Key:
Text
"Speaking, or in-text quote"
'Thoughts'
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Year 16 AL, The Communion
Luka walked through the streets of Iliasburg in a daze. With his mind being so cloudy, the boy reverted in on himself, keeping his form small and his gaze locked on the ground before him. He didn't want to make eye contact with anyone, lest someone actually see how upset he was by his eyes alone. Yet, all the emotions bursting beneath his skin were begging to be let out, to be heard in spite of his efforts. Luka's body trembled uncontrollably, as if the very feelings he was trying to reign in were fighting to be released.
To his confusion and frustration, his left arm started to flare up again, much like it had been the night before during his time in Harpy Village. The soreness only added to the ever-growing pile of issues he was having, further driving Luka into a darker part of his mind. The boy pulled up his left sleeve along with the Enrikan armor underneath, trying to find any clue as to why the appendage was giving him an issue. However, other than a slight red tint to the skin, there seemed to be no pronounced anomalies with the arm. "Makes no sense..." He grumbled, rolling the sleeve back down.
The young Hero jumped at the sound of yelling and stumbled, barely moving out of the way of a passing caravan of people. The purple-haired boy groaned, feeling as if his head was pounding.
It was too loud. The chattering of the people, the stomping of their feet, the strange dull hum of the air itself. Everything was just too much for him right now. He needed to get somewhere private, secluded, quiet.
Luka pulled harshly at a lock of hair behind his ear, the jolt of pain alleviating his anxiety a bit. He forced his eyes to roll up and see past all the people in front of him, scanning the buildings all around until he found it: Towering above all the white buildings around it was Iliasburg's Temple of Ilias. Luka felt some relief as he huffed out a breath of air, 'It should be quiet enough in there for me to calm down.' He thought, pushing forward with purpose through the onslaught of people.
The crowd slowly thinned out as he got closer to the Temple, the number of markets and stores dropping until it morphed into the housing of the town. However, once the number of people around dropped to a handful, that's when he felt it. He glanced over his shoulder, seeing nothing but common folk walking around. But there was something else. Something he couldn't quite place. It almost felt as if...
...He was being followed.
'Well, that's just silly. Who here would be following me, right now?' Luka thought before turning back around. Despite his shrugging off of the feeling, the boy's hair started to stand on end. Within just a few seconds, his skin became clammy and cold, a shiver ran down his spine as he started to pick up his pace.
Scrape
"Gah!" Luka yelped, twisting his entire body to peer over to where he had heard the sound of something sliding across stone. Standing before him, however, was nothing but an empty alleyway. Nevertheless, the purple-haired boy's heart was racing in his chest, every pump seeming to throb in all the bloodlines in his body.
Luka's now wild pale blue eyes darted back and forth, noticing how he now seemed to be completely alone on this street leading to the Temple. The young Hero gasped at the revelation, and darted off towards his goal, flying past the conjoined housing with great speed until he finally came to the large blue doors of the pearly white institute of the Goddess of Light.
He just about ripped open the doors to get inside and slammed them closed behind him just as aggressively. Luka spun around and leaned back first against the door, taking solace in the fact that being in the Holy building was already starting to ease his nerves. He waited for a few belated minutes as his lungs finally stopped fighting so hard to breathe before taking in his surroundings.
The Iliasburg Temple was much like the one back in his hometown, though it was noticeably smaller than the one in Ilias's most esteemed village. Luka passed the blue-seated booths, reaching the front of the Prayer Hall. Glancing up, he found his gaze meeting the stained-glass visage of the Goddess herself, eyes closed, and hands clasped together in a showing of her Holiness. The purple-haired boy removed his shoulder bag along with Angel Halo, carefully leaning them up against one of the nearby seats before returning to the front of the Prayer Hall.
Luka gently fell to his knees, mirroring Ilias's motions as he closed his own eyes. Then, a shimmering white light started to emit from his hand, which started to move up his arm as he called out to the Goddess.
"Goddess Ilias, I beseech your presence..."
Slowly, his form began to shimmer and fade...
"Shit!" A feminine voice cursed as she help to lift her friend up. "Great. Way to go, we almost had him until you got all jittery, Valkyrie!"
The now-identified Archangel scoffed, taking great offense to her friend's complaint. "I was not getting jittery, Cupid. I tripped because of these offending garments you are having me wear!"
"Don't start being a prude now, Valkyrie. You need to loosen up some if you're really wanting to do this with me." Cupid stared as she began to leave the shadowy alleyway she and Valkyrie had been hiding in.
The one known as the Angel of Love stepped out into the sunlight, her appearance significantly different than usual. The Angel's hat was gone completely, letting her long blonde hair flow around the sides of her face and behind her in her large ponytail. Gone also were her wings and almost unseeable Halo, having been hidden as a part of her disguise. Cupid kept her dress but forgone the pink gloves and knee-high boots she would usually wear alongside it. Instead, at the end of her bare legs, were a pair of simple pink sandals.
"Now, it isn't ideal, but at least we know where he's at." She said as she gestured to the Temple, "Either way, he's ripe and ready to be picked. So, I say we make our move!" Cupid declared as she began stepping towards the Temple. However, her words spurred the still-hidden Archangel behind her to leave the alleyway as well.
"A-Absolutely not!" The white-haired Angel declared she stepped into the light.
Her attire was completely different than her usual articles. Instead of the bright white robes the Angels were known for wearing or the armor Valkyrie would don in preparation for battle, the Archangel was wearing what appeared to be the most modest nightgown one could find. The shiny silk garment was a light gray and hung from thin shoulder straps to fall all the way down past the Archangel's knees. The gown's cleavage was much less revealing than her partner's, not even giving half as much of a view of the Angel's bust.
Similarly, the Archangel forgo her wings and Halo and had settled with wearing a pair of gray sandals on her feet.
Cupid glanced at Valkyrie in disbelief, "What do you mean, absolutely not!? Are you ready to fuck this boy with me, or not? I'm not gonna wait forever!" Valkyrie threw her hands up to her face, covering her burning cheeks. "Th-That's n-not my point, Cupid!" She removed her hands, glaring at the Angel of Love. "We. Cannot. Do That. THERE." She exclaimed, pointing furiously at the Temple of Ilias.
Cupid peered at the building; her eyebrow raised. "Uhh... Why not?" She asked, her pink heart-shaped pupils looking at Valkyrie as if she had a second head.
The War Angel froze, her brain nearly breaking at Cupid's lack of awareness. "Cupid," She started, "That is a Temple of our Goddess. Can we not find somewhere else to... approach him, at? Why do not just bring him back to the Sutherlands?" Valkyrie suggested.
Cupid shook her head, "Nope, trying to do all that extra convincing would take too much time. We gotta take this chance while it's hot. We'll fuck him in the confession booth if we have to!" She paused, thinking over what she had just said,
"Actually, that sounds kinda hot..." The blonde-haired Angel put a hand up to her face, fantasizing the situation out loud. "...The three of all stuffed into one tight room, it'd be awful hard not to start getting frisky..." The Angel of Love giggled and then began marching towards the Temple, Valkyrie right on her tail.
"C-Cupid!" The Archangel exclaimed. "Having intercourse inside of a Temple is forbidden. We can't go around breaking more of Ilias's rules! We are already being sinful enough as it is just by attempting this!"
A smirk came to Cupid's face as she glanced over her shoulder, "You worry too much, Valkyrie. Ilias isn't going to know about it, and besides..." She lowered her voice, "...Technically, those rules are really only meant for full-blooded Humans, so it doesn't apply to us~" The white-haired Archangel followed Cupid up to the doors, stopping the Angel of Love as she attempted to open the door.
"Wait!" She exclaimed, placing a hand on Cupid's shoulder before whirling her around. "How are we even supposed to do this? We can't just walk in and ask t-to service him!" Valkyrie stuttered, blushing madly at her own phrasing. Cupid rolled her eyes, "What, you need a script or something!?" The Archangel stared wide-eyed at Cupid, and the Angel of Love suddenly realized that such a thing might actually be necessary.
Cupid sighed, "Okay, how about this." She said, placing a hand on her own chest, "I'll play the part of the bubbly cutesy one who does all the talking, while you..." She emphasized the word by poking the Archangel on her collarbone, "Be the aloof, mysterious one with the impassioned gaze. Sound good?" Valkyrie gave a nod, but still held some hesitation in her steel-blue eyes.
Cupid smirked and turned to put a hand on the door's handle. "Alright, let's go get some!" She pulled the door open, revealing the inside. The two paced in, Cupid with a lustfully eager gleam in her glowing pink eyes while Valkyrie's gaze remained uncertain as she looked around the Temple.
"Huh, that's..." Cupid fell silent as she scanned the inside, looking along each row of seating for the purple-haired Prophet. But he was nowhere to be found. "...Weird." She finished, confusion evident in her tone. The Angel of Love darted across the Prayer Hall, her hair flinging about wildly as she searched the large room.
She turned around to face Valkyrie, who was looking around in similar confusion as she too found that Luka was nowhere to be seen. Cupid stuttered, "Wh-Where is he!? He couldn't have just disappeared!" The blonde-haired Angel exclaimed, cluelessly to the fact that this is exactly what happened.
Valkyrie shook her head, "This doesn't make any sense, it's as if he just vanished..." She began walking down towards Cupid. The Angel of Love turned to the Archangel, her eyes narrowed in annoyance.
"Well, he probably ran right through here because of all that sound you were making before. Yep, you probably scared him off!" Valkyrie recoiled at the accusation, "You can't put the fault of this on me!" She exclaimed.
Cupid gave her a pointed look, "Of course I can, since I wasn't the one to trip over her own feet!" Valkyrie ran a hand down her face in frustration, the Archangel feeling as though the whole situation was unraveling. She gestured to her feet with an indignant fire in her eyes, "I am not accustomed to waltzing about in these ridiculous shoes, Cupid. That's why I wanted to keep my boots!"
The Angel of Love threw her hands up in the air, "That would ruin the disguise! What type of maiden runs around in combat-ready armored boots while wearing a dainty nightgown!? Think Valkyrie, Thi-!"
Thud
The crash of a heavy door being forced open sounded at the entrance of the Prayer Hall, silencing the two disguised Angels as the sunlight poured in. At the door was the Temple's elderly priest, who looked particularly tired at the moment.
"By the Goddess, I swear. This city is going downhill..." He paused and looked up, noticing the two disguised Angels who stood frozen in the middle of the Prayer Hall like kids caught with their hands in the cookie jar. He let out a great big sigh, his eyes showing more disappointment than anything at the sight of the two scantily clad women.
"...Alright, I've already talked to your lot about this before. Just because the City of Iliasburg allows for prostitution, does not mean that the Temple of Iliasburg does." He pointed towards the still-open door. "If you really wish to parade around and sell your bodies, you are free to do so in the streets where you belong. But you can not do it in my Prayer Hall!"
Luka, despite having felt the sensation before, found himself feeling nauseous when he was abruptly snatched from the Earth and brought into Heaven. The act had been so quick, almost immediate, once he had begun to as if Ilias had been waiting for him...
The young Prophet fought to open his pale blue eyes, but also like before, the sheer brightness of Heaven overpowering him. But quickly, a hand grasps the top of his head, alleviating him of the discomfort. He opened his eyes, watching as the soft hand pulled back and away from him.
"Hello... Luka..." Ilias's voice drawled as she stood before him. The purple-haired boy looked up to meet Ilias's gaze and... paused. Something seemed somewhat different about the way her bright blue eyes looked down at him. The warmth was still there, but something else lingered just below the surface. Something he couldn't quite grasp.
"H-Hello, Ilias." He responded, a bit of nervousness coming through in his voice. He could tell something was off, but he didn't know what it could be. "H-How are you?" Ilias stayed silent; her gaze unwavering as it bore into him. He couldn't help but turn his eyes down, already feeling a bit awkward at how the exchange was going thus far.
The Goddess finally answered, "I am... Well." Ilias turned, walking away from the boy to recline on her marble throne. "I am... glad, that you have been progressing on your journey." She stated, glancing off to the side. Luka finally realized what it was in the Goddess's eyes, it was hurt. The boy became perplexed at his discovery. 'Is she upset about something? Is it because I haven't been praying enough?'
"Is there something wrong, Ilias?" The Goddess turned her gaze to the boy, her bright blue eyes becoming strongly fixated on him. She lifted her right hand and beckoned him to her, to which he quickly followed her direction and drew near. With the same hand, Ilias reached down and caressed the boy's face. Luka recoiled a bit at the touch but stood still as her hand ran across his cheek.
"Oh, there is nothing wrong, my Prophet." She said, removing her hand from his face. "So, what is it that you wanted to commune with me about?" Luka sighed, the breath shakily coming out of him as his Goddess's question caused him to become nervous. He drummed his fingers together to build up courage for what he was about to ask.
"Ilias..." He began, causing the Goddess of Light to lean, her gaze expectant. "...Erm, why is it that you do not allow for Humans and Monsters to marry?" The question had been lying dormant at the back of his mind since he had helped solve the issue in Happiness Village. Seeing all of the seemingly happily conjoined Human and Harpy families had given him a lot of thought. To him, it was clear evidence that coexistence was indeed possible. The only issue was the fact that there was clearly a need for a helping hand, a guide to show each side that peace could be reached if given a chance.
Luka watched as Ilias's face became tense, the warmth in her eyes fading a bit. "...Because, my Prophet, Humans and Monsters are not allowed to have intercourse. And so, if they cannot have intercourse, then they cannot marry." The purple-haired boy felt his chest tighten at Ilias's words, in some sense having expected the answer though wishing that it wouldn't be the one she would give him. For it spurred him to then ask his next question.
The much more risky one.
"And..." He felt his heartbeat quicken. "...Why is it that Humans and Monsters are not allowed to have intercourse?" If his first question wasn't dangerous enough, this one sure was. Luka recoiled, noticing Ilias's visage twitch upon hearing his query. Ilias's bright blue eyes locked in on his, her expression disturbing him some. For the first time since they had met, Ilias appeared truly upset with him.
"My dear Prophet, why would you ask me such a thing?" Her hands tensed, gripping the arms of her throne quite strongly.
Luka's breath hitched, a dash of malice actually coming from Ilias's words. "W-Well, I-I just wanted to know the reason..." He looked up to her with what he hoped was a submissive expression. "...S-So I can understand you better and carry out my mission more effectively." The intensity of Ilias's eyes softened, Luka's attempt at backpedaling a bit gaining her sympathy. The Goddess took a long and deep breath, the movement pushing out her chest a bit too much for Luka's comfort.
Ilias stood from her throne, descending marble chair with a more compassionate gleam in her bright blue eyes. She fell to her knees, her landing kicking up a small collection of golden clouds from beneath her. Luka quivered as he forced his gaze away, cursing the fact that he had watched her large chest bounce from the impact.
'Why is it that I keep having to have this issue?' He thought before being broken from the musing by the feeling of her hands grabbing his wrists. She gently pulled him down, bringing the purple-haired boy down to his own knees. "Luka, there is a very good reason why Humans and Monsters are unable have relations..." Ilias released his wrists, allowing him to shuffle until he sat with his legs crossed underneath him.
She placed her hands on her thighs, smoothing out the wrinkles of her pearl-white dress. "...The reason why, is because Monsters can't love." Luka tilted his head, confusion rising in him at the statement. He opened his mouth to reply, "Monsters can't love? Why is that?"
Ilias lowered her gaze, the Goddess's soft eyes looking deep into his own. "It is simply because of who they are. Their entire lineage, from the first Monster Lord to now, are all unable to love because they are corrupted down to their very soul." Luka watched the Goddess as she closed her eyes, her head shaking back in forth in pity. "That is why they lust so strongly; it is the closest they can ever get to feeling the purity of true love."
Luka frowned, the very notion of such of thing troubling him. "Monsters can't feel love? That's horrible." Luka said as Ilias gave a sad smile, "It is, but there is nothing we can do to fix this Luka. For millions upon millions of years, Monsters have been this way. They pine to fill a hole inside of their hearts that is too deep to ever be full."
Luka jumped a tad as Ilias placed a hand on his shoulder, the Goddess's face leaning in close to his own. "Unfortunately, Monsters can not be saved. They are too twisted and full of sin to salvage. This is why I order Humans to keep away from them. Monsters can fulfill sexual desires, but not desires of the heart. In the end, all Monsters can do is use up a man until he is spent, and then they move on to their next victim." Ilias raised her hand from his shoulder, sliding it up to his face. Luka felt how oddly warm her hand had become, the appendage feeling as if it were radiating heat.
"This is why you should always keep guard of yourself when around Monsters. Even if they seem friendly, it could be a farce made to lead you into temptation. Only beings who follow the Light can love. Beings like you..." Ilias leaned in closer, her forehead nearly meeting his own. Luka gulped, the Goddess's large blue eyes becoming hyper-focused on his own. "...And me. Do you understand?"
Luka felt himself become uncomfortable at the closeness of the two, the Goddess having shuffled on her knees to draw closer to him at some point. Ilias's breath tickled his face, and suddenly Luka felt a very strong urge to separate from her. Quickly, Luka rose from his knees and backed away, a nervous smile coming to his face. "A-Ah, I think I understand now. Th-Thank you, Ilias, I-I-I believe that I'm ready to leave now."
Ilias, still kneeling on the clouded floor, looked at Luka with a great deal of disappointment in her eyes. It took her a moment to reply, her voice seeming to be strained. "...Yes, I suppose you should... go now." The Goddess smiled, the act as forced as the boy's had been. "I wish you luck on your journey, my Prophet." She rose to her feet, seeming to quiver a bit as she did. Ilias reached out a hand and placed it on Luka's head. The boy uneasily allowed her to do this, listening to her final parting message as he began to disappear.
"Just remember, I am always watching over you."
The Goddess immediately dropped her arm after sending her Prophet away, her fake smile twisting into a harsh glare. "You vile creatures will not pervert his heart, I swear it..." She mumbled, quickly returning to her throne.
What she said was true, Ilias had been constantly watching over the boy during his journey. She was disappointed, but not unsurprised to find that the current Monster Lord was accompanying him during his journey. The two traveling together had been bitterly familiar to her, the sight being eerily reminiscent of when Heinrich had been accompanied by Black Alice five hundred years prior. It had worried her at first, but upon finding that his soul still burned as bright as it had when he was born, she felt at ease with it. As long as his soul remained pure, she wouldn't have anything to worry about, no matter how close the two became.
She had used such a thing to her advantage before, she could easily do it again.
'And this time, things will be different. My Prophet will succeed where Heinrich failed, and this World will be wholly and truly mine...' She placed a hand on her chest, a wide smile coming to her face. '...All I have to do, is make sure that his love doesn't fall into the wrong hands. After all, it should be given to something more pure, more deserving than the Monster Lord. Yes, it should be given to someone that is capable of receiving and reciprocating his love... someone... like...'
Ilias was unable to complete her increasingly depraved thoughts, as the sound of clouds moving caused her to jerk her head to the side, peering at where the noise had occurred. However, she found nothing but more golden clouds. 'Strange, I could've sworn...' She dropped the thought with a shake of her head. '...Nevermind, I must be hearing things.'
And so, much like all the other times, Ilias never knew about the small brown bear that had been watching her commune with her Prophet.
Luka flashed back to the Temple, his breath violently exhaling from his lungs as he felt all of the tension in his body finally melt away. He gasped as he stumbled, nearly falling to his feet.
The young Hero forced himself to stay upright, spinning on his heels to leave the house of Ilias. Undoubtedly, his brief and... interesting, visit with Ilias had only left him more distressed than relieved. Luka removed the light brown glove on his left hand and ran his fingers through his hair, grimacing as he felt the tangled knots catching on his hand. Very suddenly he felt as though he needed to take a bath, and not just because of the fact that his body and hair were dirty.
Luka spun on his heel, moving to take the stuff that he left, leaning against one of the Temple's seatings. While he did, he heard the sound of someone coming near. "Ahh, so you are the purple-haired Hero the townsfolk have been chattering about." Luka found himself looking at the Temple's priest, a tall and older-looking man. He looked worn out, as if the very act of being there before him was a monumental task.
"Y-Yes, I am Luka." The boy stated, lofting a hand to wave at the man. "How are you doing today?" The priest did not answer, instead choosing to give the boy a leveled stare. Luka slowly let the hand drop back down, finding himself feeling a bit put off by the look of annoyance in the older man's eye. "...Well, erm, I wish you a good rest of your day." Luka said, moving to leave the Temple. However, as he reached the door...
"Ah, yes. It is a good day, though it'd be better if there weren't so many awful little Monsters running about." Luka froze, his hand being just a quarter of the way to the door handle. His pale blue eyes stared forward as he asked, "What... do you mean?" His question came out strained, a very real anger behind it.
The priest, either not noticing the boy's disposition or not caring for it, continued. "Amira is bad enough to have here, but to find out that four more of those beasts are around now?" The man shook his head as Luka began to turn around. "It is a truly upsetting development. If only those who called themselves Heroes would do something to alleviate that burden, instead of worsening it."
Luka gritted his teeth, now fully facing the man as he stood a couple of meters away in the middle of the Prayer Hall. "You... Y-You can say whatever you want about me. But you sh-shouldn't say such things about them. I think they're fine additions to this city."
"Fine additions?" The man fired off, letting off a scoff soon after. "You are blind, boy. They may seem harmless now, but like any other Monster, they will show their true colors when they mature." Luka took a quick step forward, a clenched fist by his side.
"Y-Y-You..." Luka took a quick. shuddering breath. "...Are wrong. They haven't done anything bad since getting here. In fact, they all got jobs so that they could live as honestly as any Human would. To me, that is more telling of what their true colors are!" Again, the priest dismissed the boy's argument.
"It matters not what they do now. Eventually, they will succumb to their own sinful ways. It is their nature." Luka, now turning red at the man's words, stomped closer to him. "N-N-Now listen here, sir. Those four are NOT sinful!" The purple-haired boy shook at the man's cruel description of the Former Bandits. "They are my friends, and I will not tolerate you saying terrible things about them!"
The priest turned away from Luka, disdainfully waving a hand at the boy. "A stupid boy who proclaims himself a friend to Monsters is not someone allowed in this Temple. Away with you, Fake Hero." Luka felt his teeth hurt from how harshly his jaw locked up in rage. For a moment, the boy considered arguing against the old man further, but he felt himself so angry that his head was beginning to pound once more.
It just wasn't worth it.
With a mighty shove, Luka left through the doors of the Temple of Ilias, not wasting any time to stride down the stone street towards the Sutherlands. 'How could he proclaim all of that so sincerely!? Priest of Ilias or not, he is wrong about them. There is nothing evil or sinful about those four...' He thought as he started passing the housing section and drawing close to the town's main hub. If he was a mess before, things certainly hadn't gotten better now that he talked to that man.
''I'll prove it to him, to them, to even Ilias herself. Monsters aren't all evil!' His thought held conviction, but he failed to think of a way to go about doing this. How does one prove something to an all-seeing Goddess? It seemed like a fruitless effort.
'Well, as her Prophet, I'd be the one best fit for doing something like that. Maybe I can figure something out...'
He sighed, a large weight coming onto his shoulders at the idea of taking on such an arduous task. Luka looked up from the ground, relieved to find that the crowd that had been there before had thinned significantly. The purple-haired boy was able to navigate through the gathering of townsfolk. Soon enough, Luka found himself nearing the facade of the Sutherlands Inn.
However, the boy stopped, feeling a familiar cold chill run down his spine. Luka couldn't stop himself from shuddering as he felt the same presence from before. However, yet again, he found nothing out of the ordinary when he looked around himself. 'Is my mind just playing tricks on me? Why do I keep feeling like this?' Luka wondered, tentatively returning on his path towards the Sutherlands Inn.
With his back turned away, he never noticed the quick green blur that weaved through the townsfolk behind him, dipping into one of Iliasburg's many alleyways...
...Meanwhile, a familiar figure watched from a different alley as Luka entered the front doors of the Sutherland Inn.
"Great, just great..." Cupid murmured. "...Here he is on a silver platter for us, going to the same hotel as us too, but Valkyrie is off and gone to who knows where!?" The Angel of Love proclaimed, her voice full of frustration. She shook her head before looking around the town square. 'I should've known that splitting up was an awful idea. Valkyrie, where the heck did you run off to!?' Cupid thought angrily as she tried to scour the area for her Archangel partner in sin.
Truly, she could just pursue the boy herself, but having backup would significantly increase her chances of arousing the boy's interest. After all, it was possible that he could put up resistance if it was just Cupid, but both Cupid and Valkyrie at the same time?
He'd have no chance.
The Angel of Love huffed, taking another glance around the thinning crowd. Nevertheless, Valkyrie was nowhere to be seen. "Come on, where did you-" Cupid stopped mid-sentence, feeling a hand fall onto her shoulder.
"Ehhhh..." The Angel groaned, very suddenly having a very bad feeling grow in the pit of her stomach. Slowly turning her gaze to look at her shoulder, the blonde Angel felt herself grow confused as her eyes finally saw the offending hand.
A hand covered in a bright orange glove.
Suddenly, before she could even say anything more, a large purple tentacle wrapped around her face, covering the Angel of Love's eyes and mouth! She shrieked into the appendage, the rest of her body being dragged back into the alley by more large tentacles. Trashcans were smashed into and knocked over in the one-sided struggle, causing some of the Iliasburg residents to peer over just as the two figures disappeared from sight.
"Hey," A young patrolling soldier nudged his partner, "Ya think we should go check that out?" He asked, nodding towards the alley.
"Naaah," The other armored man droned, "It's probably just that goofy Amira rooting through people's trash for dinner again." He gave a dismissive wave, sauntering off.
"Yeah... you're probably right." The first one said, following close behind. "Wouldn't want to deal with that anyways. She creeps me out."
As they walked away, a bright yellow light shot out of the alleyway and into the sky, rocketing toward Heaven at an alarming speed...
Luka gently pushed open the front doors of the Sutherlands, hearing the sound of talking suddenly stop as he came in.
Standing before him, were the two Lamias he had left behind. Both of them held a stick of half-eaten Ama-Ama Dango, and sitting behind them on the receptionist's desk was a plate of four more sticks. Two of them bare, two of them not. The final two Dango sticks had somehow avoided being brutalized in his absence.
"Finally," Alice griped, poking her half-eaten stick at the boy haphazardly. "You certainly took your time. You're lucky that I didn't go looking for you myself." Alice said aggressively, nearly flipping the plate on the desk as she forcefully placed her half-consumed Dango back onto it.
"Yeah, I'm sorry for that..." Luka said nervously, looping some of his hair around a finger idly as he stood before the two Lamias. "...Kinda gotta but lost in thought, but I'm..." He hesitated, his mind telling him to say that he was better now, but his heart strongly argued otherwise. "...Well, I'm here now." Alice scrunched up her eyebrows at Luka, her golden eyes evaluating the boy's reserved behavior. Finally, she repented, mumbling something under her breath.
Teeny, on the other hand, couldn't contain the worry she had. The smaller Lamia slithered up to Luka, her face dawning an apologetic look. "I-I'm sorry if I upset you, Luka. I didn't mean to-" The purple-haired boy stopped her with a lift of his hand. "Now, don't go blaming yourself. That isn't something for you to worry about." Quickly, he pushed past the subject, not wanting to talk about his near breakdown in front of the two. "So, is the Dango good?" He asked, able to push a small grin onto his face.
"It's great!" Teeny proclaimed, holding up the stick proudly as her emerald eyes flashed in delight.
"It's not nearly as good as the first time." Alice complained at the same time, surprising Luka some. 'Is that what's got her all riled up?' The boy thought, not entirely surprised if that was the case. "Really?" The boy asked, looking at Alice in surprise.
The purple-haired Hero's traveling partner shook her head in displeasure, "It isn't even half as sweet as it was the first batch. They definitely messed something up making these."
From his side, Teeny whispered something. "I say she's crazy. It tastes really REALLY sweet to me." Luka gave a small hum, looking back to Alice. "I'm sorry to hear that, Alice." He said, trying to be sincere even if the disguised Lamia's anger was a bit humorous to him.
Alice huffed, closing her frustrated eyes as she folded her arms below her chest. "Whatever. I'm more than ready to leave now, this has been a very depressing second breakfast." To Luka's dismay, Teeny spoke up to ask about Alice's comment. "Second breakfast?" The purple-haired boy would've choked if he was drinking something, the tiny Lamia's question reminding him of the very lewd encounter the boy had that morning with Alice.
"Y-Yes, we really should be going now. C-Come on, Alice. L-Let's go!" Alice snickered at the boy's stuttering, finding his fragile composure to be amusing. The disguised Lamia then made for the door, watching Luka expectantly once she reached the exit. Luka made to leave but was stopped upon feeling a small hand grab his arm. "Hmm?" He hummed in question, looking back to Teeny with a curious gaze.
"Here," She said, offering him the rest of her Dango, even though there were others still on the plate behind her. "You should have some, I still say that they're good." Luka chuckled lightly, carefully taking the Dango from the purple-haired girl.
"Thanks, Teeny." He said, smiling widely at the younger girl. She nodded as he turned away, watching the pair leave. Alice briskly walked through first, leaving Luka to pause for a second as he took a bite of Dango before leaving.
"Huh..." He mumbled mid-chew, before swallowing the piece. "...Weird, it tastes just the same to me..." The young Hero shrugged, leaving through the door to catch up to Alice before her mood soured any more than it already had after her "unsatisfactory" second breakfast.
"Hmmm..." The pearl-white-haired Archangel hummed, staring through the window of the blacksmith shop. She had been looking for the purple-haired origin of her sinful desires but had gotten distracted by the weaponry on display in the main weapons shop of Iliasburg. "...As fragile as Humans can be, their minds do impress. I wish that us Angels had such a colorful array of weapons in our stockades." She muttered to herself, eyeing a particularly interesting battle-axe standing tall in the display case.
She cast a glance over the crowd of said fragile Humans that were walking around her, none the wiser that they were in the presence of one of the Archangels themselves. To think, one of Ilias's most renowned Angels, mulling around like a common Human would. Well, not exactly...
... For she heavily doubted that any of them were here for her particular reasonings.
Valkyrie shuddered, turning away from the display case as she did. Her mind weighed heavily on the fact that it was somewhat ridiculous that she was actually here doing this with Cupid. Her, an Archangel, a symbol of Ilias's might, had fallen under the spell of lust. She should be up in Heaven, helping train the younger Angels, honing her own skills, praying to the Goddess, anything but this! Instead, she was here in Iliasburg, looking to fulfill a selfish and depraved craving that had taken hold of her with a ferocity she could've never predicted that night she had first witnessed Lucifina rutting with her husband.
The Archangel sighed, her face becoming forlorn. Often, she wished that she had never seen that sight. But even scarier than that was the fact that she would sometimes, in the dead of the night in Heaven, pine to feel what Lucifina had felt. The former Seraph had appeared to be enraptured, to be completely entranced, by the act. Ilias's Commandments forbade the act, but clearly, that type of intimacy was possible for Angels.
After all, Luka hadn't been simply born from nothing. Lucifina had been bred, something that Valkyrie had thought impossible until she learned of it herself.
Which meant that, potentially, any Angel could bred.
Valkyrie shuddered, even the thought of the cursed word sending a jolt of excitement through her. It was idiotic for someone as stoic and calm as her to be so affected by these thoughts, but it couldn't be helped. The reaction was as natural as any other for her, especially when she thought of the Fallen Seraph's son.
The Archangel slowly strode through the crowd, drawing close to the fountain in Iliasburg's town square. She had to admit, at least to herself, that she had been lying to Cupid before. She hadn't just become jittery. She had become completely unhinged upon seeing the boy. Just seeing him had caused a physical urge inside her.
A very... primal urge to pounce him.
She had tripped, not because she was nervous, but because she was about to do something very rash in the heat of the moment. It was shameful and embarrassing to admit, but the only thing that truly kept her from rushing to throw herself at the boy was Cupid's intervention.
Cupid, the one known for her rashness and depravity, had stopped Valkyrie from doing something lewd. It hadn't been on purpose, as the Angel of Love had seemed to actually believe her lie about the shoes, but it was still a slap in the face to the white-haired Angel. A reminder of how far and how fast she was falling from grace. And yet, she couldn't stop it, not when her fantasies kept bombarding her both night and day.
The Archangel took an idle glance around the town square, freezing as a tuff of purple hair briefly jutted from a break in the crowd. The Archangel felt her heartbeat quicken, an immediate reaction to catching a glimpse at what looked to be the Nephilim himself: Luka.
The Archangel had to fight the urge to charge through the crowd, realizing one very startling problem: She had no idea where Cupid was. 'Damn it, I can't just do this by myself!' She lamented, walking parallel in the direction Luka had started going. 'I wouldn't even know where to begin, let alone-' Valkyrie's thoughts stopped dead in their tracks when she heard a voice call out to the Prophet.
"Oi, Luka, come on! We don't have all day!" The white-haired Archangel peered around the mass of people between her and the boy, finding a peculiar sight.
Walking beside the Prophet was a much taller woman with golden eyes. Her long white hair fell down past the woman's shoulders and down her back, the pure color of the hair juxtaposing against her skimpy black top, skirt, and boots. Along her peach skin was a series of strange-looking dark tattoos that ran down the entirety of the left side of her body.
Valkyrie gawked at the sight in disbelief, watching as Luka stammered on. "S-Sorry, Alice. I'm hurrying!" The Archangel's steel-blue eyes furrowed, her mind racing at the sight before her. The Angel of War felt a twinge of something aggressive come from the pit of her stomach, but before she could even think of what to do next...
"Archangel Valkyrie."
The white-haired Angel felt her blood run cold, the familiar voice calling her name out like a command rather than a title. Valkyrie hesitated as the voice reverberated in her head, watching Luka and the woman named Alice slowly grow farther and farther away. Finally, she answered.
"Yes, Archangel Ariel?"
Immediately, the leader of the Archangels responded.
"You need to return to Heaven, NOW."
Valkyrie froze, her heartbeat now thundering in her chest as she watched the purple-haired Prophet fade away into the crowd. Her lustful desires collided harshly with her sense of Heavenly duty, the incompatible mix causing a cacophony of emotions to war inside herself.
"Valkyrie, I will not ask a second time."
The white-haired Archangel closed her eyes, her fists tightening up in frustration.
"Understood, Ariel. I will return shortly."
'Wherever you are, Cupid, I hope you have better luck than I do.' With that, Valkyrie broke away from the crowd and entered a secluded alleyway to transform. All the while, the object of her desires slipped through her fingers more and more, leaving Iliasburg and heading for Enrika.
Alright, finally, Luka is heading to Enrika. Sure to be an interesting meeting with Micaela when we get to that. Expect it to be a bit more fleshed out, as I wasn't building up to this just so Luka can be turned around as quickly as he was in the original game. After all, there's some light bonding and flash-backing I gotta do.
That, and let's just say that Micaela will be sending Luka off with something special. Two somethings, actually, but I'm getting ahead of myself.
Anyways, just more problems for poor Luka here, as Ilias will obviously not be changing her view on Monsters. Additionally, the Goddess herself is becoming more and more obsessive over the boy. Especially with how active he is becoming. If you thought some of the stuff she does/says is creepy now, oh buddy it'll get worse. Because there is a reason why she allowed him to do the things he did with Reina and Alice and your guess may just be correct.
Where else would Cupid get her peeping-tom tendencies from?
Speaking of Cupid, she isn't permanently dead, she'll be briught back fairly quickly. Just needed to establish that one of the Queens on this crowded chess board is starting to refocus on our purple-haired boy here.
espioll: Yes, he's going to be having a lot of repressed trauma coming up from what Ranael did to him. Tentacles, in particular, are going to be a major trigger for him. Even nice Monsters with tentacles are going to cause him significant unease.
Now just imagine how bad it'll get when he does meet Ranael...
Alice is nicer here for two main reasons: The first is because this isn't the same Luka as the original one. The whole "pure soul" thing isn't just Ilias's delusions, it's quite literal. And with the seal on his powers being somewhat compromised, it's constantly coming out and effecting those around him. And since Alice is pretty much always around him, it's slowly endearing him to her.
The second reason is because, if Alice was as mean as she can get in the original, this version of Luka would probably not take too kindly to her.
Though don't think that this means their relationship will be all sunshine and rainbows. These are still two deeply traumatized and lost individuals, so things won't that simple. Especially when Alice will be adament on not wanting to take their relationship further than necessary, since she still plans on having him kill her.
Thank you, out of all the characters here, I take the most time on Luka. What he says and does is without a doubt the most important out of all the characters here.