response. "W-Well, that boy attacked us earlier, so we were planning to take our revenge."

"Luka? Attacking monsters out of the blue? Nothing new about that…"

"You know him?" Bunni asked.

"Better than you could ever imagine… Or at least, I did… But something is different this time. He's done something he shouldn't have, something that shouldn't have been possible in the first place…"

"Uh… So, why are you here?" Lime asked. The monster didn't respond. Instead, she continued to stare at the purple-haired boy. After a few seconds, she sighed. A portal opened up behind her and she jumped in.

Bunni was speechless. "...What the heck just happened?"

"I don't know…" Lime said. "Anyway, I think we should just ask Luka for some of the food. I know he hurt us but… I can forgive him. Besides, it couldn't hurt to just ask!"

Bunni pondered the idea for a moment. "I suppose… But if he thinks he'll get away with it he's dead wrong! I'll be sure to punish him… somehow…"

That was good enough for Lime. The trio of slimes moved in, making their presence known as they appeared before the group.

Luka was the first to react. He rose, keeping one hand on the hilt of his sword as he looked at the newcomers.

"Relax!" Lime shouted. "It's okay, we come in peace! We don't want to fight."

"It's you guys again, from the mountain," Alice said. "What are you doing all the way out here?"

"We were heading to Iliasburg," Bunni said.

"So are we." Luka took his hand away from his sword. He noticed that one of the two blue slimes was eyeing his food. It wasn't quite done, and he had only made enough for four people…

Well, they can just have my portion. I can always make more later.

"Do you want some?" He asked. The slime eagerly nodded.

Luka patted the ground beside him, signalling for the slime to sit. "Well, it's not quite ready just yet, but you can have some when it's done."

Lime approached with a wide smile. "Puru, thanks!"

Puru…?

When the meal was done, Luka divided his share between the three slimes. It wasn't much, but Sonya also chipped in a bit. Alice and Ilias on the other hand were not so giving.

Bunni kept her eyes on Luka as she dissolved her meal. The boy was being kind… too kind… He had to be up to something, she thought.

And he touched my core! You don't just touch someone's core and get away with it! I'll show him…

"You were in the wrong, you know? Earlier, back on the mountain."

The pink slime turned towards the lamia sitting across from her.

I saw her earlier too, with the boy…

"He attacked me!" Bunni pointed out.

"And you kidnapped one of his friends. Of course he was going to try to get him back. Why did you even kidnap that man in the first place?" Alice asked.

Bunni was pouting by the time she answered. "I was hungry, and he was the only man around…"

"...You know you can just buy semen, right? Monsters have been coexisting on this continent for decades now. I'm sure they sell it somewhere, even in human villages."

"Oh…" Bunni frowned. "Well, I didn't know that."

Alice crossed her arms. It's monsters like you that give us a bad name, she thought, but didn't say aloud. Tamamo taught her better than that.

A short silence passed over the group. Luka was almost done with making the second round of soup for them.

"Luka," Ilias began. "I want another bowl."

"Another one!? I just gave you one only a moment ago!" Luka pointed out.

I can't believe the goddess is such a glutton…

Inside, Ilias was fuming, but it was not befitting of a goddess to express her anger at Luka's comments. She also noted that he had a complete lack of respect when he spoke to her. Clearly, she would need to correct such behaviour.

Haah… I'm sure if I had all my power he'd speak to me like a goddess…

Alice slithered next to the hero. "Is it done yet?"

"You too? I haven't even had any yet!"

At this rate, I'm going to run out of ingredients… and it's only the first night. I guess I'll have to stock up in Iliasburg.

Luka sighed as he filled up three more bowls. He gave one to Ilias, one to Alice, and shared the rest with the others. It seemed he would go hungry tonight.

Thankfully, he had some spare rations to snack on for the night. They didn't taste great, but it was better than nothing.

"Hey, Luka. You're going to Iliasburg as well, right?" Lime asked. The boy nodded. "That's great! Hey, how's the adventure going so far?"

Luka shrugged. "It's only just started, to be honest… Hey, speaking of, do you want to come with us, Lime?"

"I can come? Really!?"

Ilias stood up. "Wait a second, I can only deal with one monster coming along with us! I won't stand for this!"

Lime tilted her head. "But you're standing right now?"

"I obviously don't mean it literally you stupid piece of goo!"

"Don't say that, Ilias! That's not nice at all!" Luka said.

"Hey, idiots. Stop fighting." Alice spoke up. "She doesn't actually have to come with us directly… Besides, walking around in a group bigger than four seems like a hassle. Instead, she can just stay in this."

The small Monster Lord held a miniature castle in her hand. "And what's that supposed to be?" Ilias asked.

"It's the Pocket Monster Lord's Castle, or Pocket Castle for short," Alice explained. "It's magical. Look, I'll show you."

The lamia rose, slithering over to an empty patch of land. Most of the others followed.

"All you have to do is press this and then…"

Suddenly, all of them were pulled into the castle. Luka was amazed as he looked around. Either he shrunk or the castle got much bigger than before, but he didn't care. He knew magic was impressive, but he didn't know it could do something like this.

"Inside, we can leave anybody we pick up along the way," Alice said. "This way, we can swap out members whenever we want, and we'll always have a place to sleep."

Couldn't you have told me that before I set up the entire camp? We could've just camped in here!

Ah, whatever. Doesn't matter now.

"Hmph. I suppose this is somewhat impressive… for a monster." Ilias muttered.

Sonya couldn't believe what she was seeing. "To think something like this was even possible…"

Alice flashed a proud smile at the group's amazement. "As the Monster Lord, I shall allow you all to sleep here… even you, Ilias. See how nice I am?"

The monster's smile turned into a sly grin. "But first…" She slithered closer to the small goddess. "You have to say thank you!"

Ilias's eyebrows furrowed. "As if I would ever thank a monster! I'd rather die!"

Alice shrugged. "Oh well… I guess you'll be sleeping in the cold then."

The Goddess of Creation was fuming. "That's it, Alipheese. I've tried to play nice so far, but I can't deal with you for a second longer. I'll finally rid the world of your horrid bloodline once and for all!"

Luka ran over before the fight broke out. "Stop!" He said. "C'mon, Alice, just let her stay, won't you? Please?"

Alice frowned.

Tamamo would say I should just swallow my pride and be done with it… But would she say the same if she knew it was Ilias I was dealing with?

"Haah… Fine. You can stay."

Luka smiled. "Thank you, Alice."

"It's no big deal… Let's just go back." The small Monster Lord left the castle through the gate. Through some sort of bizarre magic, they were suddenly outside again. Luka didn't want to question how it all worked. He probably wouldn't have understood it all anyway.

Once they made their way back to the campsite, Luka noticed something peculiar. "Huh? Where did Bunni go? And Lime? And the other one?"

"Luka, watch out!" Sonya shouted. From behind, three slimes charged at the boy. He was too slow to react, and all three quickly piled on top of him.

"Hehe, sorry Luka!" Lime said. "But you shouldn't have let your guard down!"

"Argh, get off of me!" Luka pushed and pushed, but the mass of slime was heavier than he could've ever hoped to move.

Sonya's club came down with all the fury she could muster, bonking the blue slime on the head. Her club actually passed through the slime, but it seemed to still hurt her.

"Ow, ow, ow! What are you doing, human!?" Lime looked close to tears. "That really hurt!"

Bunni looked furious. "Hey, what's with you guys and hurting Lime!? She did nothing to you!"

"You are literally trying to rape Luka!" Sonya pointed out.

"What!? No, we're not!" Bunni said. "We're just getting revenge."

"By raping him!"

"No, we're not!"

Alice couldn't bear to watch the 'battle' unfold any longer. "...Wait, did you plan to take revenge by… pushing Luka over?"

Bunni turned to the lamia. "...Well, when you say it out loud like that, it sounds dumb."

"Typical monster," Ilias muttered, but no one seemed to hear her.

Alice yawned. "Well, you've got your revenge now. Can we just go to sleep? I'm tired."

Lime yawned as well. "I guess…" The blue slime turned to Luka, who was trying to wipe all the sticky slime off of himself. "...Sorry… Is that deal still on?"

"For you to join us? …I suppose, but only if you promise to not attack me anymore!" Luka said.

"Sounds fair to me!"

"Hey, what's this about you joining him? He's the enemy!" Bunni pointed out.

"Not any more. We got our revenge already, didn't we?"

"I guess… In that case, I'm coming along too!"

"Me three!" The other slime said.

Alice sighed. She had to be the one to break the news. "Yeah so… We only have the capacity to let in one blue slime right now…"

"Wah, really!? So what am I supposed to do!?" She asked.

"Don't worry, you can join the others back at the mountain! There's plenty of adventure to be had with them!" Lime said.

"Ah, you're right!"

"An IQ of seven…" Ilias murmured. She was now far away from the group, huddled up in one of the bed sheets.

Luka and the others sat back down. It had been a long night, and all any of them wanted to do was sleep.

"Hm, before going to bed, why don't I teach you a sword skill?" Alice asked. "The monsters we face from now on are going to be far stronger than Bunni or Lime."

"Really? That's so kind of you, Alice! Of course, I'd be glad to learn." Luka said.

"Wait a second!" Ilias came storming out of her tent. "There's no way my hero is going to learn skills from a monster of all people!"

"I've had enough of you!" Alice said. "He has to learn skills from one of us, and I doubt you can even swing a sword with those tiny arms!"

Ilias was taken aback. "You're one to talk, you know! I've lived for millions of years! I know how to swing a damn sword!"

"Would you two cut it out already!? You're going to wake up Sonya… and none of us want to be around when that happens, believe me…" Luka shuddered from the horrible memories. "Anyway, why don't you both just teach me?"

Ilias sighed. "Hmph. Well, once you see how much better my skills are, we can finally ditch that lamia once and for all."

"As if! Once he sees what a terrible teacher you are, Luka will leave you here in the dirt!"

…Is this what my whole journey is going to be like? Nothing but them shouting at each other…?

Argh, I'm already getting a headache from listening to them… Let's just get this over with…

Luka was exhausted by the time it was over. Neither Ilias nor Alice were impressed, to say the least. He mimicked their skills, sure, but they both doubted he gained much from the exercise.

Perhaps trying to learn both at once is too much for him…

Ilias sighed.

Getting to heaven will be impossible if he's like this… I can't believe Heinrich's descendant is so useless with a sword! How hard can it be to learn holy magic anyway?

Speaking of… Should I tell him that he's part angel…? It would certainly make the journey easier…

No… that might be worse. Him dying from the corrosion wouldn't do.

The Goddess of Creation yawned as she entered her tent. It had been a long, long day for the goddess. All she wanted was to go to sleep, and when she woke, perhaps she would be back on her throne…

Alipheese, on the other hand, was not giving up just yet. "C'mon, Luka! Just do it already!"

Luka had his hands on his knees, gasping for breath. "I-I'm trying…" He said. "It's a lot harder than it looks!"

Alice rolled her eyes. For a brief moment, she empathised with Tamamo, who was Alice's mentor when she was young.

I didn't know teaching was this hard… I thought he'd just, you know, do it… Haah, perhaps another method…?

Alice brought her hand up to her chin.

He can do the move, but only once in every ten attempts…

Hmm, what would Tamamo do?

I don't know… Normally a reward system would help encourage the student but… Honestly, I'm too tired for that.

I guess we'll have to pick this up later.

Hmm, It doesn't matter too much anyway. I'll give him Angel Halo later… that should make him strong enough to beat any monster, at least on this continent.

"Luka, that's enough… I suppose it is unrealistic to think you could learn both techniques in a single night. We can try again tomorrow."

Luka wiped the sweat from his brow. "Alright…" He huffed, a bit disappointed in himself.

The pair walked back to the campfire. Lime and Bunni were both asleep in the Pocket Castle, which meant it was just them tonight.

Luka looked at the empty pot. "Are you still hungry, Alice?"

The lamia lightly nodded. Using the last of his ingredients, the boy started to cook up another two portions of soup. As he waited for the water to boil, he looked up at the stars twinkling above.

…Father, are you out there somewhere? Are you also looking up at the sky…?

…

"So, Alice… What happened to you? I don't mean to be rude but, I doubt the Monster Lord could really be as young as you look."

Alice nodded. "You're correct… I used to be taller. Much taller… A few days ago, I was sitting on my throne. All of a sudden, that rabbit girl I was talking about showed up and sealed me… somehow. She's a lot stronger than she looked…"

The Monster Lord sighed. "I started to chase her down, but in the blink of an eye we were no longer in Hellgondo, but in a random field not far from here. She must've teleported me here… but why…? It doesn't make any sense…"

Luka tried to hide his confusion. "I see… So that's who you were looking for earlier."

The boy smiled. "Well, I'd be glad to help you find her. She's got to be around here somewhere, right?"

Alice returned the smile. "Yeah… thanks, Luka."

But little did either of them know, the rabbit girl they spoke of was much closer than they thought. She sighed, unsure of what to do now. A choice had been made, one that shouldn't have been possible in the first place. And she had no idea what she should do about it.

Notes

To be clear, no, this won't be a simple retelling of Paradox. Luka's choice has made him step off the beaten path. The consequences of this will reach far and wide… But they may take a while to get to.