Key:
Text
"Speaking, or in-text Quote"
'Thoughts'
Additional Emphasis
Year 16 AL, Sacrilegious Undertaking
The far-off Moon provided some light in the night, its pale rays dimly illuminating the landscape with white. In the glow of this Moon, an agreement between the Chiefess of Happiness Village and Lucretia the Harpy Queen.
"...And so, my people will no longer steal away men from your Village, as long as you send us willing men to marry my Harpies." Lucretia declared.
"Yes, and in return, your Harpies will help Happiness Village with our farming and beekeeping." The Chief's Wife replied.
It hadn't taken very long for the Chief's Wife and the Harpy Queen to reach an agreement, as the entire process was more of a formality than anything else. They rose from the small table that had been brought out onto the balcony of the Lucretia's house, moving to stand alongside each other in front of the long side of the table. Sitting before them was a very hastily written-up document to officialize the preceding. Luka stood on the other side of the table, his hands folded over each other as he tried his hardest to pay attention to the considerably significant occasion. However, there was a problem inhibiting his concentration.
A silver-haired, golden-eyed problem.
Alice stood a small distance away, having followed the three as they had gone up to Lucretia's home. Technically, Alice had not been invited to come with them, but that wasn't what bothered him. The part that did, was the fact that during the whole preceding Alice had done nothing but stand off to the side with her arms crossed. Her gaze never leaving him for even a moment. He couldn't tell what the emotion was in her golden-eyed gaze, but it was intense...
...And a bit unnerving.
He fought down the urge to fidget as his tired eyes looked on during the preceding. The older woman of Happiness Village turned the paper towards him, holding out the pen expectantly. It took the worn-out Hero a few moments to realize what she meant, "Oh, you want m-me to sign it too?" Both the women gave curt nods to him.
"Of course," Lucretia said. "That would be to show you were here to oversee everything and help make it official."
The Chieftess of Happiness Village nodded in agreement, "That, and it's all because of you that we're here doing this in the first place, Hero!"
Luka took the pen gently, looking down at the paper before him. He placed his left hand on the paper and scrawled Luka in small letters below the other two's signatures. The boy winced, a small pang of pain running up his left arm.
"H-Here you go, all Heroically approved of!" He turned the paper back towards the two. "Fantastic," Lucretia said. "I'd say that this calls for a celebration." The Chief's Wife nodded in agreement, and the two of them began to plan out a festival of sorts. Luka glanced over to Alice, the disguised Monster still giving him that odd look. Luka felt a bit distressed now, wondering if he had possibly done something to upset the Lamia.
"Young Hero, would you and your friend like to join us for our festival? I know it is late, but I think this occasion calls for it all the same!" The elderly woman said. Lucretia seemed to mirror the old woman's words, her emerald eyes looking at the purple-haired boy with a hopeful gleam.
Luka grinned, giving a bow. "We'd be honored to, right Alice?" The purple-haired boy looked over to his traveling partner to gauge her reaction.
The disguised Lamia shrugged, "Sure, sounds great." The tone of her voice betrayed her words, something that all three of the others noticed. Luka turned to the other two, trying to play it off. "Hehe, you know, me and my friend here will catch up in a little bit. Okay?" Lucretia and the Chiefess gave the pair a questioning glace, the Harpy Queen giving a long look to Alice in particular. After a couple of moments, the pair left without any more deliberation to go gather up their people.
Luka focused on Alice, who was now staring at the wood planks below. The purple-haired Hero took a few steps towards the disguised Lamia, worry in his voice. "Hey, Alice?" He asked tentatively, "Are you alright?" The white-haired Lamia looked up at him with an aloof gaze.
"I'm fine." She said curtly before walking ovlookeder to him. She passed him, leaving the boy to stand there, befuddled as he watched her walk down the ramp. Luka followed shortly behind, his tired mind trying to figure just what exactly had gotten into Alice.
'She was nice before I left to confront the Harpy Queen. She even seemed to care about me coming back. Why is she upset now?' The boy mulled over the question as they descended. "I-I didn't make you mad, did I?" Luka finally asked.
Alice kept her gaze away as she gave him a non-answer, "You got the two villages to settle their squabbling, and even inspired those weak women to stand up for themselves for once, something I didn't even figure they would do. So be glad, you did well."
Her words seemed kind enough, but her tone didn't extend the same courtesy. Luka's face fell into a frown, the boy not quite liking the fact that his traveling partner was acting so distant all of the sudden.
After a while of uncomfortably silent walking, the two made it to the center of the Harpy's Village, where a large bonfire was being lit. Humans and Harpies alike were working together gathering stuff together for the oncoming celebration. Though Luka noticed that a couple of women from Happiness Village seemed to be somewhat displeased, having themselves separated from the main group.
'Well, it isn't surprising that not all the villagers would be very excited about the outcome here...' He thought as he watched the fire come alive. '...I just hope this didn't make some of them hate Monsters more. I'd like to think they could get along if they tried.'
Luka stood away from the main group along with a tense-looking Alice standing not far away. He felt a bit forlorn as he watched her stare into the growing flames, more than just the fire reflecting in her eyes. He didn't have much time to ponder her, before one of the middle-aged women from Happiness Village approached him, a large smile on her face.
"Oh there you are, Hero! Some of us were afraid that you and your friend had already went on your way!" She came over and surprised the boy with a very tight hug, his back cracking a bit at the pressure. Releasing him, she looked to him with a thankful glimmer in her tired eyes. "Because of you, I'm going to have my son back home again..." Her face became a bit nervous, "...Eh, along with his three wives, that is."
Luka recoiled in shock, "Th-Th-Three Wives!?" The woman nodded, an exasperated look on her face.
"Haha, yeah, the home's going to be a bit fuller than I'm used to..." Her face lit up once more. "...But I'm alright with that! Whatever makes him happy makes me happy. Speaking of, we must find a way to repay you, Hero. Our village is indebted to you!"
Luka shook his head, grabbing at his left arm. "Oh no, that isn't necessary. I'm just-"
"I'd love some Happiness Honey." Alice butted in, an expectant look on her face. Luka gave her a pointed look, but the older woman quickly replied with a smile.
"Well, we do have some jars in reserve at the village. In fact, the Chief and his wife are going with some of the women to go gather the other villagers. I'm sure they'll be bringing jars of Honey back with them since now that we're actually able to make more!" Alice smirked in satisfaction, her golden eyes gleaming.
Luka shook his head as he thought, 'I should've figured that would be what she'd want. Well, maybe that'll get her out of that funk she's in.'
He took a glance around the festivities, feeling somewhat out of place as he stood amongst the crowd. Something like this just really wasn't his type of activity, really. Crowds tended to make him a bit uneasy, and so he often avoided being a part of them. Here, however, he didn't have much choice due to all the Humans and Harpies dancing and conversing around him. As he looked through the crowd, he found his gaze falling onto the Harpy Queen Lucretia, who seemed to be in an oddly similar position as himself.
The Queen of the Harpies stood by herself away from the group, watching the celebration with her tired-looking emerald eyes half-open. Luka analzed her face carefully, 'That's bizarre, why would the Queen of all people be so isolated at a moment like this?' The young Hero gave it some thought before deciding to go converse with her. The golden eyes of Alice immediately noticed this, watching the purple-haired boy walk around to the other side of the large fire.
Lucretia's eyes brightened as she noticed his approach, the Queen giving a small nod to the boy. "Greetings, Hero. Is something the matter? You look troubled." Luka shook his head while stepping up to the Queen. He gave a quick bow and rose to meet her gaze.
"Oh no, everything is fine. I'm happy that the people seem so quick to accept this..." The boy casted a hand towards the gathering, where tables were beginning to be set up by the men. Close to the fire, couples and couples-to-be danced around. Some a bit more provacative than others, he noticed with a cough. "...Erm, though I seem to be a little bit out of my comfort zone. I'm not really used to being a part of festivals and stuff."
Lucretia nodded, looking off into the gathering. "Oh yes, I understand. I haven't attended one of these in a long time. I fear that I have forgotten how to conduct myself." The Harpy Queen's face formed a frown as she looked back to the boy, noticing the cut on his cheek that she had given him earlier in their fight. Looking further down his body, she also saw the ruined right sleeve of his shirt. She leaned in, "I do have to apologize for our earlier battle, Hero. I hope that I have not harmed you too badly."
Luka waved it off, "Oh, don't worry about that. I was prepared for the possibility before I had gotten here." He said, though his face seemed a bit uncomfortable as the memories of their fight flashed in his mind for a moment. "So, don't feel bad about it, really..." He grew silent, his gaze dropping from Lucretia's face to the ground. The young Hero didn't want to admit it, but the Harpy Queen almost certainly had him beat. If the Humans of Happiness Village hadn't come to help end the fight, Luka would've lost. The boy shook his head, trying not to dwell on such things.
"...Either way, I'm just glad that your people and the people of Happiness Village can now work towards living peacefully." Lucretia stared at Luka, a question on her mind about his words.
"I don't mean to pry, but something about your behavior is strange to me." She said, "Why exactly does someone bearing the title of Hero of Ilias want to see Humans and Monsters living together? You know that your Goddess looks down upon such things, right?"
Lucretia's question sent a pang of conflict through him, the very obvious flaw in his logic being brought to the forefront. "Yes," He replied tentatively. "I am aware of how that may seem odd. It is..." Luka struggled to put into words his issue, one that he had unconsciously been ignoring ever since he left Ilias Village. "...It is complicated." He finally said, the half-hearted answer lacking the conviction that he had when he was fighting the Lucretia.
The Queen noticed this, gently pushing for an elaboration. "Complicated, how so? If you believe that Humans and Monsters can live and love together, then surely you don't agree with Ilias's laws." Luka frowned and turned away from her, the fallacy in his words versus his actions being quite embarrassingly clear. Very suddenly, he began to feel very small beneath the Queen's gaze.
Lucretia seemed to notice this and decided not to press further. "My apologies, Luka. I didn't mean to upset you, I just find you to be an interesting Human. Not many of your kind have caught my attention, but you certainly have." The Harpy Queen said, her tone implying something a bit more than just curiousity. However, the boy missed the implication behind her words, lost in his own thoughts.
Luka shook his head. "O-Oh no, you're fine." Despite his words, the boy's pale blue eyes kept away from the Queen. She grimaced as a silence overtook the two, the only saving grace being the idly chatter that helped to fill the air. Lucretia opened her mouth to speak again, but another pair of voices rang through the air, unintentionally cutting her off.
"LIAR!"
Luka jumped at the sound of a two familiar voice yelling in unison behind him. The purple-haired boy spun around, meeting the glares of Twin Harpy girls: Pii and Pina. Luka stuttered, "H-Huh?"
Pina stepped forward, the brown-haired older sister looking irate at the boy. "We said that you are a liar!" She raised a wing at him, "You tricked us into bringing you to the Queen!" The crowd had stopped what they were doing to stare at the commotion. Luka felt a bead of sweat roll down his face as he tried to settle the two down.
"N-Now wait, I didn't mean to-" Luka started before Pii jumped forward to cut him off, her red eyes full of tears. "You said you needed to see the Queen so that you could propose to her! But you didn't do that at all!"
The purple-haired Hero felt his blood run cold as all eyes were on him, an urge to hysterically scream and run away erupting inside. Even Alice, who was now holding a jar of Honey that had been given to her by one of the returning women, stopped opening the thing to stare at the commotion. Luka was also very acutely aware of the fact that the Queen herself was standing right behind him. Shoving his anxiety down, he mustered an explanation.
"N-No, you two didn't let me finish before. I-I-I said that I was going to give her a proposal, yes, but it was to be an offer to make peace between the two villages. Not an offer of marriage..." The Harpy Twins blinked owlishly at him, the realization dawning on them slowly.
"Ohhh..." Pina said, pursing her lips. "...I guess that makes sense..." The brown-haired Harpy crossed her wings. "...Though if you really just wanted to talk to the Queen so bad, you should've just said so in the first place!"
Pii, upon hearing the boy declare that his heart wasn't for the Queen, jumped up giddily to the boy. "S-So, if you aren't going to propse to her. C-Can you be my first mate!?" The request rang out loudly through the gathering, making Luka the very center of attention.
Luka's pale blue eyes looked around anxiously, many of the Humans and Harpies looking at him expectantly. "Erm... Well... Y-You see... I... I..." The verbal regurgitation came out of his mouth uncontrollably, as the Harpy's wide red eyes looked up to him hopefully. The boy was desperately trying to find a way to decline her own proposal as gently as possible before being saved from having to do so himself by Alice.
"No, he can't." The disguised Lamia hissed out, surprising both Luka and the Harpy Twins with the anger behind her words. Never removing her eyes from the flame, Alice continued. "Luka is a Hero and will need to leave once the sun rises so that he can go on with his mission. So won't have any time to entertain anymore Harpies."
Pii shakily nodded her head, "O-Oh, o-o-okay, then. S-sorry..." She slinked back behind her sister, making sure to keep out of sight from the now irritated Alice. Pina held her younger sister close, aiming a harsh glare at Luka's traveling partner.
Luka himself gave a wary look to Alice, noticing that now all eyes were on her now. The Harpies, in particular, didn't seem to look at Alice with much friendliness. 'I don't think she's going to make for very good company here, I might want to try and get her out of here...'
Luka looked up to the Harpy Queen once more, whose face had seemed to be overcome with a dark blush. 'Great, she's probably just as embarrassed as I am now.' He thought in frustration. Luka's face was apologetic as he said to the Queen, "I don't mean to leave your festivities so early, Lucretia, but I think it may be time for me and my friend here to call it a night."
Lucretia's face flashed with disappointment for a second, but she quickly recovered. "Very well. I... understand..." The Queen Harpy gestured to the main tree of the village with one wing. "...If you and your friend wish, the lowest houses of my tree are vacant. You can stay in one of those for the night."
Luka gave a small bow to the Harpy Queen, "Thank you, I appreciate that very much." With that, he turned back and walked over to Alice, approaching her from the side. The Lamia was still clutching her jar of Happiness Honey, her fingers very noticeably clenched tightly around the jar. "Yo, Alice?" She gave him a side glance. The annoyance in her eyes diminished somewhat, something that gave him some relief. "I'm thinking it's time we packed up for the night. What do you say?"
Alice watched him for a moment, taking note of the nervous look in his eyes. "I agree." She said simply. Luka nodded, and without another word, the two walked away from the small gathering to go to their shelter for the night.
Lucretia sighed as she watched the boy walk away with Alice, eventually returning her attention back to the celebration. Though she couldn't help but wish that the Hero had decided to stay behind. 'Yet another lonely night, then. It's too bad, he seems like he would make a nice Husband...' The Queen Harpy thought in quiet frustration, resuming her idle observation of the festivities without a partner of her own once again.
'...I really need to stop being so subtle.'
Alice followed a bit behind Luka as the two separated from the group, slowly growing a bit more at ease the further they got from the others. She watched the boy lead on, his shoulder-length purple hair lightly bouncing with each step. The Monster Lord's mouth scrunched up, different waves of emotion ebbing and flowing in her upon looking at the boy. Annoyance flared up again as she noted that, despite being away from the Monsters, she could still smell Harpy.
And it was coming from Luka.
Being well aware of why it was coming from Luka also made it difficult not to stew. For she had seen why. She had seen everything; Every touch, every kiss, every moan. Alice was also well aware of the fact that she really shouldn't be so bothered by it. However, it was getting her worked up all the same.
"I hope that the two villages can get along now that the Harpies won't be kidnapping men anymore." Luka popped off out of the blue, causing Alice to break from her stewing.
The disguised Lamia gave a well-practiced shrug as she responded, "Maybe they will, maybe they won't, only time can tell. Though it seems to me that not everyone was quite thrilled with the agreement." Alice had truly been a bit surprised that a resolution had been founded between the Humans and Monsters in the first place, but it obviously hadn't gone over well with everybody. She looked up from the boy, noticing that they were near the bottom of Lucretia's tree now.
Luka shook his head, "You noticed, too? I'm hoping that it wouldn't end up becoming an issue. The Harpies seem like they can be friendly, when they aren't kidnapping, at least." Unknowingly, Luka had just mistakenly garnered Alice's ire once more with the mention of the Monsters. He was unable to see the way her hands wrapped tightly around the jar of Happiness Honey in her arms.
"Oh yes, they can be very friendly, can't they?" She asked with more venom than meant. Luka noticed this, looking over his shoulder with a question, "You don't think so?" He asked.
Alice didn't know if him being oblivious to her innuendo was more or less irritating. The Monster Lord shook her head, "Oh no, there's nothing wrong with them at all. That much I know, and I'm sure you do as well." Again, way too much venom. Noticing this, Luka started to look nervous again. She watched him pull at a lock of his own hair, a tell-tale sign of the boy's skittishness coming to the surface.
"I-I-I don't k-know what you mean..." He stammered, but Alice wouldn't let it down despite her own mind yelling at her to drop it. She stepped up onto the wooden ramp alongside him, moving to pass the boy with her longer strides.
The Lamia dropped down to ear-level, whispering to him as she passed him. "Like I said before, I was there the whole time." She watched with a bit of self-satisfaction as Luka shivered, her words and actions putting him on edge.
Alice got to the closest house, sniffing lightly at the doorway. 'Doesn't seem like anyone's been here for a couple years. Good.' She pushed the wooden door open a bit forcefully, the aging door clashing with the inside wall with a loud crack. She took a glance around the house as she walked in, finding that the abode was quite plain. The house only had one large room to it, and in the far-off corner was a single mid-sized bed fit for two. The rest of the room consisted of a small worn-out couch facing the lone window on the wall and a small kitchen area that looked as if it had been thoroughly trashed by the prior occupants.
She reverted back to her Monster form before turning around. The Monster Lord watched as Luka tentatively approached her, his pale blue eyes looking at her in worry. Alice felt her anger diminish some at his expression, his boyish innocence paying dividends, as a face like his was very difficult to stay mad at. "S-So..." He fiddled with the door some before closing it behind himself, "...Y-You s-s-saw me with Reina?"
Alice twitched at the Harpy's name, the very mention of the Monster digging up the memories of what she had been able to see. The Lamia could vividly remember the purple-haired boy fingering the Harpy, the image burned into her brain in the worse way. Alice had been taken aback in that moment; her mind unable to comprehend what she had been seeing...
...Or why it had made so many complicated feelings flow through her.
"Yes, I saw you going knuckle-deep in that Harpy." She watched as Luka's face blushed a dark red, his eyes falling away from Alice's face. "So, as a Hero you've shown yourself capable of grinding on a little Goblin girl, slurping down a Bee's naughty nectar, and stuffing a Harpy like you plan to roast her for a feast!" The purple-haired boy's face was absolutely crimson as he tried to argue his side while pointing a finger at Alice.
"H-H-Hey, I-I already t-told you that those f-first two were acc-accidents!" The disguised Lamia raised an eyebrow at his words, her golden eyes gleaming with devious menace. "So, you admit that this latest incident wasn't an accident, then?" She asked pointedly.
Luka's pale blue eyes widened at the accusation, "W-Well I had to! If I hadn't, then she would've woken up all of the other Harpies, and then I never would've made it to the Queen!" He fiddled with his gloved hands, a physical attempt at fighting away his nerves. "I-I swear that I didn't do it out of... yearning."
Alice squinted her golden eyes at him, her fingers drumming on her crossed arm. "Why, then, didn't you just seal her? I gave you that sword so that you could fight more effectively and avoid getting handsy with Monsters, not so that you can get in practice."
Luka's blush faded as his gaze turned sorrowful, a look that caught the Lamia off-guard somewhat. "...I'm sorry, I just..." He looked down to the wooden floorboards, his hair falling over his face a bit. "...I couldn't fight her when she was in that state. I was the one who injured her in the first place, so it didn't feel right to take advantage of that." Alice felt her anger slowly melt away at his confession, knowing what he had meant about the Harpy's wing.
The Monster Lord closed her eyes, thinking over the boy's words. It was by no means a completely ordinary reason for what he had done, but Luka have proved himself to be far from ordinary to her at this point. 'I'm not sure what I had expected, but guilting himself into pleasuring a Monster sure wasn't one of them.' She thought as she returned her golden-eyed gaze to the now pale boy.
She looked Luka, noting how overwhelmed he looked. That, coupled with the somewhat shredded right sleeve he had, reminded Alice that he had just been through a particularly trying fight. Alice had to push down another wave of anger, this time not pointed at Luka, but at Lucretia. Much like with Granberia, the boy's fight with the Queen of the Harpies had caused her much distress.
Seeing him thrown from the very tree they were residing in was particular nauseating to watch.
Alice sighed, starving off that memory. "You shouldn't put yourself in those types of situations. A stronger and slyer Monster could've easily taken advantage of the situation to try and push further. You're lucky that it was a mere Harpy."
Luka somberly nodded while muttering, "Yeah, you're right. I should be more careful..." The two fell into a calm-ish silence, the purple-haired Hero moving to inspect his ripped-up sleeve. "...You know, I have to thank you for pointing out this armor, Alice. It really saved me from having my arm cut to ribbons like my shirt is now." He pulled back at the brown tunic sleeve, showing off the undamaged gray Enrikan shirt underneath.
The purple-haired Hero scrunched up his lip, looking down at the shirt in disappointment. "Would've been nice if I didn't have to lose this shirt to prove it, though." He said as he let the torn flaps fall back down. "Hey, at least I have a couple more pairs in... myyy..." Luka's face fell, realizing his mistake. "...Travel... Bag."
Luka gave a loud sigh, "Which I left in Happiness Village." Alice watched Luka put a gloved hand to his face, rubbing at his temple. "Great, now I don't have any of my nighttime stuff. Not my hairbrush, not my bedwear, not anything!" The boy threw up his arms in frustration as he walked over to the couch, eyeing he old-looking furniture with some apprehension as he removed both his gloves and Angel Halo.
Alice, meanwhile, slithered to the bed, placing her honey jar on the ground besides it. "Sheesh," she said as she rose to full height, "You really need all of that stuff. The boy whirled around, a look of indignation on his face.
"Of course I do! Otherwise, I won't get a good night's rest!" He folded his arms over his chest. Alice regarded the boy with a long stare, watching his soft face scrunch up in a cute little pout over his predicament. A mischievous thought entered her mind, causing her to smirk as she opened her mouth.
"If sleeping in dirty clothes upsets you so much, you could just sleep naked, instead." The Lamia suggested, getting some amusement out of seeing Luka's blush return at full strength. Curiously, she found herself becoming a bit excited from her own suggestion, the idea being somewhat more pleasing than she had expected.
"D-Don't suggest something like that." Luka replied. His voice was soft, only barely above a whisper as he turned away from her, his face glowing a bright crimson. Luka walked over to the couch, eyeing he old-looking furniture with some apprehension as he removed both his gloves and Angel Halo. Alice, meanwhile, slithered to the bed, placing her honey jar on the ground beside it.
The Monster Lord looked over the boy, the Moon outside casting a dim light over his person. She became confused some as the purple-haired boy lifted his arms above his head, bending his body far to the right and then back over to the left. She tilted her head some, "What are you doing?"
Luka stopped, peeking over his shoulder to look at her. "I'm stretching." He stated plainly.
Alice fixed her golden eyes on him in a deadpan gaze, "Okay... but why?"
The boy turned the rest of his body to face her, his hands fidgeting a bit. "I had some soreness in my back from sleeping on that futon back at the Sutherlands Inn and when I mentioned my pain to the Innkeeper, she suggested that I do some stretches to help with it..." He looked to Alice with some confusion, "...For some reason she claimed it would help you too, but I'm still not really sure how that would be."
Alice peered at the couch the boy was about to lay down in, noting how unwelcoming the worn-out cushioning looked. She felt the mattress behind her, which had a pleasant softness to it. She scrunched up her face in thought, debating whether or not the idea brewing in her head was a good idea or not. Her golden eyes finally found his blue ones, "Why don't you sleep in the bed, then?"
Luka lifted his hands up to dismiss the idea, "Th-That's fine, you should take the bed, Alice. I don't think you'd want to be sleeping on this." He said, gesturing to the dilapidated couch.
Alice shook her head, her white bangs lightly swaying around her shoulders. "I never said anything about switching places with you."
Her statement threw Luka off guard, making him stand frozen as his mind slowly processed what his traveling partner had just said. He tentatively opened his mouth, "You..." His widened eyes watched Alice slither under the bed covers. "...You want me to sleep in the bed with you?"
The lavender-skinned Lamia shrugged, reclining into the pillows. "It's up to you. If you'd rather sleep on the couch, then go ahead." Luka stood there silently as Alice coiled underneath the sheets, her much taller body leaving a small space along the foot of the bed that would probably just barely fit him. She watched as the purple-haired Hero chewed on his lip, feeling his body tremble just a bit from his growing nerves.
Slowly, very slowly, Luka stepped up to the bed. Alice noticed that the hesitance in his movement was very similar to how he had approached Reina's bed.
The purple-haired Hero grasped the corner of the sheets, gently lifting the covers up until he exposed the beding underneath, alongside just a tiny peek at the bottom end of the Monster Lord's red tail. The Monster Lord wasn't sure why this caused her face to warm up, but it did all the same he climbed into the bed.
After a few seconds of situating, Luka finally found a comfortable position in the sheets. Although while his body was calm, his mind was not. The closeness of the two was unfamiliar, but not altogether unpleasant. The two lay in the bed, Alice's body parallel with the mattress whilst Lula laid sideways at the foot of the bed. It was probably an odd sight, but the two even found themselevs comfortable in their spots. From the foot if the bed, Alice heard the boy quietly call out to her.
"Th-Thank you, Alice. Goodnight." He said, pulling the covers up to his chin so that everything but his face was covered. The Lamia stared up into the thatch ceiling for a few moments, listening as the air grew silent of anything that wasn't the sound of the pair's breathing. Eventually, the Prophet and the Monster Lord fell both fell into a deep slumber as the dark night began to grow darker.
Far across the World on the northern end of the Sentora Continent, on the same mountain range containing Heaven's Gate, the sun's dying rays had fallen over the horizon as the Moon began its ascent. Beneath this growing glow were three figures currently taking part in overseeing the creation of Ilias's newest Temple of Worship. They were congregated on a small incline a couple meters higher up the Mountain.
The first was the former Eighth Monster Lord herself: Black Alice. The pale-skinned Monster sat atop a small tree stump, a large smirk on her face as her carmine eyes looked down the mountainside where a small group of Angels were constructing the new Temple.
Black Alice's amusement stemmed from the fact that none of the Angels participating seemed to be very happy or prideful of their duty at the moment, all of them having either somber looks, or expressions of complete disgust. Normally, any self-respecting Angel would be honored to be a part of creating such a place, but not for this one. For it was to be a Temple solely for Monsters to worship in.
Black Alice gave a small chuckle as one of the green-haired Angels roughly slammed a large gray brick upon another, the Angel's face contorted into a sneer. The ancient Monster Lord turned over to one of the other figures, pointing to the Angel below with an accusing hand. "Eden, dear, your Angels are being much too rough with the stones. My precious little Monster flock can't meet in a place with unstable walls now, can they?"
The second figure was the afirmentioned sage-haired Seraphim who stood a couple arms-lengths away from Black Alice, trying in vain to keep herself from glaring at the entire operation. A difficult feat, considering the former Monster Lord's continious back-handed insults. Eden looked back to Black Alice, no attempt being made to hide her annoyance at the Monster. "The walls will be fine, Alice. The Angels are doing their best under the absurb conditions here."
Black Alice seemed to disagree, "And you are pleased with it being just fine? As a Temple of the Goddess herself, should it not be as prim and pristine as possible? I expected better quality control from the Third Great Seraph herself!" Eden's normally lacksidasical gaze was hardened by the backhanded compliment, the Angel's wings folding back angrily.
"I am not the Third, anymore. I am the One and Only Great Seraph, Ilias's right-hand in Heaven!" Eden proclaimed in indignation.
"Whatever you need to tell yourself, Eden..." The third and last person whispered, causing the sage-haired Seraph to turn and look at the figure in question.
The lab-coat cladded woman's ruby-red eyes watched over the building process with an aloof facade that masked a storm brewing inside of her. It was Promestein, the Fallen Angel, who had spoken out. Eden snapped at her, "What did you just say, Promestein?"
The Fallen Angel in question turned her head to the Seraphim, "I said, whatever you need to tell yourself..." Promestein gave a small sneer, "...Third-Rate Seraph." Eden let out a growel, marching up to Promestein in a huff as Black Alice watched on, amusement dancing in her eyes.
"You should watch your tongue, you disgrace! Know who your superiors are, and remember your manners!" Black Alice snickered at Edeh's claim, adding in a quick comment. "Superior? Oh Eden, I didn't realize that you were a comedian as well as a Stooge!"
Eden locked eyes with the ancient Monster Lord as she stood from the tree stump with a mocking smile. Black Alice continued her teasings, "Ah, how skilled you must be to stay on our knees for hours on end, reading through prayers and sending them to the Goddess, just for her to ignore them anyway! What an important duty you have." Black Alice clasped her hands together, looking to the sky as she pretended to pray, "O great Goddess of Light! May my mind and eyes be as vacant as Eden's, so I may have a fraction of her ignorance!"
The sage-haired Seraph's face grew red with frustrated anger and her fists clethched tightly. "BAH!" She yelled out, stomping away in the grass. "Why, oh why, must I be here to babysit you two freaks!? I don't understand how Ilias can stand having such annoyances in Heaven!?"
Promestein shrugged, "She surely must be used to it by now after all the years of you being stuck to her side. Or maybe, after the first couple of centuries, she found a way to simply tune your stupidity out." Promestein's suggestion caused the Seraph's entire body to shake with rage, the air becoming this with radiating power.
"Oh, how I wish that I could tune you out by tossing your worthless soul back into the Sinner's Prison for the rest of eternity!" Eden declared, not seeing the cold glare coming from the Fallen Angel as she marched closer to the currently half-finished Temple. Eden scowled at the growing darkness in the sky, knowing that curfew would come very soon. The Seraph didn't want to spend another day making sure this Temple was created, but it seemed as if that was going to be the case.
Eden clapped loudly, gaining the attention of the white-robbed Angels. "Alright, everyone! Time to return to Heaven! I expect to see you all here again tomorrow as soon as the sun has risen." The blonde Angels dropped everything, quickly flying off to Heaven's Gate without having to be asked twice.
"Awwww," Black Alice cooed out. "Does someone need their beauty sleep?~" The Eighth Monster Lord cackled from behind the Seraph. Eden quickly spun around, glaring daggers at the former Monster Lord. She opened her mouth to shout at the blue-dress wearing woman, but stopped herself. A thin, humorless smile came to Eden's face.
"Well, keeping up my Heavenly visage does require some extra maintenance. Perhaps if you had done the same for yourself, maybe Heinrich wouldn't had been so eager to cut you down!" The Seraph exclaimed.
A silence filled the landscape, Black Alice's face suddenly became very empty in response to the comment. Promestein looked on with a twinge of apprehension, feeling a change in the air start to take place. The ruby-eyed Fallen Angel took note of the slight tremor of the former Monster Lord's arms, a tell-tale sign of something dangerous brewing beneath the surface. Eden's face grew smug at Black Alice's silence, the Seraph flapping her wings in self-satisfaction as the Eighth Monster Lord's bitter resentment for the Seraph grew.
Then, Black Alice slowly walked around Eden, gaining the sage-haired Angel's attention. "Oh, I'm sorry, did I upset you?" Eden asked mockingly, but she got no reply from the Monster. Both Angels watched as Black Alice trudged forward, nearing the wall where the one Angel from before had slammed her brick. Suddenly, Black Alice pointed a finger upwards at the stone.
"Ah, see? I told you, Eden. The wall is unstable." The Seraphim raised an eyebrow at the Monster's words as she questioned the Monster, "What do you mean? That wall is perfectly-"
"RRRAAAAHHHH!"
Both Angels jumped at the bestial scream that came from Black Alice's mouth. The Monster Lord's left fist shot out and tore through the thick gray bricks, shooting out pieces of jagged rock everywhere before the entire wall itself crumbled at her black-shoed feet. A great cloud of debris kicked up from the destruction, clouding the former Monster Lord's body.
Eden stood frozen with her mouth hanging open limply at the sight of the ruined wall. Promestein behind her had wide eyes, feeling the gigantic spile of power come from the Black Alice's attack. Said Monster calmly walked away from the growing rubble with a strained smile, her left fist dripping with freshly drawn blood. "See how unstable it was? As I said, your Angels need to be much more careful in how they conduct their work if we want this Temple to be finished anytime soon. Such weak walls just won't do!"
Eden stammered at the sight of the now ruined wall of the Temple of Ilias, "Wh-Why would you do that!?" She asked incredulously.
Black Alice gave her a look of mock confusion as she replied, "I don't know what you mean, Eden. I merely watched the carnage unfold; I had no hand in it." Eden watched as the Eighth Monster Lord waved with her bloody palm and vanished, teleporting away while leaving the other two behind. The Seraphim stared in shock at the empty air in front of her before glaring at the rubble lying upon the ground.
"Th-That insolent little..." Eden muttered, her face frowning deeply after having part of a day's work demolished right in front of her eyes. "...That was a wall of a Holy Temple; to damage it is a sin! Even if it was going to be used by ugly little Monsters like her." The Seraph looked back to Promestein and asked, "Can you believe she would do such a thing!?"
Promestein shook her head at the Seraphim, "I don't know what you mean, Eden. The wall clearly fell over by itself. Shoddy workmanship seems to be the issue to me, you may want to have a chat with your Angels about that." The ruby-haired Fallen Angel disappeared after the slight, leaving Eden to stew in her rage at what had just occurred.
A little more slow-moving chapter. But trust that the small break will be needed, considering what the next chapter will have in store. Expect a disclaimer for that, as it will be one of the harder ones to stomach, even for me.
Nighthunter531: But if course, there was no way he'd be able to simply get away with it.
Proud Parent: Yeah, and part of making him not so inept was to make it a more interesting read. In my mind, at least.
HunterXKiller87: I understand, I'm trying to keep in mind to only have one or two (At most) different speakers in the same paragraph, though I'll admit that going back and editing such things sometimes gets away from me. I'll try my best to do better in formatting it in a more reader-friendly way.
ggg123666: I'm glad you like how I've written the two. One of the most forefront aims I have here is to have Luka's disposition change the way many of the other characters act towards him, in particular Alice.
I will say that most of the Angels that are more mentally unstable are really just ones above the common Angels. The regular soldiers, when I get to writing them, are really not nearly as out there as the others are. Most of the ones that are exceptionally depraved are those under Wormiel's influence. In comparison, Angels like Cupid, Valkyrie, Endiel, and Eden are not nearly as bad. Though Cupid is pretty close.
And thank you, Chapter 23 was probably one of my favorites to write because it shows two very important aspects of Luka: His love and his protectiveness. Love as in how much he cares for those he considers friends and protectiveness as in what he will do for those he cares for. If you noticed, he usually thinks twice about fighting Monsters as he is more inclined to reason with them. However, this is a courtesy that he did not extend to the Leech, instead he immediately goes to engage her.
chronotimeguard: Luka probably could've eventually found a way to talk the situation down, but like you said, while he is very empathetic, he is not a very good speaker. Not yet, anyways. That, and while you're right about him technically being a good match for her, I believe that it would be more appropriate for the two to battle because of the clashing of end goals. He wanted the men free while she wanted them to stay, so there wasn't going to be an easy resolution to that.
The Contrarian: Is that a good Bruh, or a bad one?