Since the hours of the early morning were always extremely calm in the Pocket Castle, Kazuya, Luka, Hakunen and Lest had decided to enjoy the unusual tranquility of the bar to relax. As Kazuya prepared different drinks behind the counter, they could appreciate discussing any matter without being interrupted every two seconds by a monster hitting on one of them. As Hakunen was appreciating a Yamatai tea, he opened the conversation on one of the reasons the place was so empty.
"So tournaments at the colosseum are only for girls? That's surprising."
"It's a special case." Luka took a sip of coffee. He never enjoyed the bitter taste of the drink, but he hoped that it could wash down the taste of the last concoction he drank. "There are almost always ongoing tournaments in the colosseum, and the queen and her advisors try to create special rules to make them more interesting. For this one, the rule is that the teams must must be all-female and pleasure attacks are forbidden. The goal is to show actual fighting skills. Luka sighed. "I guess that she's tired of seeing the fights between succubi we keep getting since the incident with the Land of Night. Even orgies lose their luster when it's the twentieth in a month. People end up losing interest in that, even when it involves legendary succubi."
Lest slightly blushed and looked aside. Luka stretched himself before continuing.
"And apparently, Alma Elma and Morrigan are busy keeping an eye on Myusca and her friends, Est decided to travel to the Ilias Continent, and Fulbeua is in a bit of a slump, so with the most powerful succubi being out for a time, she hopes that nobody will use lewd skills… the only debauched pervert remaining around is Daji, and so far, nobody knows where she currently is. Let's hope that she won't stick her nose in this one."
Kazuya dismissively threw his free hand backward. "Forget about her, she won't be an issue." He leaned forward on the counter like a conspirator. "A competition like that must have a good reward, no?"
Luka shrugged. "Each of the members of the winning team will be able to personally choose an item from the treasury of Grand Noah, or one of the queen's favor. Either are highly prized."
Kazuya nodded in acknowledgment. "They do have some pretty powerful equipment… Why don't we sign ourselves in?"
"WHAT?!"
Lest and Hakunen exclaimed themselves in unison. Luka had a more measured reaction, only raising an eyebrow at Kazuya's idea, silently inviting him to further develop. The demon hunter continued with a small smile.
"If we change our clothes, I'm sure we could pass ourselves as girls." He passed a hand in his relatively long hair. "I mean, me and Hakunen have hair long enough to be mixed from afar, and we're not as buff as Lars or Novissa."
"Still… disguising as a woman…" Hakunen was sweating bullets. "I didn't expect something so bold from you, Kazuya… and you have a lot of experience… Did you actually fight disguised as a woman once?"
"…No, I actually don't. But I'm sure that if we get good disguises, we stand a chance to pass ourselves as women. Although someone with experience could help make sure we don't miss a spot."
"Huuuh…" Lest timidly raised his hands. "I… actually already fought in an arena disguised as a girl once… I only needed a good dress and a fancy hat." He shamefully turned away. "…It was a desperate time. At least nobody recognized me back then…"
Luka was fiddling with a glowing purple stone as he answered. "Maybe we could do something about it then but… I got a little too familiar with the monsters that will make for our opponents, and most of them will recognize me instantly. I'll pass on the humiliation for once."
"Damn it, it's a shame…" Kazuya held a hand to his chin as he thought for a backup. "Maybe we can ask Lauratt to fill in. I'm sure he could pass as a girl with his small frame."
"I'll go ask him. I'll be right back." Luka pocketed his trinket before briskly walking away under everyone's scrutiny. Hakunen sympathized with him.
"He looks so tired… Having the responsibility on a whole world on your shoulders must be hard."
"Yeah… Knowing that your world is falling apart and that you can't escape it…" Kazuya returned his attention to a shaker. "Nevermind, I need a drink."
The three heroes were busy making small talk when they heard Luka return. To their surprise, instead of the young-looking magus, the hero was flanked by his priestess childhood friend, who was wielding a large war staff with a single hand while looking absolutely furious. Kazuya completely froze when he noticed that she was specifically looking at him.
"Stay like that, it will make it easier for me…"
Her target dropped everything and jumped over the counter before starting to run at an extreme speed toward the exit door. He instantly stopped as he noticed that Lauratt, Novissa and Lars were standing in front of the doorway, their weapons at the ready.
"I see. I guess you're less dense than what I heard from your partners…" Kazuya wrapped himself in his coat, and disappeared to reveal the towering, feminine form of Daji. "Now don't think this chase is quite over, I will remind you of my po-"
A symbol on Lauratt's hand shone briefly, and a powerful explosion slammed the kitsune straight into her chasers. Sonya stopped her by empowering her weapon with the power of the mountain and slamming it straight onto the kitsune's head. The latter staggered as she felt her ears ringing from the shock, and got rushed by the combined assault from the swordsmen to end up knocked half-unconscious. She didn't struggle as the heroes backed her up against a pillar while Sonya pulled out a roll of duct tape from one of his pockets. She completely wrapped the kitsune from the bottom of her boots to up to her nose in adhesive.
After she fully emerged from the assault, she started trying to shake free of her prison while Sonya was spinning the roll of tape around a finger, grinning.
"Congratulations! You're the first to try Promestein's anti-escape duct tape! Made specifically so mages couldn't teleport or use any trick to run away."
"Mmph." Daji only returned an angry look. Luka returned with an iron medal and a wooden panel, and started working on attaching them around her neck, a task made difficult by her unnaturally imposing chest. Daji blocked her breathing as the hero exhaled near her, not so subtly turning her head away.
"Just so you know, you made it too obvious... Kazuya always insisted on keeping an eye on you, and that whole plan was carrying your mark from the start. Even if I didn't have that detection stone, I would still have guessed it was you. You really need to up your game. Although I'd rather prefer it if you stopped your pranks instead…" Luka ended his sentence on a sigh, even as he enjoyed staring at the kitsune's assets.
"Mphgn." She threw a mean glare at the hero. Eventually, he stabilized both items on her chest, and moved back with a jaded expression.
"We'll free you once the tournament is over. Maybe. And only if you actually swear to stop acting up." He returned her glare. "And before you think that spreading your legs will be enough to get you out of this, I should remind you that there are hundreds of monsters around that would do the same without trying to swindle their partner at the same time."
Daji didn't dignify Luka's remark with an answer, and instead attempted to free herself once again after the heroes left. She could neither change form nor teleport, nor even use any of her equipment. The kitsune had to admit that they did manage to corner her better than anyone else during her long life. Hours passed, and it's only in the early hours of the evening that a presence made itself known as a passably depressed Barbun returned to her role of bartender. The Rabbit Girl raised an eyebrow at the scene, and approached the kitsune to read what was written.
"I have been decent exactly once… and, I tried to have the heroes disguised in drags to fight in the tournament." Barbun looked up Daji in the eyes with a shocked expression.
"Good grief, really?"
"Mgnph."
"Mph." Gilgorn haughtily sneered as Elza's kick harmlessly bounced off from her magical barrier. The ground around the small Demon Lord shattered under the impact, but she wasn't inconvenienced in the slightest. She nonchalantly pointed her magic sword in the direction of her assailant and uttered her incantation.
"Burn it all down! Meteor Eclipse!"
A fiery meteor crashed on her opponent, throwing her target back like a ragdoll across the arena. Gilgorn didn't spare a second to think at the succubus. The latter was down for the count.
She threw a haughty glance on her side. Spider Princess was slashing down another demon monk in a series of rapid strikes that the latter couldn't block, forcing her back again and again. With a displeased sigh, Gilgorn accumulated power in her magic sword and casted another meteor in the direction of the fight. Sensing the attack, Spider Princess rapidly backed, letting the demon alone to be caught in the crippling fire storm. As the monster collapsed, Spider Princess snarled at her partner.
"I had her handled! I only needed one more minute to finish her."
The latter answered as loudly as she could to cover the roaring from the crowd.
"You had her already beaten… What was the point of taking any longer to finish her?" The small yoma continued with a disappointed sigh. "I just want to be done with this rabble and face a real challenge."
"I'm afraid this world is a bit disappointing when it comes to real contenders." Musette gracefully landed near the bickering duo, her usual haughty smirk on her face. "Without their lowly tricks, they end up falling like flies in front of us."
"Please, do not put us on the same level as these commoners." The Queen Vampire, Fatima, materialized close to the trio as well. "Or you shall be reminded that the circumstances advantage you first and foremost."
"Tch!" Gilgorn sneered and turned away from her teammates. It's true that she was weak to pleasure, but she hadn't chosen! In her own world, she was a toy for the Nightmares, and every hope to live peacefully in this one got dashed as soon as she faced the hero and their companions… The locals were making copious use of pleasure skills as well, and she ended up an easy victim to their obscene assault way too often.
Since then, she had always been treated as a toy by everyone. They kept calling her a cute doll, and she was forced to move from shadow to shadow or under the cover of hiding spells to even live in the Pocket Castle. Even having an excuse to leave that degenerated den had been no good, as she had ended victim to a group of Honey Pots. Those simple memories were enough to make her blood boil with rage. She should have been able to dispatch them in the beat of an eyebrow with a single one of her spell! But what good were those spells when she ended stunned in ecstasy by a single caress before she casted them, no matter how much she trained? And besides why were they even focusing on her in the first place?! Couldn't they just fuck together instead?!
"Aaaand, it looks like the winner is team Supremacy. Stay around, ladies and gentlemen, the next round will start soon!"
But today… It was her day. That tournament was made for her. Those smutty idiots had to put a lid on their libido, and her skills would finally shine in front of everyone. She glanced at her allies. Sharing this moment with partners so arrogant was a small price to pay.
They're shamelessly piggybacking on my power… Mph! It doesn't matter! I will show them that I'm the reason they're winning!
As healers took the losers away from the arena, Gilgorn and her companions basked in the adulation from the crowd. The yoma held her head high, enjoying her justly deserved recognition. So far even the so-called monster queens had barely been a challenge for them.
"The next team might not be the most impressive-looking, but they have a special place in our heart! They all made a long way from Ilias Continent, and are ready to throw down! Let's welcome team First Guard!"
Gilgorn prepared herself, and felt satisfied to see her companions do the same. At least, they didn't expect her to fully carry them to victory. They would still have to fight… although she asked herself if she didn't overestimate this world's strength when she saw her next opponents.
Is this a joke? Are they that desperate? I came here to face a challenge, not fight those pathetic children!
The four monsters in front of her looked pathetically weak: the first was a young slime girl that looked like she left her mother way too early, the second was a dog girl in slippers that would be better huddled in front of a fireplace, the third was a slug girl that dressed like a noblewoman, and the fourth was a big-earred rat girl wearing what looked like rags.
While Musette vocally expressed her amusement, Fatima and Spider Princess remained on their guard and looked as focused as ever.
"Those are…"
Fatima nodded solemnly. "Yes… It's them. Lime. Pochi. Mel. Ratty. The first monsters recruited by the hero for his army. They've been with him before he set foot in the first Tartarus." She nervously breathed. "They were the ones who took care of those Cursed Sword Sisters when they roamed in Fairy's Island… let us not make the mistake of underestimating them."
The White Winged demon haughtily laughed. "Maybe I overestimated the power in your world and lost on a fluke after all."
"Three times?"
"I believe it was four actually, dear Spider Princess..."
Musette stopped laughing and glared at the duo. It was clear that she was still sour over her defeats. Gilgorn sighed. She had no patience for those shenanigans, and those opponents weren't much to look at. They looked poorly-dressed, were only waving half-confidently at the crowd, and their power…
"And now, let the fight begin!"
All things considered, their power was barely below her allies. The two queen monsters accompanying her were right when they said that they should take those four childish monsters seriously. They may even prove more challenging than their last opponents.
However, before she could better gauge their capacities, Musette charged in and released a barrage of holy energy on the quartet. Their opponents scattered, and the beams of light only hit the Slug Girl who got instantly healed by the concerned Slime.
"Are you alright, Melk?"
"I'm fine Lime. Thanks for the healing."
Gilgorn swore loudly at Musette for the rushed attack while Spider Princess and the Vampire Queen joined in themselves. Fatima rushed after the White Winged demon to support her against Melk, but got intercepted by the Rat Girl who released a powerful poison breath before the Dog Girl jumped against her as well. As Fatima and Spider Princess started fighting the both of them, Lime started multiplying, and soon, several slimes were on the battlefield.
"Meteor Eclipse!"
Gilgorn swore again when her meteor got dispelled at the last moment by a shield summoned by one of the slime copies. While she was trying to erase whatever advantage their opponent had, Spider Princess and Fatima were now too busy tormenting the slug girl… or, more exactly, they only managed to keep her away while Musette was forced back by the two beasts, groaning all the while.
"I am a mage, not a warrior! Keep those two away from me!"
Gilgorn ignored her and focused instead on the slime girl again. If she removed all those additional copies, she could easily deal with that weak monster afterward.
"Dispel!"
The additional copies of the slime girl disappeared, but, to her displeasure, the latter remained calm and simply summoned a barrier again to protect herself against any imminent attack while the Dog Girl further reinforced her with a magical dance.
"Take this! Toxic Water Talisman!"
Imbecile.
Spider Princess threw a talisman in the party's direction. To her shock, her attack got deflected right back at her, catching her in a toxic flood even as her opponents all focused on her other allies. Gilgorn sneered again at her ally's lack of acumen: How did she fail to notice the reflecting barrier? Spider Princess fell on the ground while the Slug Girl was still exchanging blows with Fatima, holding up nicely to the vampire queen. In the meantime, Musette was still swamped against the two beasts who had shredded her wings to keep her on the ground.
Gilgorn herself focused her attention on the Spider Queen, the latter hardly getting up from the backfire of her own spell, a grimace on her face. The two monsters threw themselves at the slime who was starting to create more copies again, and while Gilgorn succeeded in landing a hit on them, making them disappear, Spider Princess was intercepted by that Rat Girl again.
"I'll hold them Lime! Don't worry, you can divide again!"
Gilgorn jumped back to better assess the situation, letting Spider Princess face those two opponents alone. The fight wasn't going well so far, as her partners were all getting tired while her enemies were looking as fresh as roses in the morning dew thanks to the use of healing spells.
We're not going to lose against THEM, are we? Time to resort to more extreme measures!
"Take this! World Breaker!"
This time, a meteor of pure magic crashed not only on Lime and Melk, but also on Spider Princess as well. Her ally ended up completely stunned by her attack, barely holding on her legs for a few seconds before completely collapsing.
Shit. I thought that she would have avoided it thanks to her spider sense.
"Are you serious?!" Fatima growled in her direction. "I expected you to at least keep control of your spells!"
"Tch! Focus on defending yourself first!"
Fatima barely parried an attack from Melk and returned her full attention to the slug girl. Somehow, the latter was moving as fast of the vampire in spite of being… well, a slug. Meanwhile, Musette had somehow also decided to turn to desperate measures.
"Your hearts belong to me now! Blessing of the White Winged Demon!"
Clamors turned to jeers as the crowd reacted poorly to Musette's obvious cheatings. Gilgorn herself felt her grip tighten around her sword as she was disgusted by her ally right now. There was one rule in this fight, and she chose to break it without a second thought.
"This wasn't that hard now, was it?"
The worst part was while Musette was busy taunting her opponents, the Slime Girl somehow slipped through everyone's guard and used her slime on her two allies to heal them. Gilgorn only looked in disbelief as Musette still got shredded by the two beasts while Fatima was now taking on an army of slimes. She herself only barely managed to avoid a lightning-fast strike from Melk and riposted with a large lightning bolt. Melk tanked the hit and ended up stunned, but before Gilgorn could take her out of the fight, she felt a sudden danger behind her. She rolled forward and angrily pointed her sword at the dog girl that nearly stabbed her. The latter stared at the empty space, more disappointed than surprised.
"Wan?"
Pochi disappeared in a cloud of smoke as the small Demon Lord prepared her riposte. As she enchanted herself with a few spells, the dog girl suddenly reappeared behind Fatima and stabbed her with a long knife imbued with fire. The vampire queen screamed in surprise as her cloak lit up. Before Gilgorn could react, a salvo of boomerangs thrown from Lime and her numerous copies struck the vampire queen from every direction. She stumbled a bit before eventually collapsing under encouraging cheers. The acclamation redoubled as Musette soon bit the dust afterward, shaking from Ratty's poison breath.
Fuck this shit…
Gilgorn closed her eyes in aggravation. Ten minutes ago, it was her day, where she was finally surfing on an intoxicating wave of victories and popularity. And then, that control slipped out of her grasp, her happiness gone as fast as it arrived. She was losing the fight, and the crowd that had adulated her a minute ago was now asking for her defeat because of one of her partner…
At least, now those idiots are all out of my way! I won't go down without a fight!
Gilgorn's body started glowing with power as she accumulated energy. Even if she couldn't take all of them down with a single spell, she could at least take down one of them and spare herself the humiliation of having her whole team wiped out without inflicting a single casualty.
But first…
"Dispel!"
The numerous magic enchantments cast by her enemies collapsed in front of the wave of anti-magic. However, while she prepared her own spell, Lime divided her body, and each of the new copies cast an enhancement again while her allies continued to charge her.
The small yoma interrupted her spell and only managed to parry Pochi's dagger before Ratty released a toxic breath. The miasma barely affected Gilgorn, but allowed the Dog Girl to slip behind her back and surround her. The small yoma could only block the first attack before her two remaining slimy opponents joined in, and, strikes after strikes, they ended up taking her down.
She whimpered under her breath before falling unconscious, trying to ignore the acclamations aimed at her tormentors.
"That… was a surprise."
"But a welcome one, if her majesty allows for my opinion."
The Grand Noah Queen and Mephisto were both looking at the fight and appreciating the result from the royal lodge. Neither of them were thrilled when Musette and Gilgorn showed up with Spider Princess and Vampire Queen for the tournament, their memories of the White Winged demon's repeated attempts at world domination still fresh on their mind. They had managed to beat most teams through raw power without trouble, and the perspective to give them rewards that could be used to further their own agenda was an undesirable prospect. And then… This happened.
"Well, it looks like our… questionable contestant got beaten, and the crowd loves it. The only thing there is to do is to go to the throne room, congratulate the winner, and give them a fitting reward."
"Indeed."
The two of them got up and teleported back to the castle. The Grand Noah Queen was as focused as finding a fitting reward for the winner than she was on the battle.
"Is something troubling her majesty?"
"Mmmh? I'm merely re-examining the fight mentally to better understand its results. Even if the winners are some of the first monsters that took to accompanying Luka, they still beat two queens, the monster that nearly destroyed two capitals after she cheated, and a demon lord whose only weakness got covered by the rules. I was only trying to get a better understanding of how they won, although it was obvious from the beginning that the quality of their teamwork was radically different."
"Indeed. Gilgorn and her partners never supported one another and instead focused on fighting individually with their raw power. In the meantime, those little… I mean, the team First Guard used team enchantments and perfectly covered each other each time they were in difficulty."
The Grand Noah Queen nodded in acknowledgment and sat herself on her throne to greet the winners. Even if that ceremony had become mundane after so many tournaments, there was something unusually heartwarming at the sight of weak-looking monsters having come out on top of a fierce competition. On a more pragmatic standpoint, it was the proof that anyone that joined the hero Luka could grow in power. And monsters were really attentive to that.
The four monsters kneeled in front of her, and the queen cleared her throat to deliver a speech that sounded surprisingly more sincere than usual to her own ears.
"Let me congratulate you for your victory in the colosseum. You faced impressive opponents and triumphed against all of them, no matter how strong they were or their despicable attempt at cheating. As the tradition demand, you are free to make a request to the throne and its treasury, within what can be considered reasonable."
The four monsters started discussing actively like a group of children. The queen smiled at the scene. Even if they were acting in ways fitting of their appearance, they were still powerhouses that she wouldn't fight on her own and had the same burden of defending the world as any other resident of the Pocket Castle. She only caught extremely small snippets of conversation, such as "but it's reasonable!". Mephisto, however, apparently didn't share her happiness. After a short deliberation, Pochi eventually stepped forward.
"Right, uuum… we're not sure this is reasonable sooo…"
"Speak freely." The queen answered with a gentle smile. "There will be no judgment. At worst, your request will simply be denied. And I'm sure your request is bound to be perfectly reasonable."
"In that case, we want mister Luka to stop going out with all those nasty succubi!"
The Grand Noah Queen kept smiling, but she felt her brain stop working. She had always been recognized by her peer as someone composed who was fitting for the throne and could find solution for everything, keeping calm even in the direst of crisis. And in troubled time, even if Mephisto had proven disloyal once in the past, she could always count on the yoma's advices, no matter what happened.
This time, however, both of them were completely at loss as to what to do and how to answer. That request was… not unreasonable all things considered. It was inaccessible for obvious reasons, but…
"…Very well, we'll do our best to make this come true."
"Thank you, your majesty!"
The four girls bowed in unison and left. While they tried to keep some decorum, she could say that they were more than excited that their decision got accepted so easily.
"If I may…"
"Yes, I made a promise I won't be able to hold on, and I would feel worse disappointing those girls than the whole Sabasan bloodline."
"…I was about to say that those girls only said what we had been thinking for the past weeks and have not so subtly tried to do ourselves. Let us be honest. Given his companions, the simple fact that he did not die from overexertion is nothing short of a miracle." Mephisto started nervously fiddling with her hand. "And that's not accounting for fact that nobody sucked him dry either too… I am certain that the only reason is that it's impossible to be alone with him for more than one hour without someone wrecking them."
The Grand Noah Queen slowly exhaled. Even if her own romantic interest in the hero was almost non-existent, she had wanted the opportunity to talk to him alone for professional reasons, and it had always proven impossible without someone showing up. In the best case, they would only give a not always welcomed advice, and in the worst… It was to attempt to satisfy their sex drive on the spot, which ended in a mess as another monster would try to step in to do the same right afterward, starting a fight.
"We need to have a discreet talk with him about that… Maybe if the more colorful inhabitants of the Pocket Castle are away, we'll be able to do have a word with him."
"Maybe… But how do you suggest we do that?" The queen leaned back on her throne. "I can't find any acceptable way to keep so many of them busy at the same time. Using the colosseum and Grandeur's shows to grab their attention has been overdone."
"I… have an idea, but if it comes from me, they'll instantly grow suspicious." Mephisto sighed. "Maybe if I convinced one of the more hedonistic residents to present it at their own and convince everyone, but I have no idea why one of them would obey me… Mmmh? My apologies, someone is attempting to telepathically contact me."
The queen made a small dismissive movement. She couldn't catch anything of what Mephisto and her interlocutor were talking about, but she preferred to keep the yoma at hand in case it was an emergency. Mephisto looked strangely satisfied with her conversation.
"Well, that's convenient. I just received a message from Barbun through Witch. Let's just say that we can leverage a fitting partner."
The Grand Noah Queen remained patiently still, inviting Mephisto to continue. The yoma then told her the recent events happening at the Pocket Castle. When she was done, the queen was holding her head in her hands.
"Good grief, this is really the end of the world when we come to rely on someone who just did that… But you have my full confidence for your plan. Do as you wish."
Mephisto stiffly bowed and left with an unusually brisk step, puzzling the Noah Queen.
Did I offend her by borrowing her catchphrase?