Key:
Text
"Speaking, or in-text quote"
'Thoughts'
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Year 16 AL, Forgotten Memories
Step, Step, Step
Luka watched his own feet move beneath him, each stride following the last without much thought; just natural, automatic movement. It was interesting to him how something so vitally important as walking could come so simple, the action being an afterthought in the grand scheme of things.
Step, Step, Step
He idly wondered how it was for Alice. After all, using her tail for movement must be very different from using legs. The boy looked up at the Lamia in front of him, watching how her long red tail swayed, the motion starting from her hips and going down from there. It was an admittedly hypnotic display, one that seemed so much more complex than his own way of moving. Catching himself staring for what would definitely be an inappropriate amount of time, Luka forced his gaze back to the ground below. 'Come on, Luka.' He chastised himself, 'You can't be staring at her like that! Only those who are married can appreciate such things.'
The thought struck him harshly, erupting a whole new series of thoughts in his mind.
Step, Step, Step
Marriage, Intimacy, Relationships.
Each idea caused nothing but confusion in his mind. Luka wanted coexistence; he wanted peace. However, to have these things, there would need to be a better understanding between Humans and Monsters. The biggest issue itself is the fact that Monsters needed mates and the only available option for mates is Human males.
Which presented its own problem: Ilias's forbidding Humans from having relations with Monsters.
Luka found himself pulling lightly at his hair again, frustration seeping through his thoughts. Again, a clear and fundamental flaw in his dream resurfaced. As Ilias's Prophet, he is to save the World. In his mind, the best way to save the World is to bring coexistence. But to bring coexistence, he would be encouraging the breaking of the Commandments of the very Goddess that designated him to be the savior of the World in the first place!
To call it a crisis would be something if an understatement. He just didn't understand how he was supposed to accomplish his journey without compromising the principles he was supposed to be upholding! Luka groaned, taking a glance back up to see how much further they had until they reached Enrika.
It didn't seem to be too long, the lush green forest that housed the mysterious village being well within view. The closer the pair got to the forest, the more his thoughts shifted to the place. He reached around to his travel bag, pulling out the small map that had been drawn out so long ago by his Father. Enrika was very predominantly marked on the faded parchment, its name being underlined with purpose. There was something very evidently important about it, enough for his Father to include it while so many other maps did not.
'But why? What is so important about Enrika?' Luka thought as he shook his head.
Not only that, but something else also struck the boy as they neared the edge of the forest. It was a creeping feeling of familiarity, one that grew with each step. Yes, there was definitely something else that endeavored itself to the boy. Something other than its mentioning on his Father's map. He knew that he had heard the name before the blacksmith's shop, he knew the name before reading it on the map. Somehow, someway, he just did.
But he didn't know why, and that bothered him greatly.
"You seem awfully quiet." Alice said out of nowhere, giving the boy a reprieve from his musings. Luka looked to his traveling partner, who had slowed down some to match his pace. Luka gave a small and unsure shrug, "I just got a lot on my mind, I suppose." He answered truthfully.
He held out the map he had to Alice, "My Father's map shows this town when most don't, which is strange enough. But there's something else to it, I think. I know this place, but I don't know why I know what I know. You know?"
The Lamia gave a deadpan stare at the boy, before mustering a reply. "No, I don't know."
Luka twisted a bit, stuffing the map back into his bag. "I-It's just been gnawing at the back of my mind for a while, and I need to find out why that is." Alice offered nothing more than another one of her patented shrugs. The purple-haired boy glanced up at the nearing forest, not being able to shake the fact that he knew that he had seen it before.
Luka sighed, resigning himself to the fact that he would have to ignore this feeling until he actually reached the village.
The dirt path they walked finally led them to an entrance to the forest. The trees were a bit more spaced out than the one surrounding Happiness Village and the boy noticed that the greenery had less of an emerald shine to it. All in all, a more unassuming atmosphere...
...But...
"Hmmm, strange." Alice muttered to herself, looking around as they passed the tree line. Luka's pale blue eyes looked to his lavender-skinned traveling partner, "Something wrong, Alice?" He asked. The Lamia paused, her golden eyes seeming to widen upon realizing something. "Ahh," She said and vanished right in front of Luka's eyes.
Luka recoiled at the abrupt action, before swiftly throwing his bag off of his shoulders and grabbing the hilt of his sword. Something funny was in the air, he could feel it like a mist or fog. The purple-haired Hero looked about the area, scanning the trees and shrubbery for any movement. Eventually, he heard it.
Luka twisted around to his right quickly, keeping his sword on his back but making sure his left hand was firmly on the handle. Then, from behind a particularly wide tree, the Monster appeared.
She was an elf, that much he could tell from a single look. Her long and pointed ears jutting from under her mid-length white hair were a dead giveaway for this, it being the only indicator of her Monster nature since she was completely humanoid otherwise. The elf's skin was tan, nearly matching the light brown of the trees around them. Her clothing had a similar effect, the reserved green matching the leaves and grass of the forest's plant life. The only thing he wished was that the woman would wear just a bit more clothing.
'Guess that's just a problem with Monsters as a whole...' He thought, shuffling as the Elf slowly strode closer, her dull brown eyes giving him a calculating look. '...Though I suppose that I should be thankful that she's wearing clothes at all.'
Indeed, she did have a top that covered her chest, though it really only covered her breasts, as much of her stomach and shoulders were left bare. She wore a green sash that flowed down from her hips, though bizarrely enough, it only covered about half of her actual waist as her tight black underwear was fully exposed on her left side.
He wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt and think of it as simply being fashionable for Elves, but he knew better.
His eyes moved over to eye the sword at her hip, the Elf's hand resting lackadaisically on the hilt as she approached. Finally, she spoke. "What are you doing here, Human?" He didn't find it to be the nicest tone in the world, but he appreciated the fact that she at least hadn't begun by attacking him right off the bat. Luka took a moment to do anything, for something about her face and somewhat tomboyish voice scraped at the back of his mind...
Luka slowly took his hand off of his sword, though the Elf did not do likewise. He held both hands up in front of his chest, "I don't want any trouble, I'm just wanting to get to Enrika."
The Elf shook her head immediately at his words, "Can't let you do that, you're going to have to turn around, boy..." She drummed her fingers on the hilt of her sword, "...Or else."
The young Hero frowned at her words. He didn't want to force his way to the town, but he wasn't backing down now. Something was drawing him to this place, and he wouldn't stop until he found out what it was. He took a step forward, causing the Elf to grip her sword's handle tightly. Though she had not unsheathed it yet.
"I'm not gonna warn you again. Take another step, and it'll be your last." The white-haired Elf pulled out her sword, waving the silver blade dangerously towards the purple-haired boy. Luka eyed the weapon with hesitation. This Elf most definitely wouldn't be on the same level as someone like Granberia, but he didn't have nearly enough experience sparring against other sword-wielders to call himself comfortable with doing so.
That being said, he didn't have much of a choice. Not if he wanted to go on to Enrika.
Luka begrudgingly raised his left hand behind his back, grasping and pulling out Angel Halo. He held the dark blue sword out in front of him, the red-and-green eyes staring out disturbingly from their sockets. "Then I suppose you give me no choice..." He proclaimed, gripping the handle of his sword tightly. "...If you don't allow me to pass safety, then I will-"
"Ahhh~"
Both opponents froze, the Elf losing her stoic facade as it melted into bewilderment. Luka's own expression morphed into mortification as he stared down at Angel Halo. His face turned flush, embarrassment washing over him at hearing his sword's very lewd sound. "Ohhhh..." He groaned, putting his free hand against his forehead as he began mumbling to himself "...Why must my sword do that? It isn't Heroic at all..." He lamented, cursing the fact that his sword had to make such awful noise.
"Hmmm." The Elf hummed, peering at his sword with great interest. "Your sword seems to have some darkness in it..." She looked at him closely, a peculiar gleam in her dull brown eyes. "...At first, I thought you were some innocent boy. Perhaps I misjudged you, only someone drawn to the darker side would hold such a blade."
Luka gasped at the comment, waving a hand in desperation to the Elf. "N-No, you have it all wrong! Yes, this sword is a bit... questionable... But in my hand," He raised it up in front of himself, accidentally squeezing it again. "It is a weapon of justice, of peacekeeping, of free-"
"O-OHH!~"
"PLEASE STOP!" Luka cried, looking down at his sword in horror as it continued its terrible moaning. However, the sword took no heed of his plea, and neither did the Elf, who was becoming increasingly interested in the sight before her. She took a couple of steps closer, a bit more sway to her step as a perverted grin took over her face. "It isn't a bad thing, boy. I, Lona, can help you embrace the dark."
'Lona?' He thought, the name seeming to hit his brain somewhere deep in his memories. Any further pondering of this was discarded as, without further warning, the Elf charged him! She pulled back her sword mid-stride and threw a ferocious swing at his side. The boy's eyes widened in alarm, and he was just able to swing back, the two swords meeting with a loud clang in the air between the opponents.
Luka managed to push her back, but Lona quickly found her footing as she threw a huge downward swing at him. Luka side-stepped, the blade whistling through the air next to him as he nearly tripped over a small dip in the dirt path. Quickly, he steadied himself, but the Elf was already upon him again with a backhanded swing aimed for his side.
Luka parried her swing away with a grunt, then jumped forward and aimed a slash toward her sword hand to disarm her as she tried to regroup. The Elf pulled back far enough to avoid the slash and grabbed the back of Luka's shirt with her free hand, turning on her heel and roughly jerking him into his lunge. The purple-haired boy gave a small yelp of surprise as he was forced to roll across the dirt, nearly losing Angel Halo in the process.
He heard Lona give a shout as he rose, the Monster charging at him with a crazed look in her eyes as her sword was pointed at his center. Luka recoiled some at the sight, jumping to his feet and swinging up into her sword. The Elf gasped upon having her thrust attempt deflected, but quickly raised a leg and kicked deep into Luka's gut.
The boy gasped as her boot pushed him away, the attack causing him to fall into a large tree just beside the dirt path. "Arg!" He grunted as the rough skin of the tree prodded into him. Thankfully, his armor took most of that hit.
"Hiyaa!" The yell caused him to look up, seeing the Elf coming at him once again with a thrust. Just as she had become within arm's reach, Luka jumped out of the way, and Lona's reckless attack stabbed into the tree behind him.
"URF!" The white-haired Elf groaned out as her overreaching caused her to ram herself stomach-first into the hilt of the sword. Luka watched as she doubled over, clutching her stomach with both hands. The purple-haired boy kept his sword pointed at the Elf, his pale blue eyes watching as Lona nearly fell to her knees.
"A-Alright, like I said, I don't want trouble!" Luka declared, taking another step forward to dissuade the Elf from going for her trapped sword. "But I will do what needs to be done if you force my hand!" Luka punctuated his words by waving his sword through the air.
Lona sucked in a couple breaths, her dull brown eyes looking between her lodged sword and the purple-haired boy a couple times. She quickly figured that going for her sword wasn't a viable option. The Elf smirked, only one option left for her to resort to:
Seduction.
"Ah, well it seems you have me right where you want me..." She said, rising to stand up straight. A bit of a difficult task, considering the throbbing pain in her gut. "...So, whatcha going to do with me, boy?~"
Luka paused at her change of tone but quickly moved past it, "I just figured that I'd let you go, as long as you don't try to cause any more trouble." Lona giggled, an act that confused the boy. "Is... something funny about that?" He asked.
Lona stopped her giggle fit, leveling a gaze at him as she very slowly slid forward some. "Well, you could let me go. But..." She started lifting a hand to her chest, stopping at the small golden ring that the top's strings connected. "...Why don't we have a little bit of fun, instead?" She lifted the ring away from her body, the small green top lifting away from her chest.
The purple-haired boy watched as the Elf, with seemingly practiced speed, took her free arm and ran it through the gap between her chest and the cloth. In just a breath of a moment, half her top was off and in another swift movement, the other half was as well. Lona discarded the clothing with a lazy toss into some shrubbery and presented her naked breasts with both arms held wide open.
Luka gave a yelp of distress, averting his eyes to look at her still somewhat clothed legs. Lona giggled again, "Aww, what's the matter? There's nothing wrong with appreciating my body. I want you to~" Luka shook his head, taking a dutiful step back as the Elf to a step forward to close the distance between the two. She stopped, grabbing at the green sash hanging from her waist. "You don't mind if I take this little thing off too, do you? It's getting a bit too hot here~" Luka had no time to answer, the Elf immediately ripping the sash to get it off quicker.
The young Hero forced his eyes to her feet as the sash revealed a simple pair of black panties underneath. "Li-Listen, if you keep doing that, I'll be forced to... ehhh..." Luka shuffled away as she grew closer, even though Luka still had Angel Halo out in his hands. "...To t-take a-action!" He proclaimed shakily, even though he wasn't quite sure what action that would be. Like any other Monster, he didn't want to seal Lona unless absolutely necessary.
However, he was not going to partake in any more scandalous activities.
"Why not? Don't be afraid of the dark, it's quite comfortable once you get used to it!~" The Elf declared, suddenly rushing Luka in a last-ditch effort to get the better of him. She ducked down low, invading the boy's gaze with her naked flesh as she made to tackle him. Luka grunted as she went shoulder-first into his abdomen, forcing him into the grass and dirt below.
"Now I have you!" She shouted out, grabbing his left hand with both of her own and forcing it down. She lifted up and planted her legs on either side of him, straddling the boy.
"Kiss of Ecstasy!"
Luka recoiled as the Elf's face dived down towards him, her lips puckered for very unwanted contact. "H-Hey!" He yelled out, stopping her descension with a gloved hand to her face. The boy extended his arm, roughly pushing her back. Their awkward struggle continued, the boy kicking his legs as the Elf kept a death grip on his sword hand. The action kept him from attacking but left the Monster without any means of actually forcing her will upon him. The purple-haired boy gritted his teeth, his palming of the Elf's face only helping in keeping their lock-up at a standstill.
He put all of his strength into one last shove, causing the Elf to tilt over precariously to his left. Luka twisted his hips, forcing the Elf to rotate with him until he was able to reverse the situation. Now, with him on top, the Elf began to panic. Lona's eyes had become wide, and her mouth was stretched into a tense line as she desperately tried to keep a tight grip on his left wrist. However, since she could no longer lean in to kiss him, Luka's right hand was free.
He pawed at one of her wrists, pulling her grip off his sword arm. The boy made for her other hand, ignoring her shouts as she tried to stop him. Her whole body flailed beneath him as he slowly pried his left arm out of her grip. Upon finally doing so, however, the Elf caught him off guard.
"Kiss of Ecstasy!" She shouted out once more, now using both hands to grab him by his shoulders and yank him down headfirst. Luka's eyes widened as he was brought crashing down into her lips, the Elf successfully making contact this time. She half-moaned and half-laughed into the kiss, the Monster feeling victorious now that her spell had been cast. She wrapped her strong legs around him, keeping the squirming boy from escaping as she assaulted him with her lips.
Luka pulled and pulled, the Elf's lewd moaning vibrating his mouth as the magical attack began to fuzzy his mind. Eventually, he was able to pry away, grimacing at the trail of saliva that was left from their parting. He furiously scrambled out of her grip, the Elf letting him go as she seemingly was unconcerned about him freeing himself from her grip.
"Bah!" Luka yelled as he stumbled away to lean against a nearby tree, spitting and vigorously wiping at his mouth, "W-Why did you do that!? W-Who k-k-kisses during a f-fight!?" He asked in disbelief, his head still buzzing from the unwanted lip-locking. The Elf gave a low chuckle, slowly pushing herself up by her elbows as she rose from the ground. "You'll see why soon enough. Darkness will soon surround your heart, and you give in to your lust." Luka peered at her, his pale blue eyes looking on with confusion.
With a deliberate movement, the Elf reached down and began pulling off her black underwear. Luka gasped, immediately averting his eyes again like before to ignore the display. For some reason, his mind felt like it was swimming.
The now mostly naked Elf tsked, "You can fight it all you want, but you'll give yourself to me sooner or later~" Again, like before, the Elf charged him. Luka watched her feet, swinging once she came close. However, she ducked it and, strangely enough, continued running past him.
He moved to cut her off but stumbled mid-turn as his nose was hit with the scent of arousal. He cursed under his breath, the smell stirring up an unfortunately familiar feeling down below. Luka heard a grunt, spurring him to just see the Elf successfully remove her sword from the tree it had been stuck in. "Now, let's just get rid of that naughty sword you have there. You won't be needing it soon~" The purple-haired boy grimaced, noting that there was something clear running down her leg.
He couldn't even pretend to be ignorant of what that was.
Lona dashed to him with her blade in both hands, the silver gleaming in the errant strands of sunlight coming from the canopy above. Luka met the Elf's swing, their swords clashing much like at the start of the fight. Aside from his opponent now being mostly nude, it was much like at the start of the duel, except Luka felt as if his movements were delayed as his muscles weren't responding as quick as before. The white-haired Monster kept on the offensive, pulling away and aiming a thrust at Luka's leg. Seeing this, the purple-haired boy turned to let the attack pass by and slashed at her arm.
This time his attack landed, causing Lona to yell out as his sword cut lengthwise down her forearm and left a dark red scar behind. She spun away, but Luka was now determined to end the fight quickly as the fuzziness in his head began to strengthen. Steeling his gaze, the boy dashed forward as he felt his own magic begin to build up inside. With a stomp into the kicked-up dirt below, he launched himself straight for the Elf.
"Demon Decapitation!"
His voice's call startled Lona, inadvertently causing her to lose her guard as he slashed across her throat. The Elf choked out a cry, the attack finding its mark. He remained standing post-strike as she stumbled, dropping her sword as she crashed into a large green bush behind her. Luka squirmed at the gurgling she made before her body began to dissipate as she was sealed.
Luka sighed, putting Angel Halo onto his back again. He was put right back on edge, however, upon hearing what seemed to be Lona yelling out again. Except she sounded... smaller?
He looked over to where she had landed, his eyes widening as he noticed something he had not seen the first time.
Shaking like one of the leaves in the bush itself was a small girl, one about the size of a four or five-year-old. She stayed inside the bush, something he was greatly appreciative of since he was pretty sure that she didn't get a new set of clothes upon being sealed. Luka noticed that the girl had mid-length blonde hair instead of white hair and her skin was peach instead of tan like Lona's had been. The significant changes only furthered his confusion, as this combined with her younger age made her seem all the more familiar to him.
"Lona?" He asked softly, sure that this girl was the Elf he had just fought despite the change in appearance. The girl stopped shaking and tilted her head at him. Her large brown eyes scanned his face as if looking for something. Her gaze somehow became larger, as if struck by a realization. She opened up her mouth, her small voice uttering a single word.
"Luka?"
The purple-haired boy had to pause, the girl's utterance of his name not quite clicking in his mind until he realized that he had never introduced himself. He shook his head lightly, not understanding what was going on. "H-How do you know... m-my name?" He asked, fighting to steady his breath.
Seemingly just as upset and confused as he was, the girl turned and disappeared into the thicket. He called out to her, but the girl vanished into the thick underbrush. He tried to call out to her, but the girl was gone before he even realized it.
Luka stared into the thicket, his thoughts muddied and unclear because of everything that had just transpired. Had he known this Elf when he was young? But that didn't make sense, he was sure that he'd never been to Enrika before but the longer this went on, the less sure he became.
'I guess that I should keep going, then...' He finally thought, practically forcing himself to continue on even though his mind and heart were a mess now. Lona's name had been familiar, but in her sealed form, her face was undoubtedly one he had seen before. He just didn't know how that was possible.
Luka suddenly jerked, nearly falling over before barely catching himself on a tree. He panted harshly, having to close his eyes to keep the sudden nausea from overtaking him. 'Man, I feel like I just ran into a brick wall. What happened?'
Any further thoughts were cut off as Alice appeared out of the side of his vision, ready to give him her appraisal. "Well, other than your mid-match make-out session." She stressed with disappointment clearly coming out in the emphasized words, "You didn't do too bad. Though you really should go on the offensive more. Waiting to be attacked to counter can be a good tactic, but not if it's your only tactic."
Luka nodded to show his appreciation for the advice, but truly, his mind was elsewhere. He pushed off the tree to stand straight, an act that took a lot of effort on his part. "Why am I so out-of-sorts all of the sudden?" Luka asked, looking to his traveling partner for an answer.
Alice quickly provided one, "That would be the Kiss of Ecstasy. It's a mind-manipulation spell which makes it where the more you're kissed, the easier it is for you to succumb to the caster's whims." She folded her arms, "A couple more times if even that, and you'd be a mindless sex slave right now."
Luka was only able to manage to give Alice an incredulous expression, a great deal of horror coming to his mind from the thought before he simply shook his head. "G-Good to know that..." He looked to the small path in front of him, "...I'll, uh, keep that in mind next time."
The young Hero faced forward and began pacing down the dirt path as it ventured deeper into the forest. The chirping of the birds and droning of the cicadas helped to ease his mind, their song of woodland merriment and tranquility helping him find a bit of peace on his physical side. But even still, his mental side was stuck on how bizarre this was quickly becoming. Hopefully, once he actually got to Enrika, things would start making sense.
"Hey, Alice." He called out, looking to the Lamia in the hopes that she could answer at least one of his questions. "That Elf back there. Did you notice how she changed after I sealed her?" The lavender-skinned Monster looked to him as if it were obvious.
"Yeah, you sealed her. That usually changes some things." Luka closed his eyes tightly for a second before ultimately deciding to move past the slight. "Yes, but her skin changed color, and so did her hair. Is that not strange?" He asked.
Alice crossed her arms, "Well, the first thing you need to know if that wasn't just a regular Elf. At least, not when your fight began. She was a Dark Elf." Luka looked at her with a raised brow, spurring her to ask, "You do know what a Dark Elf is, right?"
Luka appeared to become nervous, an indicator that he, in fact, did not know. "Uhhh..." He began, "... Is it because she had a healthy tan?" Alice's golden eyes pierced his very soul, her gaze showing that his answer was not correct.
"No." She said, "She was a Dark Elf because she had become corrupted by Darkness." The answer caused the purple-haired boy to pause before asking another question, "So, that's what she meant when she was asking me to embrace the Dark?"
The Lamia nodded, "Yup. Just like how Angels have their power of Light," She nearly spat out the terms, "Monsters have their power of Dark." She peered down at Luka, "That's what makes us different from Angels. They're born with a certain amount of power, while Monsters can keep getting stronger over time." Luka hummed, not having known that before.
"However, this does have its drawbacks." Luka turned to face Alice, noticing a bit of melancholy in her gaze as she stared ahead.
"The more Darkness a Monster harnesses, the more depraved she becomes. If a Monster falls far enough into Darkness, they become shells of their former selves, engorging themselves on the darkest aspects of their desires while losing their sense of self. This is a phenomenon called Degeneration." Alice stressed the term by looking at the boy. "Usually, lust is the number one corrupting factor, though anything you can consider Dark falls underneath that umbrella."
"So is that why she acted so..." Luka shuddered, "...provocative? Because of Degeneration?" Alice gave a quick reply, "Yep, though strangely enough, you sealing her seemed to reverse that, as she turned back into a regular Elf."
Luka mulled over the revelation, an idea coming to him. "S-So, when she gets back her power and becomes unsealed again, is it possible that she might not be corrupted anymore?"
Alice shrugged, "I dunno. I don't go around sealing things." Luka's face fell a bit, "Ah, well, it's just an idea, I guess..." The purple-haired Hero continued down the dirt path with Alice at his side. The path started to widen some, a small clearing seeming to open on the right side.
'Being corrupted by lust sounds terrible.' The boy thought to himself. 'To have nothing but thoughts of sex all day? That can't be very healthy for the mind.' To Luka, having such intimacy between two people must be done out of love, not just mere lust. It should mean more than just simply satisfying desire.
A twinge of shame shot through him as he realized that technically, he broke that personal rule twice now.
Luka shook his head, 'No, that's not fair. I didn't do what I did with Reina out of love, but I didn't do it out of lust either. I had to do that out of necessity...' His thoughts drifted to Alice, his encounter with her challenging him even more so. His mind came to a crossroads, no good excuse or justification coming to mind until he remembered what Alice had said. '...Well, like she said, it was just a natural reaction that needed to be dealt with in order for us to move on! So that wasn't conscious desire.'
Somehow, the thought of it being an unconscious desire made it sound worse.
He shook his head at the idea. 'Nevermind that! I won't be engaging like that with any more Monsters from now on, so I should just move past it.' Out of the corner of his eye, Luka noticed movement. Upon turning, he found that Alice was gone again. The Hero's eyes blinked quickly, his mind taking a second to realize what had happened.
"Another Monster that quickly!? I-I just beat one!" Luka grabbed for his sword, pulling it out this time as he kept moving. The trees swayed some as the wind blew overhead, the sound of thousands of leaves rustling invading his ears. The boy kept his strides slow as he scanned the trees and underbrush around him. Soon, he reached the small glade that had been further up the path. Once getting close enough, he found his Monster.
She was sitting on a wide tree stump in the middle of the glade, one leg crossed over her other. Her odd light-purple skin glowed in the dim sunlight as she reclined back, leaning on her black-gloved hands. Her hair was bright blonde and tied into a high and wide ponytail that was held together by sky-blue flowers. Her long elven ears were pointed down, nearly reaching her shoulders with how they were positioned.
If his observations ended there, he'd say that she was unassuming... however...
The Elf turned to look at him, a large grin plastered on her face. From there, two observations caused him to freeze. The first was the now very obvious fact that while this Dark Elf was wearing a long flowing black dress, it did not hide all of her body. Pieces of the dress were, in fact, see-through; the most prominent areas being her breasts, a fact that he noticed with great dismay. 'Why even wear that if it doesn't cover completely, doesn't that defeat the purpose of wearing clothes!?'
The second and more disturbing observation was the Dark Elf's large blood-red eyes. The gaze held in them was intense and made the boy feel as though he was being eyed like a piece of meat.
"Oh, a boy?" She asked, twisting her body to face him fully as she sat on the stump. "You must be lost to be wandering in a forest like this. It would be recommended for you to turn away." Luka watched her warily, not putting down Angel Halo. He felt on edge, his whole body jittery at the sight of this Dark Elf's presence. Something about her felt very wrong.
"I-I can't t-t-turn back now," Luka said, fighting back his stutter. "I need to get to Enrika!" He declared as he held his sword aloft. His confidence wavered a bit, as the Monster's grin widened. In the corner of his eye, he noticed the bottom of her dress billow some, seemingly on its own. The movement was accompanied by the sound of something slimy writhing around.
"I was hoping you'd say that..." She whispered, slowly rising from the tree stump she was sitting atop. Luka watched with a hardened gaze as she started to slowly stride towards him, "...You look just like the type of boy I love to play with."
The purple-haired boy stayed planted on the spot as the Dark Elf came to a stop a few meters away, staring him down with her awful red eyes. Luka felt his heartbeat pick up as the ghoulish-looking Monster drew her left hand down to the hem of her dress and started to pull. From the bottom of the dress, the black boots of the Dark Elf were revealed along with the pale purple skin of her shapely legs. However, Luka couldn't even muster a blush at the sight as something much more disturbing took his attention.
The purple-haired boy choked on his breath as a large ugly mass of tentacles slithered out from beneath the dress. The Dark Elf chuckled at Luka's look of horror, "Awww, not a fan of these?" She cooed as she pulled the dress back further, more and more arms of wriggling purple flesh undulated from the Monster. Luka flinched as their sticky and wet sound-sounding movements dug into his eardrums. The Dark Elf called out to him, "Give me a minute, and you'll change your tune~" With one final tug, the entire conglomeration of sucking tentacles was revealed.
Luka's breathing was quickly becoming erratic, Angel Halo waving in his quivering grip. "S-S-Sta-a-ay ba-a-ack." He managed to hiss out, nearly unable to find his voice as he tried to warn the Dark Elf. His unthreatening tone gained another low chuckle from the Monster as she started walking closer. "Hehee, don't try running now. That'll just make it worse when I catch you."
A strange type of pressure began to build inside of Luka as the Dark Elf threatened the boy, the feeling only getting stronger as her tentacles started to wave in his direction. "I-I-I'm warning y-you." Luka said, his head feeling fuzzy in a very different way now compared to how it did with Lona. "L-Let me pass, a-and n-no-nothing bad w-will ha-happen to you!" He warned one last time, his anxiety growing.
However, she did not stop.
The blonde-haired Monster tilted her head downwards, her gaze becoming more predatory as she approached him. The Dark Elf's tentacles grew visibly excited, the limbs slickly slipping around and caressing each other as she drew closer to the young Hero.
Luka's shaking continued, intensifying until it seemed as if he was vibrating. Inside of the boy a great power was building, scratching and raking to be released. The power shot through his left arm, causing a very subtle glow to envelop that arm. The sight actually caused the Dark Elf to pause, a look of alarm coming to her face.
"What is this?" She murmured, her overpowering lust waning in a moment of confusion. However, she would not be getting an answer, as something snapped within Luka.
"DEMON DECAPITATION!"
Luka's scream was immediately followed by him flying at the Dark Elf and swinging Angel Halo with a ferocity seldom seen in the boy's technique. His sword met its mark, his opponent having no time to react as Angel Halo cut through her throat with a sickening wet slash. The Dark Elf had only enough time to grasp at her ripped-open throat before she began to fade away like dust in the wind.
The purple-haired boy fell to his knees, dropping Angel Halo as the Dark Elf behind him was sealed away. Desperate pants escaped his lips as he fought to regain control of his breathing, the buzzing in his head slowly disappearing as he eventually was able to calm down. Luka paused in the middle of pushing himself up, a wave of intense pain hitting his left arm causing him to stop. He gritted his teeth and forced his body to comply and rise to his feet.
Luka turned to look over his shoulder, seeing something writhing around in the large black dress now lying on the faded grass. He gripped Angel Halo a bit tighter and began to slowly creep up to the fallen clothing. Before he got there, however, a small head poked out of the collar of the dress.
The young Hero's pale blue eyes met with a familiar-looking pair of red eyes. Although this time, the eyes of the sealed Dark Elf held no depraved lust in them, just fear at the sight of his sword. "I-I'm sorry!" The now peach-skinned ex-Dark Elf cried out, her tiny form quivering inside of the dress. Without waiting for Luka to say anything the small Elf girl shot her arms out of the sleeves and bundled up the black dress beneath her before scurrying away towards the dirt path.
Luka felt a twinge of regret upon seeing the Elf girl's fear, his mouth turning into a frown as she tripped over herself and fell into the dirt with a cry. The purple-haired Hero was about to call out to her, but the Elf quickly picked herself up and vanished behind some shrubbery further along the path.
'That didn't feel very Heroic.' Luka thought as he moved to place Angel Halo on his back. He had some issue, his left arms throbbing in pain at the action bending back that much. The purple-haired boy turned to the path leading to Enrika, ambling towards it with a weary mind. He didn't regret beating the Elf, but he couldn't help but feel as though he could've handled it better. 'Well, maybe at the very least that'll keep her from falling to Darkness a second time?' He thought hopefully, clutching his burning arm with his free hand as he made it back to the path.
A path that had a very perturbed-looking Alice waiting for him.
"So, I see that you took my advice about going on the offensive to heart..." The lavender-skinned Lamia said though she didn't look at ease from this. For a moment, it looked as if Alice was going to ask him something, but the expression disappeared as quickly as it came. "...Either way, we should keep going. There's no reason to stay around here."
Luka nodded at her suggestion, keen on moving on as quickly as possible after that incident. "Yeah." He quietly replied, moving past Alice to make way for Enrika. The Lamia watched him walk away his head hung low, her face scrunched up because of what all had transpired.
'For just a moment, it seemed like...' Alice clicked her tongue, banishing the thought. '...No, I must be mistaken. Humans can't use Angelic Magic, I'm sure of that.'
"Hey, Luka." She said, making the boy turn around to face her. His pale blue eyes were dim, his usual pep gone from his gaze. Alice lifted up her red tail, showing him the bag he had discarded and left behind after his fight with the first Elf. "You forgot this."
To her unseen relief, the boy's eyes lit up and a small, thankful smile came to his mouth. He grabbed the bag with both arms, pulling it up to his shoulder. "Thanks, Alice." She nodded, and without another word, The Monster Lord followed the Prophet as they grew closer to the mysterious village of Enrika...
Just one more chapter before we get to Enrika. I'm sorry, I feel as though I'm teasing just a bit too much, but I can't help it. That, and I still want chapters to be around a certain length and if I tried to fit everything in all at once, it would be waaay too long. Unless it's a particularly important or climatic chapter, that is.
A little bit more Monster action here, though a bit of a twist. And we also get to see the beginnings of a certain tendency from Luka. While the pheromone treatment that he was given as a child does make him more attracted towards Monsters, ANY mentioning or showing of tentacles will give a very different reaction. As in, he finds them completely terrifying.
Not to say that he will try to gut every single Monster with tentacles, but he will have a very deep-rooted aversion towards them.
Guest: Ilias is going just keep getting worse from here on out, I can tell you that much. She's pretty well trying to concoct this idea that Monsters aren't able to love to influence Luka further. It won't work in the end but know that she is going to go to great lengths to prove to him this belief of her's.
Guest: I'm not sure if this is true in-canon but it will certainly be true here. His Angelic power in this fic alone will make him stronger than Alice, and if he was a straight-up Angel, he'd only be weaker than Ilias herself. The only problem he's going to eventually face when his Angelic powers are unlocked, is that his Angel Half and Human Half do not mix well.