Jean slowly got up from his bed as he slowly started preparing for another day of work. As the owner of one of the famous food stands near the colosseum, he never had suffered any business issues whether the city was going through a period of peace or of turmoil. Even if the end of the world was upon them, the colosseum was always running, and business was always good for him as people flocked to get some food before watching a good show. The activity had been even more intense those last weeks after this incident involving the « Land of Night ». People flocked to the city to enjoy the shows given in the colosseum while exchanging salacious hearsays about the high number of succubi wandering around. And indeed, he had noticed himself that there were quite a lot more powerful monsters strolling through the city since then. Rumors were that they were all accompanying the legendary hero that had kept saving the city again and again, lucky guy… Maybe he could one day abandon it all himself and go on adventures, and get himself a harem…
Jean shook his head. He had to remain reasonable. He was just a man blessed with good wits and dexterous hands, and the best he could hope for was enjoying their company as customers. And asking them for extra payment was just a bad idea. When he reached his workplace, he saw two of his employees in a deep discussion.
"I'm telling you! Apparently, the hero disappeared because he got sucked dry by a succubus!"
"Pffft, it's completely ridiculous… He's just taking a rest far from celebrity, he wouldn't fall like that to one monster after fighting so many."
"…Have you seen the beauties accompanying him? All those succubi flocking around him like a harem? And some of them are incredibly powerful, why wouldn't he try to appreciate their company? And why wouldn't they suck him dry? We've seen Kyuba do almost worse in the arena!"
"He wouldn't die because his will is too strong to fall to a monster like that."
The first man sighed and looked down, defeated. Jean called out to his employees who returned to their work without further punishing them. He had heard a few of those rumors themselves, and he even had seen a few of those monsters make the occasional mess himself. However, it was clear that the hero and the different lords had a solid graps on them, since otherwise, well… The world would have already fallen a long time ago.
Wanting to separate himself from the dark, depressing thought, Jean made his way to the front of his store where a long line was already visibly waiting on the plaza. It looked like this would be another busy day… He started his sale just like any other time.
Troubles appeared with only the shortest of warning in the middle of the day. At first, there were only a few panicked echoes in a street at the other end of the city. However, they eventually got closer, and before he could get out of his store to see what was going on, his heart skipped a beat when he saw a magenta-haired scantily clad succubus archer landing in the middle of the plaza. She was elegantly moving around, and the man found himself hypnotized by her grace and shapely forms. She blew a raspberry in a direction above him.
"You won't catch me like that, you old hag!"
"YES I WILL, JUST STAND STILL!"
The next instant, a blue-haired succubus appeared in a crash just as her fellow jumped back to avoid her. If the first succubus had playful red eyes darting around like a kid in a candy store, this one had blue eyes glowing with pure fury.
"I'M HOLDING BACK ON TURNING ANYONE INTO DRY FISH TO NOT FURTHER WRECK THE WORLD! IT'S CERTAINLY NOT SO THAT MYUSCA-CHAN CAN GET HER FILL INSTEAD!"
The first succubus showed of her posterior in another taunt, incidentally hypnotizing every men and even most women present on the plaza. Her chaser snarled and charged her in an attempt to finally pin her, but Myusca shot her with an arrow that surprised her hunter and impaled her arm before exploding, blasting her limb in a cry of pain. The blue-haired succubus shortly fell on her knee while holding the steaming stump before regenerating her limb in a sickening crush, shaking herself and getting up while still glaring at the succubus.
"I suppose I'll have to pick up the slack for what the useless hag that tutored you missed earlier on!"
"Vinum won't be happy when she hears it!"
"SHE CAN TRY ME, I DON'T GIVE A FUCK!"
As both succubi charged each other under the population's aghast look, Jean started praying for divine help. It wasn't that he was a firm believer in Ilias, it's just that he was terrified to become a nameless victim of collateral damage.
And besides, weren't those two succubi both followers of the hero?
His prayer got an answer before his question, as a powerful-looking nude angel suddenly appeared from above the colosseum and glared at the two monsters.
"None shall harm the destined people of the goddess, for it is her will!"
The blue-haired succubus grinned. "Great Eden, now if you can help me immobilize Miss Fake Schoolgirl right here… Hey what are you doing? WAIT! WE'RE ON THE SAME TEAM!"
The angel bombarded both succubi with beams of light, and Jean was forced to raise his arm to protect his eyes as the light nearly blinded him. When the assault was over, the blue-haired succubus was fuming again while her original target was checking on her own singed hair with a pout of displeasure.
"I… Will… KILL YOU!"
The three warriors jumped at each other's throat even as the streets were finally emptying of any panicking onlookers while Jean himself barricaded his store. He couldn't see the fight, but he felt the impressive amount of energy deployed by the fighters. Simultaneously, he heard several customers and employees panic behind him, asking out loud what was going on and if those three really were companions of the hero that had saved the world.
Eventually, a more powerful explosion shook the building and destroyed most windows, making people scream in terror as everyone feared their end had finally come. However, as only an abrupt silence followed, Jean gave in to his curiosity and decided to check out the conclusion of the fight by himself. He tentatively opened the door with a trembling hand to assist to a spectacle of utter chaos.
The center of the plaza had been completely destroyed, its nigh-eternal stone pavement reduced to rubble as three unconscious silhouettes were resting in a crater at its very center. Several more people came for their hiding spot to gawk at the scene.
His mind kept repeating him the same things again and again: Those were companions of the hero. The people on which the hope of the world was currently resting. The ones on which their very existence depended. Those… The bickering of these beings nearly destroyed half the town. He felt a wave of despair sweep him aside as he realized how wrong he was about the hero. Maybe he was dead. Maybe he was alive. But he certainly didn't have the single smallest hint of control over his partners. This was a catastrophe.
Then suddenly, everything changed to return as it was before: The plaza was intact, there wasn't any unconscious body lying in the center of a crater, and all those damage had been repaired as if they never existed. Jean looked around him in confusion, and shrugged off the strange electrical sensation that was running through him. Did he just hallucinate what happened?
As he returned to his store, he almost ran into a large silhouette clad in black. The silhouette turned and he found himself face-to-face with the yoma Mephisto, who was soon joined by a huge spider and the succubus queen. Several expressions chained one after another on her face. Surprise, anger, curiosity, and, after examining the man until he started sweating, she bowed with a little smile.
"I apologize for pushing you. Have a nice day. Come, ladies. We still have work ahead of us."
The monstrous trio left on foot without any more word. Jean looked at their back wondering what just happened before returning to his store. His employees were currently all busy throwing away overcooked food while complaining about being distracted by some baseless rumor. Their boss himself was surprised by the scene. One employee failing a preparation was frequent, but all of them at the same time… Something big had to have happened. He suddenly felt heavily exhausted, as if his energy was leaving him. Why was everything feeling so wrong today?
He shrugged it off. None of this mattered. Back to work.
Serma was strolling through the network of caves under Solitary Island that made for the domain of the Spider Tribe. Hunting on the continent was currently incredibly hard, as an impressively high number of monsters was currently travelling through the world, helping the people in need in an attempt to attract the hero's attention and please him enough to bed him. She smirked: those lapdogs were free to do what they wanted, they were competing against each other and none of them would certainly get what they wanted. They were too many hunters for a single prey...
Even since Spider Princess and several of her fellows had left them to join the hero, the remainder of the tribe had fallen on hard times… They were forced to confine themselves into those caves, and while the difficulty to access them had been a boon for their tranquility, it was also a handicap since nobody accidentally wandered inside the caves located on an island in the middle of the ocean. She yearned for the opportunity to hunt actively again, as they could only get small critters in those caves, and even then, there were less and less around. This place was gradually turning into a prison where they would all starve.
As if to prove her wrong, her instinct picked up unusual vibrations echoing through the ground. One- no, two monsters had just entered the cavern. And those were young ones if their light, fast steps were any indications. Serma licked her lips in anticipation. It looked like she would have an opportunity to feast soon enough. She hesitated to call on more fellows to help her, but she decided against it as it would mean being forced to share her upcoming meal. She started weaving a complete, extremely tough trap at an impressive speed. As an arachne lord, her webbing was as tough as steel, as sticky as a tar pit, and as invisible as the wind. Satisfied with the result, she hid herself in a crevice higher in the cavern. After slightly more waiting, her victims appeared: Two young-looking, two-tailed kitsune showed up. A silver one wearing a ninja garb was answering questions a brown-haired one who was wearing a Taoist robe kept asking with an impressive regularity.
"But senior, why the place is called Solitary Island if there are several of them?"
"Huuuh… That's because it's only one island which is actually floating. And actually because monsters come here want to be alone! So they decided to go to this island… where they end up together."
"…This is weird, kitsu-nee. And this place is creepy. Why did we come here?"
"That's because there's supposedly still treasure the hero forgot, and if we search it for him, he will certainly be happy and reward us!"
"That is so smart, kitsu-nee! …But I still want to get out. This place is scary."
The arachne lord grimaced in front of so much candidness. They would learn their lesson soon enough…
Eventually, the silver kitsune ended up walking headfirst into the spider's trap. Serma grinned as she saw the fox monster's expression of confusion, and she silently started skittering toward her future prey at an impressive speed.
"Again? This is getting annoying!"
She slowed down slightly as the kitsune seemingly effortlessly tore apart her web with her bare hands, more inconvenienced when the spider expected her to panic. Serma prepared a time stop spell to incapacitate both of her targets, but before she could finish casting it, a talisman landed on her mouth and buried her in a landslide. Just as she recovered, the first fox-girl hit her like a cannonball, tossing her across a cavern like a broken puppet. She ended up upside down, barely conscious while looking at the two kitsunes that were still cleaning up themselves.
"That's the fourth one today… If mistress Nanabi was here, she would scold us for getting trapped so carelessly."
"Indeed Kitsu-nee."
She then heard one of them whine. "My new gi is stained nooow… She won't be happy with this."
"Indeed Kitsu-nee."
"Heurgh, let's hurry through this cavern and get back home. Those nice people in Iliasville said they were going to cook special desserts just for us!"
"Indeed Kitsu-nee."
As the two little foxes disappeared, Serma couldn't believe what just happened. Such weak looking monsters... That was going at the opposite of everything she knew in life! They should have been easy preys! And yet, they had wrecked her like nothing! What kind of training regimen had they been following under the hero to become so strong? Were all those that were following him so strong? As she heard some noises, she tossed around to end on her feet and saw several of her fellows looking as pathetic as her.
"They escaped you too?"
Serma weakly nodded. She could feel vibrations further down the cavern. By the looks of it, three spiders had attempted to ambush those damn foxes, with just as much success as her and her fellows.
"Let us hide and forget this day ever happened…"
As everyone slowly perambulated around, Serma started thinking back at the latest events… In hindsight, they had been extremely lucky to face friendlier monsters. What if those two had been just as cruel as the spiders themselves were? What if all those that followed the hero were just as much as almighty idiots as them?
Before she could further ponder the predicament they were in, she sensed more people coming from the entrance of the cavern. Her fellows didn't wait a second before skittering away in silence to join different hiding spots. Not before long, she started hearing a repeated metallic clanking sound and a shrill voice half shouting, half singing. She carefully peeked from her spot in an attempt to spot the source of the noise without being noticed. She saw a trio of lizardkin slowly coming in. One of them was hitting two blades against each other while screaming, while the two others were checking around them. They all looked powerful, and one of them had an undeniable aura of authority marking her as their leader.
"Spiiiiideeeeeeers! Come out to plaaaaaay!"
She felt her heart thump faster in her chest as the trio was getting closer and closer to her hiding spot, and she sighed in relief when they passed by her without noticing. With a little luck, they'd maybe even take care of those little kitsunes… Seemingly endless hours passed by as she waited for either group to return victorious of their fight, and she felt shocked when she saw the quintet walk side by side and discuss cordially.
"…So nobody has seen the hero since then and that treasure had been plundered weeks ago… Sorry kids, your little search was just a waste of time."
The two-tailed kitsune whined. "So we did all this for nothing…"
"Don't sweat it. Say, you don't want to come train with us? Gotta keep sharp, after all."
"Where to?"
"Snow Continent or the Devastated Plains. We didn't choose yet."
"I hate the cold."
"Yes, but even if we teleport as close as we can, we'll need nearly half a day to reach the Devastated Plains… Meanwhile we'll get into action almost as soon as we arrive on the Snow Continent."
"Let's go train on the Snow Continent then."
When the invaders left, Serma was frozen in fear. The Devastated Plains were off-limit as monsters there were too dangerous even for the strongly martial-oriented Spider Clan, while the only information that filtered from the Snow Continent was that there were angels able to end most yoma living there. And those five treated both as simple training grounds... If all of the companions of the hero were indeed like that…
The terrifying thought was almost enough to make her catatonic. She felt her energy leave her in despair, and, eventually, she fell asleep in her crevice.
"Our stocks are full. I'm sorry but I simply cannot accept any more of those items."
"What about those swords then?"
Helen looked at the large pile of sword that her interlocutor was pointing at. She didn't need to call in a blacksmith to examine them to guess that while they had seen some use, they were all of excellent facture. However, a single look behind her reminded the merchant that she already had a ton that was still not sold.
As a merchant in Grangold, she had considered the arrival of so many of the companions of the legendary hero a boon: Sales in necessities skyrocketed enough while they themselves brought rare equipment to sell likely found during their adventures. At first, she was elated to be able to buy so many items at a cheaper price while emptying her own stocks at an impressive rate, earning herself more than she ever dreamed of.
However, as time passed, those exotic swords they kept bringing in were so numerous they became commonplace and harder to sell. Just like her, her fellow merchants through the world were facing the same issues and were now stocking unwanted items which would have made each and any of them a king not so long ago… She also heard that in the Safina Region, the price of food had increased tenfold as a large number of gigantic and voracious monsters had temporarily taken residence there. It didn't look like Grangold was facing any comparable risk, but the fear was still present…
"We no longer can buy them either. Sorry, but maybe our local blacksmith would be more interested."
"I already checked with him." The elven amazoness in front of her packed her items and then bowed. "I'll see in another city then. Have a nice day."
Helen relaxed as the amazoness left. At least, this one had been nice… Some of the hero's companions had been a little more forceful when it came to selling something they no longer needed. Sometimes even threats had been brought on the table. After endless hours, she checked her result books and sighed. Another mixed day…
She returned to her home under the setting sun and tried to ignore the numerous moans and other squishing noise that seemed to echo from every darker street. Unfortunately, it was just a reminder that most of the companions of the hero were monsters, which meant more important physical needs and an extreme craving for company. She remembered more than one couple exploding in a violent quarrel after the man ended up in the company of one of them. Fortunately for her, her husband was more loyal than those dogs… Still, something had to be done for the smell and the noise in the streets…
Eventually, she reached her home to see her husband still in armor sleeping on the couch in their living room. She hesitated to disturb him, since as a guard of the castle of Grangold his job was exhausting and of utmost importance. However, she started frowning when a musky scent reached her nostrils. Curious, she got closer to her husband and examined him. Even if his job was exhausting, he never got asleep before she arrived. And besides, an unusual smell was permeating him. Did he actually cheat on her? A small voice answered in her head.
He has been hit on by a succubus repeatedly, but he didn't give in. It's actually impressive.
Without thinking, Helen moved back and left her husband alone as she locked the door to her house. She then grabbed a harpy feather and teleported to Succubus Village. Just after appearing in the village, she wandered off in the forest without a clear goal in mind, all under the stupefied looks of the locals. She only stopped moving when she felt an alarming amount of power not far down the path in front of her. A white-haired succubus wearing a tight black outfit was nervously checking around her while talking to herself.
"Ogretooth... where are you hiding... Oh, you didn't happen to see my sister?"
The merchant froze and stared at the large, sharp metallic blade that was adorning the succubus' arm. She gulped, and shook her head negatively. The succubus groaned as she looked around, but after an instant, her deep crimson eyes seemed to bore through her mind.
"Those are unusual eyes... Who are you?"
"Just a traveler from far away, passing through to see an old friend. Don't mind me." Helen was surprised by the clarity of her sentence. Even if her interrogator didn't look hostile in the slightest, she was terrified by her aura of power.
The succubus frowned. "I see... In that case, have a good day and- there you are!"
Helen felt a gust of wind pass by her, the shockwave almost making her deaf as a tree exploded into splinters. As the succubus in front of her disappeared, she slowly turned against her will to look at the scene behind her. Her interlocutor was trying to keep another succubus still.
"Come on, Ogretooth! It is for your own good!"
"No! I refuse to get anything like that near me!"
"Why are you so afraid of a small needle like that!"
"It's not the needle! It's the one who holds it! She creeps me out! THAT DAMN ANGEL SCIENTIST CREEPS ME THE FUCK OUT!"
"Tch. I didn't know you were a scaredy cat around someone so weak-looking."
"I don't care! Keep her away from me!"
"Fiiine, I'll take care of it then."
Helen was aghast. That second succubus was almost as powerful as the first, and yet... She was afraid of someone weaker than her because she was wearing a lab coat. She could bust down an army in a few minutes, but she sounded completely helpless against a small needle.
The merchant turned away and followed the road for a few minutes. Then completely ignoring her instinct asking her to be careful, she went of the beaten path.
"So what happened in Grangold?"
"Nothing that concerns you. Now shut up."
A fully focused Tamamo was carefully moving symbols while she was pouring every single bit of magic into them. Generating the Pocket Castle again from scratch was taking her longer than she expected, in no small thanks because of the sheer time and energy those small sideshows had actually taken from her. The interviews with the heroes had been interesting, but not half as conclusive as she hoped for, while the ones with the Nightmares and other Alliance members had all been insulting disasters at best. And then that conflict in Grangold ended with the risk of dying at the hands of an horribly powerful monster, then at the hands one of the companions of the hero when she got weakened as never before.
And after feeling saved thanks to the timely intervention of Alma Elma and a few others, she had the bad surprise to be visited by Est again. Granted, instead of leaving her drained and exhausted as she expected to, the Nightmare had displayed an impressive mastery of recovery magic that Tamamo got to thoroughly appreciate. She would still have preferred being left alone though.
All of those issues had contributed to make her mood absolutely terrible. She even carefully avoided any deal with the Kitsune Village, her friends, or her lieutenants out of fear that she would blow out at them. She considered the idea of going to the Tanuki Village to pass her nerves on their queen, but she didn't want to exhaust herself and lose even more time recovering again. This work was a priority over her petty desire of vengeance.
Her attention was caught by the sudden ringing of a silent, magical alarm. As she finished arranging the flying symbols in front of her, she checked an orb and saw a human female merchant wandering by, apparently completely lost if her confused expression was any indication. She opened a cupboard and grabbed several talismans as well as an unusual-looking scroll, amusing the still-imprisoned Daji.
"Do you really need so much preparation for just a human merchant?"
Tamamo answered with a glare.
"I thought that a fellow nine-tailed kitsune would know that not everything is what it looks like. I guess I was wrong."
Daji shrugged while Tamamo prepared to leave her den. She hesitated a short second before opening the door that would reveal its entrance, but she eventually decided that it didn't matter. Whoever brought that merchant here likely already knew about that place anyway.
She jumped up and ended a few meters in front of the woman that was clearly out of her mind. She took the scroll in her hands and steadied herself.
"I don't have time for any form of masquerade. Show yourself."
The woman collapsed while Tamamo found herself faced with another, more vicious version of herself that she was now too familiar with.
"Calm down, I only came here to discuss. We don't need to fight like two egomaniacs claiming the work of one another, do we? If you use that scroll, you might beat me but I'll be back before you'll have another one crafted again.
Tamamo narrowed her eyes. "Then tell me what you want."
Her counterpart from the world led by the Dark Goddess was showing an expression that Tamamo recognized all-too-well: she was about to do something she hated.
"I'll try to keep it short… As you would have guessed, I am currently spending a lot of time observing the world, both to make sure that those idiotic angels don't get too cocky, but also to get sure that the spread of chaosization is minimized... And as I observed, I couldn't help but notice a little mess happening."
"I already heard about the Land of Night. The hero dealt with it. I only kept out because I knew the Lilith Sisters and yourself would step in."
Her counterpart comprehendingly nodded. "Yes, yes, of course, but this is not what I was talking about… I'm talking about all his companions roaming around after that purple-haired fellow that has been in your custody accidentally destroyed the Pocket Castle, and the disasters they wrought with an alarming regularity..."
Tamamo raised an eyebrow in confusion. Her counterpart haughtily looked at her. "Do not attempt to play me for a fool. That show in Grangold even attracted the attention of my fellow Ancestors."
Tamamo nodded. Of course, those people watching from different world would have noticed. Such a massive signature was bound to attract attention, even from so far.
"Wait… By fellows you mean…"
"Yes. Minagi. Also. Did. SEE EVERYTHING!" Tamamo started fanning her face to hide her grin, which didn't fool her counterpart in the slightest. "Oooh, please, laugh as much as you want. She was already unbearable when the incident with the Land of Night happened and repeatedly expressed her desire to compete with Est, but with the appearance of that Pure White Devil, she had started binging so much that mother had sent Saja to rein her in!" The towering monster started fanning herself as well in an attempt to calm herself down, creating a weird mirroring scene.
"But while this disaster was adverted thanks to how fast you and a few of the smarter, more duty-bound companions of the hero reacted, other, minor ones keep brewing simply because of the mere presence of those four-hundred irresponsible clowns playing around. From disputes turning into city-wrecking conflicts to their sheer effort to train which creates a threatening economic imbalance without forgetting the damage on the nature they wreck in their games, they're currently responsible for an alarming number of woes in the world simply by virtue of no longer feeling constrained in the Pocket Castle…"
Tamamo was forced to recognize the point of her counterpart, no matter how much she hated her. "What do you offer then?"
"Simple. I offer you a truce, and I will even… help you repair that Pocket Castle so that those almighty idiots are contained as soon as possible. In the meantime, you make sure that they do as little damage as possible and have some of your local kitsunes give a hand if needed. Does it sound fair?"
Tamamo hesitated for a moment. The monster in front of her still wanted to destroy the world that she wanted to protect and was just as sly as her. It would be easy to hide a trap inside, but then again she herself could just as easily check the Pocket Castle afterward.
And besides… She had her own issues that she simply didn't have the time to deal with so far, in no small part because of the unexpected need to craft another Pocket Castle followed by all those incidents. That tanuki queen kept acting up, and Tamamo didn't afford a single second yet to check on the kitsune village.
Tamamo nodded. "Deal."
"Good. Also, please keep your succubus friend of the hero. We don't want him to be turned into a dry fish, do we?"
Tamamo smiled. "I'm confident in Alma Elma. She took a liking to him. She wouldn't harm him."
"You believe the succubus queen to not suck dry her partner?"
Tamamo nodded.
"You're more trustful than I am then. Now let me get started on that hunk of rock..."
As her counterpart entered her den, Tamamo couldn't help but feel a twinge of concern as she remembered pretty much telling Alma Elma that she was allowed to do as she wished with the hero… The succubus queen was one dangerous partner after all. However, she had visibly grown fond of him and was living with him and his companions. There was no way that she would suck him dry, if only because she would have to deal with his other companions afterward… Right?
Her fear getting the better of her, she decided to contact her fellow Heavenly Knight.
"Alma Elma? How's Luka doing?"
The voice of the succubus queen was unusually harsh as she asnwered. "He was doing fine the last time I saw him… He was pretty relaxed."
"Oh, good, I was starting to get concerned… You don't sound happier than that though. Did something happen since I left?"
"Well, apparently I wasn't enough for Luka-boy who decided to travel to Grand Noah. I don't know what happened here, I just saw him once discussing with that succubus who dresses as a schoolgirl… Hurgh, I am the Succubus Queen! It was already insulting to see Est getting gradually getting more popular than me in such a short time, now the hero I accompany is even looking elsewhere! Seriously-"
Tamamo nodded repeatedly, half listening to Alma Elma's rant until something clicked in her mind. "…Wait, dressed as what?"
In the middle of a platform drifting in the void, Luka was slowly dressing up under the completely static gaze of Reaper. While he avoided looking back, he wasn't blushing, and took the time to put on his armor and clothes again before stepping in in the circle that would bring him back to his world.
Just as he stepped on the other side, he recognized his small, hidden apartment in the city of Grand Noah. He made his way to his library, from which he pulled a small, brownish book. The name of every companion was written, with either a check mark or a cross on its side. He flipped several pages until he arrived near the end, and added a cross near Myusca's name before scratching his head.
Mmmh… I don't know if that Nemea will let me go afterward, but this Vinum certainly won't… Maybe I should check those Cursed Sword Sisters then.
…I wonder if I can request them all at the same time.