"Ok… Before we go in, may I ask why you want to assist to this?"
"I am not interested in starting any conflict if this is what concerns you. I am merely interested to learn about how the angels in this world proceed, and see if whatever intelligence I acquire can be applied back in our world to give us an edge against them. The smallest hint of knowledge can be a valuable weapon after all."
"Fair enough I guess… What about you?"
"Same, also I'm getting bored and looking for anything that could be remotely fun."
"I'm… Not sure it would be a good idea for you to come then."
"Mh. Maybe I should play with those angels around then. Or get back in Grand Noah and visit our common friend."
"Alright, alright, you can come in. Just, please, don't make any stories…"
"Kuhuhu…"
They better show up soon. I can only be so much magnanimous.
Ilias was waiting at the bottom of the Hall of Creation, unaffected by the cold air filling the hallways. She had initially intended to send a message to the Pocket Castle, but one of those damn monsters had apparently ruined the place out of curiosity. Instead, she had to rely on one of the angels that had joined the hero to pass the new.
It had already been a few hours, and the hero still hadn't shown up. She didn't expect of him to drop whatever (or whoever) he was doing instantly for her sake, but she was getting more and more impatient. Sure, there were some rumors that the major capitals had been attacked by a bunch of mimics, but they shouldn't have taken so much of his time to take care of.
Actually, it makes too much sense. He would naturally grow weak without my guidance, and then even the wimpiest of monster would be a challenge. How did he even pull through with that gluttonous bimbo of a snake at his side?
Granted, she herself had come to rely on two monsters she had named Puruel and Inuel. They had respectively started as a very weak slime girl and a barely stronger dog girl, but under her enlightened guidance they had grown powerful enough to be able to cross the whole continent without the fear of being attacked by local angels. Ilias herself was frothing as she remembered how those that should have been her subordinates had treated her as a pretender, insulting Her Light. Her companions had given them a lesson that would stick in their mind for a long time.
She heard some commotion on the floor above hers. Good, it looked like the hero had arrived with his companions. She mustered the biggest, most insincere smile she could and waited a bit longer.
The hero soon showed, without kneeling or even smiling in front of her. He merely greeted her from afar like one would greet a random acquaintance rather than their goddess. Right afterward, Hakunen and Gob showed up. While the small goblin girl was positively enraptured by the shining reflections omnipresent on the ice covering the walls, Hakunen's face was flushed, and the monk boy looked exhausted.
Then the last two members of Luka's group showed up. She fell one of her vein pop on her forehead when they entered, even as she kept smiling.
Really? He had two bring two succubi to accompany him? Look at that one throwing those globes of fat around! Having glasses don't make you a scholar, and neither does looking at lewd books all day! And that other one… You look way too young for that outfit, even Tamamo looks reasonably dressed in comparison! Oh sweet me… I just complimented that devious fox hag! It's Luka's fault! Is he serious? Does he even… hurgh, I don't want to think about how he's going to debase himself with them afterward. Let's get this over with before I get a headache. It's only because he has gathered that ridiculous army that I help him.
"I am glad that you have come here, I have been waiting for you…" Ilias kept her teeth gritted as she welcomed the group.
"Sorry, we had to deal with a small infestation back home." Luka bowed respectfully. Great, he at least remembered some basic courtesy… "Now, can you tell us more about this new job?"
Ilias subtly took a good look at the hero's party, trying to gauge the power level of Vinum and Mysteltainn. She had the biggest difficulties suppressing her rising fear. Messing with those two would definitively lead to a curb stomp battle with her being on the wrong end.
What kind of dark pact did you pass with those two whores to have them accompany you?
"I heard that you have recently interacted with several unknown individuals. At that time, my attention was drawn toward a particular technique from another world."
"…Wait, first, how do you know that? Did you spy on us?"
Ilias made a dismissive gesture. "Don't be ridiculous. Spying would be an affront to my reputation."
"…I slipped into your party when nobody was looking."
Ilias went wide-eyed and noticed Vinum's glowing eyes as the succubus was looking at her fellow Inuel. The dog girl was happily wagging her tail while the small succubus was petting her with an evil grin.
"Kuhuhu… Good girl… Messing with people is still so fun, isn't it?"
Ilias gulped loudly. "Luka… would you kindly ask your… partners not to use demon eyes on my followers?"
"Would you kindly not repeatedly lie to everyone?" Luka sighed. "Let's just forget that and move on."
Do you really think I will just forget it? I should leave you and those skanks in the dark! It's really because you're the biggest chance this world that I tolerate such impudence!
…It's certainly not because they scare me or anything close…
"Vinum, would you please not mess with our partners?" Mysteltainn repositioned her glasses. "You might not actually care, but I really wish to see an angel in the work." She turned toward Ilias. "Please, continue. Tell us which skills of our brought your attention."
A reasonable succubus… This feels so wrong. At least I'm not the one having to count on them.
Ilias cleared her throat. "That technique would be Sorcery. Now then Hakunen, may I ask you to provide a brief explanation of what sorcery is?"
"Heeeh?" The monk boy stumbled a bit. Was he drunk?
"Since I'm talking about a skill you actively used in the past, I was thinking that you would be apt to explain us how this exactly works."
Although I'm wondering how you ever learned anything from a monster who keep getting you drunk. Wait… That smell… HE IS NOT DRUNK ! HURGH, SERIOUSLY?! HE COULD AT LEAST HAVE TAKEN A BATH AFTER THAT QUEEN WHORE HAD HER WAY WITH HIM!
Vinum sighed, and, with a pout of displeasure on her face, she made her way to the seemingly inebriated man. She punched him in the back, and the monk boy straightened himself instantly as if nothing had happened.
"Sorcery is a technique that utilizes the skills of youkai. Despite having a human body, I can master skills that humans wouldn't learn naturally. By witnessing a youkai's skill, I can use it as my own... Those are the abilities of a sorcerer."
Ilias smiled. "So it's just like that... As a matter of fact, I have researched something similar in the past. It was an angel prototype that could master the abilities of monsters, despite being an angel. However, it went berserk and we did not obtain satisfactory results. The plan was abandoned, and I gave up on copying monster skills." She enthusiastically smiled, although deep down she felt ashamed that someone beat her to the punch. "But now I have the actualized form right before me! I speak of you, Hakunen!"
"H-huuuh...?"
Vinum prepared to punch him in the back again, but Mysteltainn held her back.
"My Ilias Eye has already finished its analysis. It should be possible to emulate the abilities of a sorcerer in this world. Now then, we should be set... With the prefacing out of the way, I shall commence the ceremony for registering the new job."
A few symbols appeared in the air as Ilias was talking. They started moving around following precise patterns, while she continued almost chanting.
"Access job registration list... Start registration of new job... Set the data for the sorcerer, write the entry... Okay, it is done."
The runes disappeared without fanfare. The whole process had lasted barely a few seconds.
"…That was underwhelming." Mysteltainn repositioned her glasses. "Did it even work?"
Aaaaarrrghhh, what is it with those fake scholars that keep repositioning their glasses?!
"I am the legendary goddess who created this system! Of course, it worked, and it is natural for me to be able to work on it so easily!" She looked down on Hakunen, her gaze filled with divine wrath as she had completely lost her patience. "Now then, the sorcerer job has been applied to this world. Do you feel anything, Hakunen...?"
"There's… a weird feeling. I feel my experience from my own world just like when I touched that job book, but it's as if they were blocked."
Ilias frowned. "Strange. There aren't many people with the ability to impede me. And currently even less that have both the reason and the skill to do so right now… Maybe that damn White Rabbit? I can't imagine her reasons though…"
Luka passed both of his hands over his face. "Yeah… About that…"
"TADAAAaaahaaaa! IiiiiiTCH ME! ZE WAITE RABBEET!"
A familiar white lagomorph popped from thin air and jumped so high that she almost hit the ceiling. She then landed flat on her stomach, and needed several tries to stand up under Ilias' dumbfounded gaze.
"Woow… the flow of mana shuuure is something weird here…" She brought a finger to her face. "Mmmh… I wonder if I can…"
Ilias needed several tries before managing to form a coherent sentence. "White Rabbit? What is the meaning of this?! Why are you preventing me from helping the hero now?!"
The strange monster leaned over and brought a finger in front oher mouth. "Shush… I'm thinkiiiiing… Mmmmh…"
Ilias checked on Luka and his party. Vinum was cracking her knuckles while both the hero and Mysteltainn had their swords at the ready. Even Gob and Hakunen were glaring at the newcomer. The strange monster stepped closer to Ilias, still leaning forward. The goddess saw an unpleasant light in the eye of the White Rabbit. She remained immobile, slightly afraid of the monster's next move. When she got as close as decency allowed, she pouted.
"Mmmh… not like that… I should change back first."
A flash of light temporarily blinded the goddess, and, when she recovered, the White Rabbit had been replaced by a tall purple kitsune who was wearing an outfit more fitting for a succubus. She also had a lewd expression like the Goddess of Light rarely saw.
"I will pamper you until you melt, I'm suuure you will love it!"
Oh sweet light! Tamamo and Lilith actually had a hidden child, and she's coming for me! Hurgh, that smell of sex and alcohol! There is no doubt only those two could birth such a debauched abomination!
Fortunately for the small goddess, a chain spawning from nowhere pulled the kitsune back near Vinum and Gob who punched her across the room. More chains pinned her to the wall. She whined, her head bobbing around.
"Come ooon… Don't you want to have fun instead of that boring stuff?"
"No. Back to Tamamo it is."
The kitsune blew an uncharacteristically graceless raspberry into the hero's direction before transforming again into the White Rabbit, freeing herself of the chains binding her in the process.
"I'm off in a place where they know to have fun then! Toodleees!"
She spun around like a top and disappeared in a few sparkles. Luka sighed and resumed massaging his face.
"So much for improving herself… I guess I'll ask Mephisto or someone else to track her."
"She teleported in another dimension entirely. The skills of this White Rabbit are extremely curious indeed…"
Luka groaned. "It's even worse… She'll come back with trouble on her tails."
Ilias herself was still frozen in shock. Giving those people access to her creation might have been a horrible, horrible idea. She even wished that she actually failed, but Hakunen's behavior told the opposite.
"Wait… I now feel different. It's as if I can use that punch Gob did just by seeing it!"
Ilias jumped on the opportunity to steer this dialog back in her direction.
"It looks like your experience in your world transferred in this one as well. You're a full-fledged sorcerer that can learn skills during battle by seeing them. However, only certain skills can be learned that way."
"Mmh. I wonder if I could actually teach Myusca something different… How do we know which skills sorcerers can learn?"
Ilias shrugged as she handed Luka the related job item. "You will have to test around."
"I see. Then I guess we should try finding a good target for practice." Vinum closed her eyes and smiled. "You wouldn't happen to be interested?"
I HAVE TO GET OUT OF HERE NOW!
In a heartbeat, Ilias and her two companions had teleported back in Snow Heaven. The small goddess seized her chest and almost collapsed as she felt her heart palpitating. She only held thank to the support of her fellow Inuel and Puruel.
What an abominable monster… She could give Lilith a run for her money! And Luka tolerates her because… Hurgh, all the reasons I can think of are disgusting!
Why did I give them this power?! There's no way they are not going to misuse it!
Bah! They're probably going to forget it soon enough…
"…Did you purposefully word your request so poorly?"
Vinum smirked. "Maybe." She corrected herself when she saw everyone looking skeptically at her. "No. But someone who flees at the first sign of trouble doesn't deserve to call herself a legendary goddess."
Mysteltainn nodded approvingly. Luka wisely decided to let go. The small succubus started strolling toward the exit.
"I will see if my fellow teachers are interested in further researching sorcery. I will also inform them about Daji's shenanigans. She turned back and haughtily looked down on the remainder of the party. "Consider it my thanks for showing an entertaining lesson."
Too generous of her…
Gob shrugged the succubus departure. "Welp, I'm still on vacations so I guess I'll go back to Yamatai… see you there!"
"Wait for me!"
Gob and Hakunen both left the temple running in a racing contest that Luka couldn't dream of equaling. Mysteltainn once again repositioned her glasses and sighed.
"Even if the result was disappointing for the inconvenience, let me thank you for accepting our presence. I'm well aware that those angels dislike succubi, and yet I did ask to come… I apologize, I need a drink and a good book. Far from everyone else."
"Me too…"
Wait… where can I actually invite her for a nice evening? Ilias Village is out of the question for obvious reasons, Morrigan has her brothel and cohorts in Iliasburg, it's out of question to bring her to one of the slums, the Queen Harpy will definitively try something if I go anywhere in the eastern part of the Ilias Continent, mermaids will hit on me if I go in Port Natalia, Eden is in San Ilia and becomes berserk each time she sees a succubus near me, Sara will tattle Sonya, uncle Lazarus will do the same if I go in Grandeur, Alma Elma treats Grand Noah as her turf, I better keep away from Tamamo, and I can't step in a village in the Gold Region without being molested. Why did I have to recruit so many allies? There's not a secluded, relaxed spot that comes to mind! Unless…
"In that case, may I invite you? There's a nice city in another dimension where nobody should disturb us."
Mysteltainn smirked. "A city in another dimension? You have my curiosity… Is there anything interesting there besides the tranquility inherent to being far away from everyone?"
"It was a city at the apex of research at its time. It's a place that harbors knowledge that has been lost today."
"And now you have my attention… Fufufu, is that what you were planning for all along, sweet child?"
"…Yes."
Far away, someone was patiently waiting hidden under the sands that made for her home, unburdened by the events that transpired in the Hall of Creation a whole dimension away. She was just relaxing herself, the extremely thin ocular organs she deployed over the sand keeping an eye on everything that could make for either entertainment or a meal. From her dune, she could see any movement from miles ahead.
So she was extremely surprised when a white rabbit spawned out of nowhere to land right in front of her on her posterior. She remained still even as the lagomorphs drunkenly cleaned her posterior and stumbled around, displeased.
"Heeey… This is not where the fun begins… Why did I land here in the first place? Huuh, I'm too tired to teleport again… I guess I'll go there on foot."
Strange… She took on the design of the arbiter, and yet, there are several mismatches down to the genetic level. Maybe Tamamo or Minagi would be able to tell more. Is this another arbiter? I didn't know someone could copy, let even assume her form. Has she been compromised?
Mmmh… They can wait. I wonder what kitsune-stuffed rabbit marinated in Yamatai sake tastes like… They probably won't mind if I take just a small bite.
"Lalalala… Weeeeee!" Daji turned White Rabbit drunkenly started tumbling down a dune.
…Is she really going straight in my maw? Lunch is served.
The sand at the bottom of the dune disappeared to make way for a tooth-filled maw, which didn't escape the drunken monster who reflexively attempted to stop herself from sliding further down in this unpleasant destination. The disguised monster used a time spell which froze the sand around her.
"Phew… Ok, I guess that's enough fun. Let's-"
The whole dune erupted to reveal a tentacle-covered eldritch abomination that seemed to count countless maws. The lagomorphs turned deathly white at this sight, and completely froze as tentacles seized her to bring her to a hole filled with way too many sharp teeth to her taste. She only disappeared when she was a few inches of the gaping abyss. Her aggressor checked her surroundings for a moment, and, once she was sure her quarry had disappeared, she wallowed back in the sand to camouflage in a dune again.
Welp… foxes or rabbits, both are evasive. Back to waiting I guess.
The large monster slipped under the sand with a surprising grace and spent a few moments shifting around to rearrange the sand around her. When she was done, there wasn't a sign of her presence.
When Daji reappeared on a stone platform drifting through the void, she instantly collapsed on all four and was dry-heaving while being periodically shaken by spasms. "Was that what the incredibly vague memory of a gourmet sand octopus was about? I wished I was aware of THAT earlier. I don't want to know what kind of twisted body would birth someone like her." She calmed herself. "I don't think I ever sobered up from a party that fast. Fortunately nobody saw that."
She sat herself cross-legged and meditated for a short moment. The memories she got from the White Rabbit were a complete and utter mess because of her unusual nature, and she always thought she could compensate any weakness with her own memories and skills. Her overconfidence had repeatedly proved dangerous. She had let slip one information too many to Kazuya which broke her cover, then she had been faced with the power of the heroes which had proved threatening, even to her might. Then she had the idea to play around a bit more which led to the destruction of the Pocket Castle followed by her near-death at the hands of another Monster Lord. She had only survived thanks to the heroes chasing after her.
"This world is a bit too spicy on my own..."
She also had no doubt that everybody would be out for her blood: She had repeatedly shown herself as unreliable as one could be by destroying whatever belonged to the hero out of fun. She then had spared no opportunity teasing that little kitsune before nearly breaking her world even as it was clear she was respected by everyone, while she herself had proved as unreliable as one could be. A picture of her head cut placed in a front of a white flag crossed her mind.
"I am going to need a huge bargaining token to get back in their good grace, and that body may not be enough…"
"Then get them the Pocket Castle back."
Daji turned around in surprise and noticed the black scythe-wielding caped silhouette approaching her from behind. While she could neither feel any hostility nor even power from her, she remained on her guards. The only positive side she saw at her current situation is that she knew who she was talking to thanks to the memories of the White Rabbit. She humbly bowed.
"Greetings to the one master of Hades and death… May I know why you would offer your help to a humble traveler from another world?"
"Spare me the flattery." Reaper kept her usual neutral expression. "While I intended to stick to my initial task, I reconsidered my position after the recent flow of events." Her expression turned into a subtle frown. "Events that you directly started and will fix. Between what you absorbed from the White Rabbit and your own power, you are able to bring one Pocket Castle back from one of the multitude of dimensions that were abandoned. And once done, remain by the hero's side. He will need all the help available. Now go."
Not wanting to look a gift horse in the mouth, Daji instantly transformed into the White Rabbit and teleported away, if only to clear away from Reaper.
I'm really starting to regret letting myself join this party… Bah! In a few days and with a little legwork, I'm sure I'll be mostly forgiven. Now where can I find this Pocket Castle? The fewer dimensions I have to directly explore the better.
Mmh… I imagine at least one of those frigid in the hero's army wrote down a handbook to keep track of their adventures. However, getting my hands on it will be another matter, unless I kindly ask someone…
Reaper actively kept track of Daji's wanderings as the Nine-Tailed kitsune created herself more trouble by seducing the royal commander of Sabasa when she could have gotten the information from San Ilia's library for free. A part of her wondered just how much the devious nine-tailed enjoyed getting in and out of conflicts.
Fortunately, she settled on getting the artifact from the first dimension Luka ever visited. Even after they had ravaged the whole place, angels had ignored the precious item, discarding it as a useless bauble. Reaper saw Daji grab the item on the ground in the ruins of the Monster Lord's Castle before returning into the hero's world. She then spent the remainder of the day getting her way through judicious use of flattery and sex to secure herself enough support to deliver the Pocket Castle to Mephisto and Tamamo without fear of retribution. Of course, her tryst with the man from Sabasa didn't went unnoticed, but they reluctantly ended accepting her bargain as she gave a Pocket Castle in exchange for being left alone by the two monsters. This didn't stop Sara, the princess of Sabasa, to seek out the kitsune in her succubus form for retribution that would have attracted every male's attention if it went public, leaving both of them utterly exhausted.
The avatar of death actually felt relieved as the situation apparently ended on this inconsequential note. Were all arbiters and observers as unreliable as these? Was she the actual exception amongst the likes of White Rabbit and her friend the Mad Hatter?
She returned back to focus on Luka. The hero was currently in an inn with Mysteltainn in the city of Remina, back in a time where Black Alice reigned supreme.
Five…
It was clear that the two of them had one drink too many. They were giggling occasionally as Mysteltainn was coaxing the hero back in their room.
Four…
The succubus closed the door leading to their room and deployed a soundproofing rune on the after playfully tossing the hero on the bed. Before he could get up, she pinned him with her thick thighs.
Three…
She started disrobing him with an expert hand. Reaper was slightly impressed by the fact that, considering how inebriated she apparently was, the succubus was retaining a clarity of mind and a dexterity that a lot of sober monsters could only dream of. Maybe this would actually end well…
The succubus made a small gesture toward her armor, and most of her outfit disappeared, leaving only her stockings and a few other ornaments. She leaned toward the hero with a lewd smile as chains appeared to attach him to the bed.
Two…
Mysteltainn's smile disappeared. "What did you just call me?"
One…
Against all common sense, the hero gave out his honest answer. "Mystictaint. Cause you're a thick mage, so a thick miss who's also a mystic and you also have a magical puss-"
Zero.
Mysteltainn's chains started draining the hero. Faster than the eye could observe, Luka was reduced to a dried up raisin with an ecstatic expression on his face. Even after being done, the succubus didn't part herself from her rage-filled frown. She dressed herself back and briskly left the inn, and only stopped herself when she was on its porch: she had no possibility of joining back the original world of the hero where her sisters livesd. She sighed, and decided that she could as well appreciate the tranquility of this world for now and look for a way back home later.
Of course, Reaper would instead make sure that she forgot about whatever happened in the inn and returned home with the hero after what was a nice visit.
The moment Luka appeared in Hades in his birthday suit, Reaper struck the top of his head from the back with the flat of his blade. The hero slowly massaged his cranium without looking back behind him and slowly dressed up before leaving without a word.
The avatar of death slowly exhaled. Maybe the world would find some measure of balance after the outbreak of catastrophes started by her fellow for a time. Deep down, however, she also knew that the hero would have to return on the road and have to face world-ending threats once again. And it wasn't considering his more questionable allies that were forcing their desires on him…
…As well as his questionable motive, common sense and intelligence. But he was a steadfast defender of the world… Most of the time. When he didn't gave in to his opponent's temptation. Or did something incredibly dumb that led to him getting sucked dry.
This world is truly doomed…