Alice slithered through the halls of the Monster Lord's Castle. It had been a long, tiresome day for the monster, one that was only worsened by the lack of news on her husband. It had been more than two months now since he had been taken from her, and her worry only increased day by day. If this were to go on for much longer, she may start trying to project herself into the world he is trapped in, abandoning all her responsibilities.

But, Luka wouldn't want me to do something like that. For now, I have to put my faith in Tamamo... and in him.

Damn you, Black Alice. I will kill you for this. I swear it.

The Monster Lord eventually reached her room, calmly lying on the bed once she had entered. Ever since the Hero had disappeared, she had no one to talk to, no one to snuggle with at night, and no one to take energy from either... Thankfully, Her own gluttony had helped in that case, as she had made sure to keep a storage of said energy, in its physical form... it was kept in vials and jars. She would have no need to go back to previously extracted energy for another month or two, at least.

She had met the Hero long ago, seven years now, in fact. At first, she didn't think much of him. He was an annoying, childish 'man'. Even then, she could swear he looked to be thirteen, not sixteen, as he claimed to be. Still, she decided to follow him on his quest to bring coexistence to the world. She, too, believed in his dream but never showed it. Not until much later.

It took her a few months to realise she had, in fact, fallen in love with him. She never pictured herself marrying a man, as few of the Monster Lords did, if any. The rules were far too difficult for any human to live up to. Luka was, quite literally, her only option, but she wasn't complaining. Creating Nero and Neris had taken three days, and she had thoroughly enjoyed all three...

And now he's gone...

Alice stopped herself from crying as she thought of him. She had already done enough of that. Now was the time for action. But what? What could the Monster Lord do now, with her husband gone, her surrogate mother away trying to save him, and her, sitting here doing nothing? She had never felt so useless before.

Suddenly, a knocking sound could be heard from the door. Alice used her powers to read the life signatures of those on the other side and sighed in relief. She had grown somewhat paranoid over the weeks, something which those around had started to notice. She did not want others to worry about her. It was not fit for the Monster Lord to receive pity.

"Come in," Alipheese said. The doors slowly opened to reveal two figures, both of equal height. One had a long snake tail that swept along the floor, and the other was wearing sophisticated clothing, primarily coloured black. Both had silver hair with the red Fateburn symbol in the centre, along with golden eyes and purple skin, much like their mother. They were Nero and Neris, her and Luka's children.

"We couldn't sleep," Neris muttered. "Can we stay here tonight?"

"Of course," Alice said, moving over in the bed for them. They crawled over to it, lying down underneath the covers. Alice sighed.

Luka... You better get back here quickly.

Rumours have already begun to spread about his supposed disappearance. If this goes on for much longer, they might find out about what happened. That would be very bad for us. If they learned that a monster was behind it, all those years of progress for coexistence could be destroyed.

"Mommy," Neris murmured, moving closer to her mother. Alice made no attempt to stop her. Her heart warmed as the Lamia snuggled up beside her, finding comfort in her mother's embrace. She had never done something like this before. In truth, the Monster Lord was not the greatest mother ever, the same could be said for those that came before Alice too. Sometimes, she could feel a small pang of hatred coming from her daughter, though not from her son. But, ever since the Hero disappeared, she had been doing her best to live up to the task.

Is this what it was like for you, Mother?

Long ago, Alice's own mother was killed by a band of travelling heroes, leaving the young girl in the care of Tamamo, the Heavenly Knight of Earth. It took her a long, long time to fully get over the trauma, and it was only due to Luka's interference. The Hero had learned that his father actually killed her mother, and she had indirectly caused his father's death. But, they chose to forget the past, and the hatred that came with it.

And now, is my daughter cursed to lose one of her parents as well? I never had a father, so I don't know what that would be like... but still, I know it would be horrible for her.

Luka... Please, come home soon.

"That'll be fourteen thousand gold." The blonde-haired shopkeeper said.

"F-Fourteen thousand!? What are you, insane!?" A customer complained. "It's worth three thousand at most!"

"Nope. This is of the finest quality steel, you know? Angel-made, reinforced with black magic and blessed by spirits on top of all that! You won't find anything like this anywhere else! C'mon, you can afford it!" She bargained.

"No way! I'm out of here!" He said, storming off.

"Oh no you're not!" She replied, infusing her eyes with black magic and forcing the man to submit to her will. "Now, buy it! And leave a tip!"

"Y-yes, master." The man said, taking out a large pouch of gold. The shopkeeper's eyes widened as she saw the gold inside, licking her lips at the prospect of getting them.

"Vanilla! What are you doing!?" Another girl shouted. The vampire sighed.

Damn it...

"Undo that spell right now!" She demanded, unhappy with the monster. She had done this before many times, and it was quickly becoming a bad habit.

"Yeah, yeah... Whatever." The vampire girl crossed her arms and undid the spell. "You're free to go, human." She muttered. The man left without a word, likely an effect of the remnants of her spell. Over the years, she had grown to become quite the spellcaster, thanks to being trained by monsters stronger than her.

The blonde-haired monster turned to her friend, already in a huff at her interruption. "So, what do you want?" She asked.

"Oh don't be like that. You know that's wrong. What would the Hero think if he saw you doing something like that?" The purple-haired dragonkin pointed out. "Besides, you should be making more than enough with your whole blood business."

"I suppose. But a true merchant never stops, even when she's at the top! There's always further you can go." Vanilla explained.

Heh, I truly am a genius. Who knew just asking to take blood from humans, and then selling it to other vampires could be so profitable? Coexistence really is the best!

"Hey, where's Teeny?" The vampire asked. "She should be done with her shift by now."

"She should be here soon, and Astrid should too. I think Gob is still away in Yamatai right now, delivering your parcels, now that I think about it." The dragon girl pointed out.

"Oh, right. Hey, don't look at me like that. I gave her fair compensation! Though, maybe I could change her shifts around so she could hang out with us." Vanilla said.

"Hmm. I suppose we'll just have to wait then." The dragonkin leaned on the counter, getting into a comfortable position as she started to wait. Seven years ago, the Hero Luka had invaded their home, a cave not far from Iliasburg, to stop them from stealing from the local humans. He won the battles, bringing the gang of bandits to the nearby town of Iliasburg. The people there ended up accepting the young monsters, who fought for them when Ilias began her recreation plan.

That feels like so long ago now. Seven years... Heh, we used to just be kids. But now we're pretty successful. Vanilla is a successful merchant, Gob is running all over the place and getting paid for it, something she's very happy to do, and Teeny is one of the best maids out there. And I'm going to be the best blacksmith in the world! I'm already in the top ten!

"Going out with only four of us seems kind of boring... Is anyone else available?" Vanilla asked, preparing to end her shift. One of her workers would man the shop for her while she was away. She couldn't afford to miss out on all that potential profit, after all.

"Lime might be. Though she's probably away at that spring, and it is kind of far..."

"Oh, come on, Papi, it will be fun! Plus, the Hero's hometown is nearby! We could even get a tour of his house!" Vanilla suggested.

"I guess. Alright, let's get going then." Papi said, leaving the shop with her old friend. Over the last seven years, monsters and humans had grown closer and closer, and at a shocking speed. Thanks to the two races uniting against Ilias, they grew to trust one another more, reinforcing coexistence with each passing day. The symbols of man and monster coexistence were the Hero Luka and Monster Lord's marriage and the children they had from it, displaying the unity between the two races.

The Hero Luka... Rumours say he hasn't been seen in over two months now. What could he be up to? Alipheese said he was away doing something, but never told the world what.

I still hear rumours, even now, that he was killed by a monster, or by an angel as revenge for Ilias. But... those can't be true, right?

"Hey, guys!"

The duo turned to see a teenage, purple-haired and green-eyed Lamia approach. It was their old friend, Teeny. She had a green tail, along with a few golden bracelets, which could be seen along her arms. Vanilla noted that she too, was no longer flat.

Damn it. We're around the same size now... Or, are hers slightly bigger?

Hmph. I just need a bit more time. I'm not done growing yet, just wait! You'll see!

"Teeny, good timing. We're just about to go get Astrid." Papi said, welcoming her friend. The trio continued to walk along until they found the angel, waiting for them on a bench.

"Astrid, let's get going," Vanilla called out. The Valkyrie nodded, a small smile reaching her lips when she noticed her friends. She stood up and began following the group. She was around the same age as the others—not an adult just yet, but certainly not a child. During the time of Ilias's recreation plan, she was too young to fight and was left in Heaven. When the realm was destroyed, she flew down to the surface, or more accurately, crash-landed in the middle of a forest on the Ilias continent.

Seven years ago... That's when those humans found me. Instead of immediately attacking, they offered me a hand and gave me refuge here...

What a strange race. Even now, I find it hard to understand them. The same can be said for monsters, I suppose. They have no Goddess to cling to, not since she was sealed. So, how do they keep moving?

Perhaps that is a question I should ask myself as well.

I miss the Goddess, even if I did not know of her for long. Every angel alive misses her... But we must keep moving forward.

"How's your training with Micaela going, Astrid?" Teeny asked as they made their way to the Iliasville mountains. Inside the mountains was a spring, one that slimes had lived in for decades now. Even the Heavenly Knight of Water, Erubetie, did not know of it. She only learned of it when the Hero Luka pointed out that he fought a slime near it, and she deduced there must be a home for them nearby.

"Fine, thank you," Astrid answered. A few years ago, the first angel, Micaela, took in the young Valkyrie. She had no parents to call her own, so Micaela acted as one. She trained her personally and taught her about humans, monsters, and angels and the history they all shared. Micaela's nephew was the Hero Luka, whom she had spoken to personally a few times now. He was impressed by the young girl's power and commented that she could become one of the strongest angels alive if she kept it up.

Astrid did not know how to feel about the Hero. On the one hand, he killed her Goddess and slew her angels, or sealed them really, but that wasn't important, and he had broken almost all of the commandments. But on the other hand, Micaela believed what he did was right, and she even helped him with it. Though, not many knew that fact, and if they did infighting between angels could break out.

Micaela said Ilias lost herself after all those years. She had grown insane and, as she put it, had to be put down. Though I still see her crying sometimes, even if she does try to hide it.

She lost both her sisters, her mother... Everyone. She must be so lonely now. All she has left for her family is Luka and his children.

...

"Shouldn't be long now," Vanilla commented. "So, what do you's want to talk about?"

"Oh! I know! Have you heard the news about the drop in humans dying due to monsters? The number has shrunk by six-hundred percent when compared to seven years ago." Papi explained.

"Huh, I wonder if the same can be said for us? Have fewer monsters been dying to humans too?" Teeny wondered.

"Probably," Vanilla said. "The world grows closer and closer every year. At this rate, nothing will be able to break the races apart ever again!"

Astrid watched as her friends discussed recent events. She had always felt a small disconnect from them, and it was not only because they were of a different race. They were just so... optimistic. Perhaps she was the problem here, not them. She did not know.

"Ah, we're here!" Papi pointed out, looking towards a large mountain that stood in front of them. There were a few more near it, but they were dwarfed by the main one's size. Astrid could see a cave poking out of the side, and some sort of reflective, blue light standing outside of it. When she focused her eyes further, she saw it was not a light, but instead a slime.

Lime was an old friend of theirs, even if she was significantly older. Though, she always acted younger than she was supposed to be. She also still looked quite young, still the same height as Papi, and only a bit taller than the others.

"Puru~ They're here!" The slime announced, beckoning the group inside. They followed, looking in awe at the hundreds of other slimes that could be seen inside. Astrid found this very odd.

Wait a second... Why are there so many slimes here? I thought there were only around twenty...

And most of them look the same too. What's going on here?

"Erubetie visited today!" Lime cheerfully explained. "She wanted to check in on us, and she brought some of her friends!"

"Are her friends... clones of herself?" Astrid asked.

"Yep!" Lime said. "She has a ton of them, doesn't she? I hope I can grow to be just as great as her someday! Then I can have lots of friends!"

"I'm sure you will," Papi said, looking at the spring in awe. All around them, slimes could be seen lying around, cleaning the water, and talking to one another. There was one slime who stood out, however. It looked to be Erubetie's real body, talking with a green slime.

Erubetie, the Heavenly Knight of Water. She used to kill humans who entered her spring, all the way up in the Noah region. But now, she's talking to her fellows without a hint of that resentment. I wonder, was this the Hero's doing as well?

"Erubetie~" Lime called out. "These are my friends! That's Papi, the super-skilled dragon smith, and that's Vanilla, the ultimate merchant! Her name is Teeny, the greatest maid to ever exist! And that's Astrid, Micaela's apprentice!"

"Oh? I was wondering if I would ever have the pleasure to meet you, angel." The Slime Queen said, turning towards the young Valkyrie. "So, the Sword of Heaven is your master. Tell me, what has she taught you?"

"Well, I haven't quite learned that much just yet. She just showed me some basic techniques so far, but she says she'll teach me Flash Kill tomorrow!"

"Flash Kill... I remember that move. Luka used it sometimes..." Erubetie's eyes suddenly dimmed upon mentioning the name, as though she was thinking about something.

Astrid, however, failed to notice this. "Say, you know the Hero quite well, don't you? Do you know what's going on with him?" She asked, eager to hear more about the events. Normally, the Hero was known to show up whenever a problem arose with coexistence or anything else really, but lately, he hadn't shown up at all. It's been up to the knights to pick up the slack, along with local heroes.

Seriously, what could he be up to that would take up two months of his time? Perhaps there is some truth to those rumours...

"He is away on an important mission for coexistence." The Slime Queen said. Astrid noticed the tone she used, which reminded her of someone reciting something.

Suspicious... But, there's not much I can do. I'll have to ask Micaela more about it later.

"Hey, Astrid! C'mon, it's time to try out the springs! We're all waiting on you." Lime said, beckoning her friend over.

"Goodbye, Slime Queen," Astrid said, lightly bowing before her. Erubetie nodded, focusing her attention back on the slime she was talking to previously.

The angel returned to her friends, entering the spring once she had taken off her clothing. Strangely enough, being naked was not seen as odd in angelic society. The body the Goddess blessed you with was not something to be ashamed of, after all. As the Valkyrie relaxed in the hot spring, her thoughts drifted back to the Hero, and to his disappearance.

Perhaps I should investigate further. Something is going on here, but what..?

But for now... I'll just relax here. The water does feel really nice...

Notes

Short chapter, but we haven't actually seen the original world in quite some time now.

The world has changed after so many years of coexistence. Nero, Neris, and Alice are not handling Luka's disappearance very well, but it is helping the family come closer. We've also gotten to see what ordinary monsters and angels live like after coexistence, and overall, it's not too bad.

I've begun revising all previous chapters, just tidying up the grammar/spelling mistakes that can still be found. It shouldn't take long, though you may get a few notifications from it.