"It's my turn! It's my turn! It's my turn!"

"We got it, calm down Rami. I'm booting up the installation." Tamamo handed her the controller with a neutral expression. "Also, while you should try to enjoy yourself, I want to remind you that there are goals to follow in this game."

"Got it! Eheheh!"

Rami jumped and down a few more times like a flea while everyone tried to comfortably sit themselves at their usual position. Granberia threw a wary glance at Alma Elma, but the succubus queen was busier looking at Rami and the screen than trying to tease her friends. The dragonkin allowed herself to lean back and relax, at least for now. The remainder of the group took their usual position, although it was obvious they weren't quite as relaxed as they used to be.

"I'm ready to get started!" Rami enthusiastically pumped up her fist. "Huuuh, what should I do?"

"…Load game."

"Okay!"

Please choose a difficulty.

"Huuh, Rami? We told you that you should select LOAD game, not NEW game."

"Ooops. My bad."

Tamamo sighed. "It's okay. I'll reset the station before we get to suffer the mug of Ilias again."

"Yay! To adventures!"

[…]

"(She has no idea what she's doing, has she?)"

"Rami… there's nothing to do around Rostrum, we already checked last time. You need to go to Enrika."

"Oh, right." Rami giggled. "I guess I'll go to Enrika next! I can't pass the mountain though."

"…you have to return to the original world to do that."

"Oh, right… I'm going there."

As the imp was leading Luka back in the hole that led to Tartarus, Tamamo interjected again with an extremely tense smile while fanning herself.

"You know, you could use a harpy feather to directly return to Iliasville which is way closer rather than cross Tartarus and the mountains again."

"Awww, relax Tamamo! Rami's just learning the ropes, let her do as she feels!"

Erubetie chimed in. "Tamamo. We all know it's in your nature to be a teacher, but I invite you to consider just how annoying it should be if we start guiding your every move from behind."

Tamamo sighed and looked down in shame. "You're both right, please do as you wish Rami. I won't bother you."

"Bother what?" Rami continued on her way, completely hypnotized by the screen in front of her. She jumped in surprise when a fight initiated. "Uwaa! Scary monsters."

"(Is she using only the basic attacks?)"

"(Yeah, and unlike Alma Elma, I don't think that she's doing that on purpose.)"

"Pheewww… that was a hard fight!" Rami giggled.

"You should at least heal yourself before the next one- aaand it's too late."

starts playing.

Eater: "You look...delicious..."

"Ewww… this one is just gross."

"Wow, even Alma Elma doesn't like looking at this apoptosis having sex with Luka…" Alice checked on her husband who looked just as disgusted. She couldn't even sense a hint of desire within him.

"I wonder if Promestein inspired herself of Wormiel and an alraune for that one…"

"Scaryyyyyyyy…" Rami had dropped the controller while trying to shield her eyes. As the screen remained stuck, Tamamo relented and passed the remainder of the scene while barely hiding her disdain.

"We're back to Harpy Village... I wonder if Ilias would have been more popular if praying to her allowed people to teleport where they wanted after they died."

"Yes, but I'm pretty sure that a lot more people would have died to monsters if they knew they would get revived afterward." Micaela looked up. "In hindsight, I'm pretty sure that the old hag could do that but didn't for this very reason. I mean, would you like spending all day reviving people who decided to throw themselves at succubi?"

"Good point." Tamamo approached the group and whispered. "(Also, are you sure that you DON'T want Rami to be guided in the slightest? It looks like she's going anywhere but in the direction of the forest.)"

"(…I won't pronounce myself. Also, she's finally starting to use skills. Although… she's using her wind skills against harpies.)"

"(Good grief… and it looks like she's running in circle as well. and the local monsters give so little experience and money, slaughtering them is not even going to be useful.)"

"(Damn it... and it looks like they're spawning in bigger droves than usual as well. Warn us when she approaches Enrika, I'll take an opportunity to spar with some other monsters.)"

"I need to take a round to make sure that the castle is safe." The moment Granberia got up, Rami turned around and stared at her with big puppy eyes that quickly fogged up. The dragonkin hesitated for a moment before answering, and the short break was seized by Erubetie who beat her to the punch.

"It will wait. We won't abandon you."

"Yay!"

"(…Cute.)"

"(…Damn it Erubetie.)"

"…Where's Enrika by the way?"

"YOU'VE BEEN RUNNING AROUND FOR FORTY MINUTES AND YOU'RE ONLY ASKING NOW YOU FUNBAGS-FOR-BRAIN?" and its variations was the sole sentence thought by the group. However, none of them found the courage to say it to her face, and instead, Erubetie answered in a low whisper.

"Just west of Iliasville. Left if you prefer. No, you're going right."

"But left is that way, right?" Rami lifted her right hand. "I mean there's a huge forest there."

"(Remind me that we need to discuss giving all monsters a basic formal education. Nobody who lives in the castle should be that thick.)"

"(Already on the agenda. I'm trying to see if Yao can give me a hand as well. I'm surprised Erubetie is that patient with her…)"

"(It's probably because she never had to clean after their pranks or been on the receiving end of one.)" Granberia shivered. "(Those freaking imps nearly broke my armor…)"

"(Well-)"

"(Yes, yes, I got my lesson; I'm not leaving my equipment behind for them to mess with.)"

Fairy appears.

"Hey, look, it's a fairy." Rami giggled. "I wish I was like one of them, being free to run in the forest and learn the chi-pa-pa song."

"(That. Explains. A lot.)"

Several minutes passed while Rami made Luka run around the forest and beat enemies. "I'm lost. I'm lost in the Lost Woods!"

"…Enrika is likely where the leftmost exit is."

"Waaah!" Rami continued to run around, eventually fighting more and more monsters without taking the opportunity to heal until Luka fell to a dark elf.

starts playing

Dark Elf Fencer: "I'll be violating you now. Having sex with me will slowly corrupt you..."

Micaela was steadily but noisily breathing in and out.

"(…I don't think I'll ever be able to apologize enough about making you see the exact scenario you didn't want to consider.)"

"(It's okay… and besides, they've been taught how to better control themselves… I'll still remain forever uncomfortable with the idea that it could have been the end of Luka's adventure and that I wouldn't even get to know anything about it.)"

"(Didn't you always keep an eye on them? I don't want to sound rude, but that sounds a bit careless of you.)"

"(At first, I restricted them, but I abandoned as the only thing it did was teaching them to avoid me when they were going to commit their indiscretions.)"

"(Mmph. When I was young, nothing young Alice did get past without me knowing.)"

"(Tamamo? Look to your left. Discreetly.)"

"(Mmmh? Oh… I guess Luka and Alice are enjoying this scene a bit more than we do… at least, nobody saw that…)"

"(Save for Rami, we all did.)"

"(Damn it Erubetie, you didn't need to sell us out!)"

"(As if she needed! Get that monster of a tail away from me!)"

"(Sorry Granberry, I can't help it!)"

Tamamo's ears flattened on top of her head. "(The next time someone does anything inappropriately sexual, it's the horny bat!)"

"Hey, look, a village!" Rami chuckled, ignorant of the commotion behind her.

Luka: "So this is the hidden village Enrika... It has a somewhat-."

Ilias: "I knew there were dark elves in the forest but... something feels strange. Wait, are there- No doubt. There are angels and fallen angels alike here... "Hidden village"."

"Rami, please, go slower, we didn't even have the time to read the dialog."

"Why? I can't read. Is it important?"

Alice blinked a few times. She made a few confused vocalizations, unable to say a single word.

"Yes." She wasn't even sure she was the one who gave out that answer. "Let's… let's just continue. More slowly this time."

Elf: "You came here to meet Micaela...!? It can't be, if you're Luka... Oh, please say you're not..."

"Well this is ominous…"

Ilias: "I fail to understand... What does Luka's coming have to do with anything?"

Elf: "I'm sorry, let me start from the beginning. This is all related to Micaela's last will."

"What's a last will?"

"Shush Rami, we'll explain that later to you."

Elf: "Well, the story dates back to half a month ago. Micaela, who governed over this village, said this to me. 'I'll be leaving the village for a while. There are some people out there I need to stop, no matter what'. Then she added 'If a boy named Luka comes looking for me, it means I have lost my life'."

Ilias: "The moment Luka appears here will mean Micaela's dead? But how could Micaela..."

Elf: "No... Considering what's at stake, I can't simply accept that Micaela is gone. I have to believe she's still alive. She also told me that you're related to her and I should do everything in my power to assist you."

Luka checked on the concerned party. Micaela was carefully reading every single word.

Elf: "You're heading to Sentora? Please be careful. That whole area is on the edge of a huge conflict."

Sonya: "Yeah, the four major countries there are at war, right? I've heard news of it even at Ilias Temple."

Elf: "No, that's not the problem. Humans might not be aware of it, but there's a power struggle among monsters as well. There are three Monster Lords vying for power right now, which has seriously shaken the balance of power between monsters."

Ilias: "So the current Monster Lord lost her power and now two more are claiming the title? Fufufu, yes, fight... Destroy each other..."

Elf: "Actually, there are three new Monster Lords. I wasn't including Alipheese the 16th."

Ilias: "They're acting like she abdicated? I can picture her chagrin, hehe."

"Says the girl who was CRYING at the beginning because she lost her power!"

"Ilias is a hypocrite!"

Elf: "Now that Alipheese the 16th has disappeared, the leader of the Monster Lord's army is... the previous Monster Lord, Alipheese the 15th."

Ilias: "Alipheese the 15th? That's the current Monster Lord's mother... She should already be dead! There's no way for the dead to come back from the afterlife... Did someone reanimate her corpse? Or maybe she's a fake?"

"This is just in bad taste." Micaela looked down while Alice remained imperious. While the Monster Lord was silent, her sour frown told just exactly what she thought of Promestein's idea at that moment.

Elf: "One of the two remaining Monster Lords is a petite yoma who calls herself Black Alice."

Ilias: So Black Alice is finally making her move. She must intend to seize this opportunity to further her ambitions... I thought she might act with me not watching her, but all things considered, she didn't wait long to make her move. So Black Alice is trying to retake her place as Monster Lord, and there's a third monster vying to become Monster Lord too, right?"

Micaela sighed. Having her earlier point about Eden being unable to handle Black Alice validated paled in front of the bleak story presented to them.

Elf: "The third Monster Lord is...A girl calling herself Alipheese the 17th."

"What."

"The."

"FUCK?!"

Alice simply gulped loudly. She didn't take a moment to castigate her subordinates, herself too surprised by what Promestein had shoved into her game. The shadowy picture of the scantily-clad succubus wielding a big sword was searing itself in her mind.

Ilias: "No way, a 17th...? The current Monster Lord doesn't have any heir I know of...

Elf: "She has no subordinates and leads no one. She claims to be the Monster Lord all by herself."

Ilias: "In that case she's just a self-proclaimed Monster Lord! Do the others think she's too weak to bother getting rid of?"

Elf: "On the contrary, they're afraid of her the most. Even though she doesn't have any help, her own power is unbelievable."

Elf: "In Lady's Village, Alipheese the 17th fought off the Nereneid family's head Cassandra. That got everyone's attention... […] What's really strange is that in all of the chaos, there was not a single death. The queens attacked by the 17th were all forced to remain within narrow territories. After that, she picked a fight with the Monster Swordswoman Granberia. Five hours later, they were still evenly matched as they repeatedly attacked and defended themselves, neither able to secure the upper hand. All of this happened in a single day, starting with the defeat of Cassandra to the duel with Granberia..."

Alma Elma grimaced. "And in truth, she's actually Promestein's little Mary Sue of a chimera!"

Elf: "Moreover, when she tied with Granberia, the 17th said 'I still can't afford to show my true power'."

"I concur."

"I concur."

"We all concur that this is so cliché she could as well have Promestein's face." Tamamo sluggishly got up.

"I'm a bit disappointed that our little scientist thrusts herself that often and that hard in her own game… that makes for poor writing."

"And so many innuendos make for poor poetry…" Erubetie sighed. "Anyone feels like taking a small break after that hammer in the face?"

"We all need one." Alice pointed at Rami. "Her in particular."

"Aaaaaaaaaah…"

"Aaaand Rami's down for the count again. Good grief… I insist that proper education and training is going to become a bigger priority. Don't you agree everyone?"

"Mmh?" Micaela shook herself awake. "Sorry, I was lost in thoughts. It had already been established that it wasn't going to be the light-hearted story we originally thought it would be, but at this point… I thought I had seen everything Promestein had to offer in all the years she nested in Heaven, but it turns out I'm wrong. Where did she even pull out that idea of a Seventeenth from?"

Tamamo nodded. The concerned kitsune decided to check on Alice and Luka. The royal couple was cuddling with one another, Alice taking unusually small bites from a pastry. She hugged them with her tails from behind, and both of them returned her gesture of affection.

"This feels weird… why did Promestein decide to add some weird girl named Alice the XVIIth in her game? And one that looks like a succubus even skankier than Alma Elma at that. That scientist was dead before I got pregnant. She couldn't have gotten the idea from there, but it feels too much to be just a coincidence. But why would someone naming herself our daughter would look like one of Alma Elma's kin? Why would she even make her look like that... I hate it." Alice massaged her stomach and looked up at Tamamo. "You're going to teach them, right?"

"Mmh." Tamamo affirmatively nodded. "I already planned for my first lesson."

"And what will it be?"

"Stay away from Alma Elma."

The three of them exploded into laughter for several minutes.

"Phew… thank you Tamamo… I guess I needed that." Alice cleared a tear of her face while trying to recover her breath. "Yeah, this game is a bit bleaker than we expected and we accidentally let it reach ourselves. What is it you said at the beginning already? That it was just a silly game?"

Tamamo nodded with a smile. "Right! After so many shocks, I'm sure we'll be better able to handle any strange twist it throws at us. The other knights are going to be back soon, shall we continue afterward?"

"As soon as Rami recovers." Alice pointed at said imp, who was once again saturated with information.

"Aaaaaaah… my brain ouchies."

[…]

"…Iliasport is north Rami. As in up."

"Yeah, I think I got it! Oh crap, another group of centaurs!"

"You should be fine… just don't… use only normal attacks."

"(Too late…)"

starts playing

Granberia grimaced. "(Let's just appreciate the fact that Alice doing to Luka what monsters do to him in the game only applies when he's the one on the seat.)"

"(Shhhh… she's fallen asleep with Luka.)"

"(D'awwww… they're so cute! Micaela's also fallen asleep.)"

"(It's less cute. Also, nobody tells the legendary, dignified first seraph that she drools when she sleeps.)"

"(Seeing that breaks the mystic of angels a bit.)"

"(You mean more than everything else we saw since they descended on the world?)"

"(…Actually, no.)"

[…]

Sailor: "You may have heard about this 'round town, but the ship to Sentora Continent won't be settin' sail. Whenever we sail offshore, a storm appears out of nowhere to sink us. Apparently, some monster is tryin' to take us down... I'd say that this predicament must be disappointin' to you guys, too, but this mess is so bad that callin' it disappointin' would be an understatement."

Ilias: "Among those who reside on earth, the only one I imagine could be responsible for this... would be Alma Elma."

Everyone glared at Alma Elma who defensively raised her hands. "Yes, I know! It was a bad decision! I could have checked the boats and ask for a tithe or roam the taverns undercover, and it would have been funnier for everyone involved! That was a youth mistake, I won't do it again!"

"That was only last year. Remind me how old you are?"

"Tamamo, you better than anyone know that you don't ask a girl for her age."

"Touché."

Nero: "...There is a way. Oh, fancy meeting you here..."

Ilias: "Quit pretending that you're simply passing by. So, what is this way you speak of?"

Micaela sighed. "Ilias, Ilias, Ilias… where is the patience that you had for Promestein and Black Alice's shenanigans?"

Sonya: "We are grateful for the fruit of the World Tree you gave us in Happiness Village. That must have been very valuable, right...?"

Nero: "No, it wasn't that important to me. It was nothing compared to defending the mutual trust between harpies and humans..."

Ilias: "While it's audacious to follow the instruction of that suspicious person without knowing his intentions, going to that cave is our only option. We have no alternatives currently."

Alice grimaced. "Hurgh, how much of that Nero guy are we going to see? He keeps randomly popping up just at the right time when Luka needs help. It feels like he's stalking us."

"I would have been tempted to call out the improbability of this as well, but after seeing you arrive just at the right time at the Great Treasure Cave when I was about to leave, and after hearing that you arrived at Grand Noah just in time to sign for the Queen's Cup, then at Succubus Village for the night of the Purple Sabbath, then…"

"Ok, I get it Tamamo, you can stop here. It can just be a coincidence. However, we can all agree that he DOES remain suspicious even if he displays a good-hearted front."

As Alice focused back on the screen, Micaela discreetly whispered in Tamamo's ear. "(Did you actually have anything to do with their repeated fortunate timing?)"

"(Nope. Why are you even asking?)"

"(Because that was your kind of thing to make sure the right person was at the right place at the right time.)"

"(Yes! And it was also Ilias'! Remind me who was watching over Luka all the time?!)"

"(My bad, it's true. How long do you think it will take before Rami finds the cave?)"

"(…At least an hour.)"

"(Don't mind if I take another nap then.)"

[…]

Ilias: So three Monster Lords to deal with... The 15th, 17th, and Black Alice, not to mention the current Monster Lord. We've confirmed there are at least two parallel worlds connected to Tartarus, which means there's a high probability of finding even more in the other rifts. Why... Why has history been rewritten? Some paradoxes have undeniably arisen, but... Why... Why has history been rewritten? Some paradoxes have undeniably arisen, but..."

Luka: "(Oh well, I still have no idea what that means...)"

Luka made a dismissive gesture. "I do understand what they mean... it's just that it's a mess."

Promestein: "That reminds me, do I exist in this world? Since we're hundreds of years ahead of the one I came from... I'd love to meet Future Me."

Ilias: "No, please keep your innocence. Though I feel it may already be too late for that..."

Granberia grimly looked down. "For all the wrongs she committed and for everything we say about her, she do display some valuable bouts of insight."

Ilias: "By the way, Promestein, have you figured out who I am yet? Hint number four: the Archangels are far, far beneath me."

Promestein: "W-wait... You're one of the Seraphim? Eden? Zion? Or even Gnosis, maybe?"

"Ok, time to take notes." Tamamo took another notepad out.

Promestein: "Umm, you don't know who the second generation Seraphim are? I guess they must have died in the Great Monster Wars in this world, then?"

Ilias: "No, no, back up... What are you even talking about? There is no second generation."

Ilias: "Micaela and Lucifina are the Seraphim. Eden too. Those three are the strongest and most devoted of all the angels."

"It's a bit of a stretch, but..."

"Ilias is a hypocrite!"

"I think we might need a whole slew of buttons at this pace. One for when she's hypocritical, one for when she's self deluded, one for when she gets burned, and one for when she has a point. The last one of these might see a tad less use than the other though."

"I'll work on it. Now please don't abuse it, I want to read what comes next with a clear mind."

Promestein: "But the current three Seraphim are Eden, Zion... and Gnosis. Micaela became the head of the Seven Archangels after their success in winning the Great Monster Wars, and Lucifina retired and stepped down from the Seraphim."

Ilias:"Winning" the Great Monster Wars? As a librarian, surely you're familiar with the details of the Six Ancestors' Great can hardly call it winning the war as long as Dark Goddess Alice lives. She's sealed for now, but it's nothing more than a ceasefire."

Promestein: "No... The Dark Goddess was completely eliminated. The Seven Archangels wiped her and the Six Ancestors out for good."

Ilias: "Wiped them out? For good? But how?! The Angel Army was always the inferior force on the battlefield..."

Promestein: "That's not true. The Seven Archangels were on par with the Six Ancestors."

Ilias: "There are Archangels with power equaling the Six Ancestors? I have no idea who you're talking about... Promestein, you aren't simply from the past. You're from a parallel world with a history entirely different from our own. A history where I achieved unconditional victory over the Dark Goddess. I thought a world like that only existed in my dreams...forget this world, can I go live there instead?"

"Sooooo... can the past First Seraph and supposed leader of those Seven Archangels give us some insight on whether there was an even remote possibility of such a thing happening?" Tamamo grimaced. Because I'll be honest. There was Lucifina who was a storm we didn't engage if we weren't three against her. There was you and the army you currently led. And there was everything else which was free picking."

Upon seeing that nobody would push Tamamo forward for as long as she didn't answer the uncomfortable question, Micaela relented. "There might, and I insist, might be a possibility that Ilias could have empowered some archangels if she didn't hog mana so that she would be able to fight the Dark Goddess to a standstill. Unless... she suddenly decided that she would do like monsters and have her angels harvest mana to get even more in the first place. At the time, she considered the idea for a second, but refused that her angels would lower themselves to the level of monsters."

"So possible, but the very premise was unlikely... Ilias's pride had always been her biggest obstacle I guess."

Promestein: "I still have no idea who you even are."

Ilias: "Despite my current appearance, I am the Goddess of Creation, Ilias."

Promestein: "That's another joke... right? Ilias is far, far more powerful."

Ilias: "Promestein, are there any caves around here? I need one suitable to lock you away in, of course."

Promestein: "That threat... You actually are Ilias!?"

Luka: "(She must have been threatened with that regularly...)"

"...that, and her poor treatment of her subordinates..."

Alice chuckled. "At this point, I'm starting to think that she's a poor leader. What kind of bossy brat bully her subordinates to the point she gets identified when threatening them?"

"(I'm going to create an Alice is a hypocrite button as well... my poor fluffy tails still remember her last prank.)"

[...]

Luka: "This must be the Cave of Treasures. Poseidon's Bell is inside here, right?"

Ilias: "Perhaps Tamamo is trying to interfere with us. That damn kitsune has been a thorn in my side for millennia."

"(And you're proud of it, aren't you?)"

"(I'm not proud of everything I did, but I DO take pride in slipping through her grasp of centuries. And I'm sorry for all the tantrums you had to suffer from her after failing to catch me, but I had my orders and wouldn't give up on them because I inconvenienced her buffoonish majesty!)"

"(I don't take any issue with that.)"

"Looting ahead!"

Luka raised an eyebrow. "Wait, wasn't Treasure Cave the place with-"

The chest was a mimic!

Luka closed his eyes. He didn't know if he felt comfortable at the idea that he saw that trap coming or the memories that he had fallen for it initially.

"(You grew up.)"

"(Gah! Don't surprise me Alice! I didn't think I was thinking out loud!)"

Ilias: "N-no... Don't eat me... Hyaaaa!"

"Hyiiia!" Rami hide her face with her hands, dropping the controller. "Ilias got eaten because of meeeee!"

"Good grief…" Granberia stepped up and picked the controller. "I admit, that's an unpleasant monster to face."

Luka and his party won!

"And she's back. She's gotten eaten but she comes out fine afterward. This is logic at its finest." She handed the gamepad back to a shocked Rami.

Two-Tailed Geisha appeared!

"D'awwww, they look so cuuuuuuuute!" Alma Elma fawned over the new monster. "Are they real? I never saw any of them around!"

Tamamo was giggly with pride. "Yes. They're training in the way of the courtesan, and at their level cuteness is a weapon as good as any other."

"…They're not as cute as slime girls." Erubetie crossed her arms under her chest and pouted. Tamamo's waving tails froze at the remark, but luckily Alice brought everyone's attention to the screen again before they decided to further escalate the issue.

"Rami. I'm pretty sure that not every chest is a trap. Don't ignore them just because one of them was a mimic."

"Really?"

"As the Monster Lord, I'm sure of that." Alice smiled reassuringly.

The chest was a mimic!

Rami looked at the Monster Lord with an expression of pure betrayal. Alice awkwardly slinked back on her potato couch, muttering about how she would roast Promestein's wings if she was still alive.

Alice: "With my new Four Heavenly Knights, I'll take on my former army... W-what are you looking at! Go away!"

"And it still looks like Alice's around, not giving up. She's even recruiting a kitsune again!"

"Abandoning would just be unbefitting of the Monster Lord." Alice frowned. "But I would only get a kitsune on my team because their skills with the power of earth allow them to be good meat shields."

"And?"

"And because they're good mages overall."

"Aaaand?"

Alice frowned as Tamamo insisted. "And because they're also very reliable."

"Aaaaaaand?" Tamamo leaned even closer with a big smile, making Alice back slowly away until her hair covered Luka's face.

"And because they can be skilled entertainers, making long evening short."

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand?" Tamamo leaned even closer before she felt something slimy pull on her tails, making her sit back in a loud thud. She massaged her rump while glaring at Erubetie whose eyes were still locked on the screen. The slime innocently shrugged.

"What?"

Tamamo harrumphed before returning her attention to the screen, totally unwary of Alma Elma who was cleaning her hands from a slimy substance under Micaela's amused gaze.

"Ooooh, who's that?"

"That's Nanabi. Be careful, she's going to be tough." Tamamo muttered to herself. "(And she was the moment where Luka used his full powers, something I definitively should have been able to feel if I hadn't been busy playing with that bell…)"

"(By the way, did you steal it to help Alma Elma's plan?)"

"(…Yes. Let's go with that.)"

"(...)"

(...I wanted to study it. And enjoy its sound a bit as well, I admit.)"

"(…Damn it Tamamo.)"

Luka: "Damn, what crazy strength..."

？？？: "Geez, just how long is that guy going to take?"

Nanabi: "That face... No way! Alipheese The 17th!?"

Ilias: "You're Alipheese The 17th!? What are you doing here!?"

Alipheese The 17th: "I should be asking you that. Aren't you supposed to be beating Nanabi? It looks like I better straighten things out "

Alipheese the 17th used Vaporizing Rebellion Sword!

Nanabi: "Gah, what power! Aaaaah!"

Tamamo sighed. "Alright… so we have the mysterious cocky swordsman with a mysterious origin stepping from nowhere and saving a damsel in distress -I'm talking about Ilias, not Luka-."

"(Sure you are.)"

"How cliché is that?"

"Yeah… it's cliché…" Granberia was turning a deep shade of red. "Something like this… never happens."

"Awww… is Granberry still feeling bad for not returning Sara's love?"

"Ghhh…" Granberia crushed the armrest of her chair with her grip.

"Tamamo, you're just mad because the one who got taken down was your lieutenant, aren't you?"

"Nope. Nanabi saw worse. I'm mad because Promestein made this story so inane; it is now too ridiculous for me. The only thing that could complete that cliché is if Luka instantly falls for her."

Ilias: "So the leader of the animals finally reveals itself."

Tamamo: "Sorry, you two. You became like that as I moved on to the treasury.

Ilias: "What do you know about my circumstances? Wait, don't tell me you're involved with the Six Ancestors' Great Seal?

Alipheese the 17th: "Give up, she's not really speaking to anyone. She's just an image being replayed."

"What?" Alice raised an eyebrow.

A hypnotized Tamamo talked in sync as the dialogs appeared.

Tamamo: "I'll give you a tiny bit of my power. Nanabi... It will take me a little longer to return you. Sorry, but I'll have to do it later."

Nanabi: What are you saying, Tamamo? I wasn't sealed or anything..."

Alipheese the 17th: "She can do nothing more than reenact a scene from the parallel world she was copied from. And the one pulling the strings is—"

White Rabbit: "Ta-da! Eh, I've been found out? She's a copy from the same situation and was doing such an excellent job for a while there."

Nanabi: "I can't believe it! So the Tamamo who brought me here was a fake?!"

Alipheese the 17th: "She wasn't a fake, not really. The quality of her magic and power is no different from that of this world's Tamamo. […] The White Rabbit has the power to make copies like that."

White Rabbit: "I see, so you're Alice too. It's a real pain having so many Alices around..."

Ilias: "Why on earth did you project a fake Tamamo here? What are you plotting?!"

White Rabbit: "History needs to be as close to its original form as possible, you see. And certain someones have been turning it into a huge mess as of late..."

Ilias: "History... What are you talking about?!"

"The story is getting strange again…" Micaela started massaging her forehead. "What's the name of trying to have characters trying to enforce a story within a story already?"

"I'm not sure there's a name for that. I guess that little scientist was trying to be as innovative in her writing as she was in her experiments." Alma Elma nonchalantly waved. "Is Rami still following?"

"Nope."

"Aaaaah…"

"Given that we didn't even leave the Ilias Continent yet, the odds of her making it through are looking grimmer by the hour."

White Rabbit: "That's why you aren't needed in this world, Alice the 17th. Shall I erase you right here?"

Time stopped!

Nero: "Did you think you were the only one who could manipulate time? Sorry, but tonight you dance with me!"

Sonya: "The rabbit... disappeared?"

Alipheese the 17th: "Wow, what a cringe-worthy line... Annnnnyways, back to where we left off."

Luka: "Who in the world are you..."

Alipheese the 17th: "Hey, Luka... Let's go on a date "

Ilias: "Whaaa?!"

Sonya: "Excuse me?!"

Tamamo smirked. "Ok, I admit I didn't see that one coming."

Alice smirked. "Me neither. I guess we underestimated Promestein a bit."

Luka: "W-wait a second! You are Alipheese the 17th, right...?"

Neris: "Alipheese the 17th is too formal and stuffy! Call me by my real name, Neris!"

Ilias: "So Neris, what are you—"

Neris: "You don't get to use my name! Damn scummy Goddess!"

Ilias: "S-scummy...?!"

Erubetie chuckled. "We're going to need another counter for the number of times Ilias got burned at that rate. I don't think even my own healing skills would be enough for that one."

Neris: "Hey Luka, wanna go hang out somewhere? I found a bunch of nice spots in this world for us. Or maybe... we can skip the date and get right to the good part. I'm okay with that if you are "

Micaela chuckled. "I think we can confirm that she has a relation with Alma Elma."

"Please. Alma Elma would have already raped him at that point."

"Hey! I didn't do that when we met on the boat!"

Luka grimaced. "Not that you didn't try."

Ilias: "Cut it out already, Luka is my servant! I demand you reveal your identity and purpose for being here!"

"Ilias is a hypocrite!"

"Not a scummy goddess, huh?" Alice frowned.

"Really, Monster Lord? Didn't you keep saying that he's YOUR Luka?"

"Yes…" Alice snuggled up to Luka who finished her sentence. "But she is MY Alice."

"(I can't tell if it's cute or cringeworthy.)"

"(Just let them be happy for once…)"

Neris: "Hmph, rude demands from the peanut gallery. Let's postpone our date for another time. See you, Luka! Next time I won't take no for an answer!"

Ilias: "Just who is that monster? Alipheese the 17th, really?"

Sonya: "For some reason she was really intimate with you... I mean, you haven't met before, right?

Luka: "First time I've seen her!"

Sonya: "She seemed rather attached to you despite that..."

Luka: "In any case, the treasury is just ahead. Let's get the item we came for."

Ilias: "You are right, there's no time to indulge in idle thoughts. Let's complete our objective and leave this place."

"Good grief…" Alice massaged her face with her hand. "I enjoy that story a bit, but you can tell just how much Promestein tried to make herself look smart by over-complicating it. On the plus side, we're sure that Neris isn't my and Luka's daughter considering that it would mean that she just propositioned to her own father…"

Alice noticed Tamamo notably sweat. She shifted her body up to look more imperious. "Are you shocked because of Nanabi's behavior, the idea that you could have been replayed as a scene or by what I just said?"

"A bit of all, but mostly the third…" Tamamo gulped. "The Monster Lord and her bloodline has malleable redundant genes that will automatically adapt during procreation to avoid any risk of consanguinity."

Everyone grimaced at the implication. "Yes, the Dark Goddess did think that she could and would use the same man for several generations if the strength of his genes justified it. And yes, she had planned for her daughter and granddaughter to use the same male she used herself to procreate." Tamamo slowly breathed in and out. "She didn't quite factor the age problem, which was made redundant by the fact that the man in question died while coupling with her due to her getting carried away a bit, and, as Luka would attest, surviving the procreation ritual of the Monster Lord can make a number on one's health. And it is a version that was softened. Initially, it lasted a whole month. They... needed a few generations before considering that keeping their partner alive would be the better option."

Aside from Luka shuffling uncomfortably, everyone was staring in utter bewilderment at Tamamo.

"That's just a tad too much information." Micaela nervously chuckled. "We had considered that Alipheese had some genetic peculiarity on that front as well, but… I didn't imagine that she would plan to use that." She slowly exhaled. "I never felt the need to be held so much than at this very moment."

Tamamo answered by wrapping her tails behind Micaela who welcomed the fluffy blanket. After a heavy sigh, Granberia voiced out loud what everyone was thinking.

"Let us stop thinking about this and move on forward." She pointed at Rami. "She's going to die, isn't she?"

"Aaaaaah…"

"Nope. Unless she suddenly suffers from a brain hemorrhage, she should be fine."

"On the bright side, I don't think she's going to repeat what we just discussed here to anyone."

[…]

Luka: "There! Haa!"

Ilias: "You surprise me with your dedication to training even aboard this ship. Nevertheless, proper rest is also crucial to a long journey."

"And just like during our adventures, Luka learns a skill on a boat."

"Huh. I didn't know there were skills to heal with a sword. That could have been useful…" Luka raised an eyebrow. "How does it even work?"

"By channeling energy, which is easier when your body is infused with mana like angels. I guess Promestein used the fact that her world is supposedly richer in mana to justify the fact that there are more than angels able to learn skills to heal people with their weapons."

"Hey! I can also do that with my fists!" Alma Elma licked her lips. "Although I prefer using their well-named Angel Kiss skill…"

"That one was always a succubus technique in case the contact needed didn't make it obvious." Micaela coldly answered. "I have no idea who invented it, but we didn't enjoy getting so many requests to heal people that way during the Great War. I imagine its creator was laughing her arse off seeing people ask us to heal their boo-boo with kisses. Can we please focus back on dealing with Alma Elma in the game?"

Ilias: "It wasn't Alma Elma...?! Who the hell are you?!"

Morrigan: "I'm Morrigan, a much, much stronger succubus than Alma Elma."

Micaela groaned. "Luka's adventure is over."

Alma Elma evilly grinned with her attention fully focused on the blue-haired succubus. "Ooooh, I want to see her living up to her claim…"

Tamamo somberly announced: "Trust me. Nobody else does."

Morrigan: "Are you going to take me on? It would be reeeeeeal bad if I killed you though... How about I just go super, super easy on you? I won't touch you with either my hands or feet!"

Alma Elma shivered, visibly excited by the new skill presented.

"(Aaaand Alma Elma now has new ideas… damn it.)"

Alice sneered. "Why would anyone want to learn how to make people come without even touching them? You would really have to be an incompetent washboard with no sexual skills to rely on such underhanded abilities."

Alma Elma raised an eyebrow, her expression souring before she slumped on her chair. From Granberia to Erubetie, every single person in the room collapsed in relief.

"(I'll make sure the cooks prepare a few extra dangos this evening.)"

"(Thank you.)"

"Well, even with only her aura, Morrigan isn't a foe that Luka can win against."

Sonya strikes with the power of the earth! Critical Hit! 4259 damage!

Morrigan is defeated!

Micaela muttered to herself while Tamamo sympathetically patted her on the back. "Either I lost my assessment skills since the Great War, or I underestimated Promestein's skills at finding ways to prove me wrong."

Morrigan: "This is all your fault, you know! I was going to let you go, but you stubbornly keep fighting!

Ilias: "Gah, she really is the genuine Morrigan! I can't believe she's still as powerful now as she was during the Great Monster Wars!"

"Wait, didn't she just say that it would be, and I quote:" Erubetie perfectly imitated Morrigan's voice. "Reeeeeeal bad if I killed the party?"

"Yes." Tamamo nodded in agreement. "She wasn't the sharpest tool in the drawer."

"Understatement of the millennia."

Morrigan: "What's with the wind? This isn't my doing this time..."

A huge banner unfurls over our heads as if to cover the entire sky...

Ilias: "That's... a painting of me?! And it's awful!"

？？？: "Found you, filthy succubus! Now, burn to ash!"

Morrigan: "Seraph Zion?! Is she insane? She's really attacking me in this world?!"

Ilias: "Seraph... Zion?! I don't know any angel named that!"

"Neither do I…" Micaela's mouth remained agape for a few moments as she stared at the new self-proclaimed seraph. "She doesn't look like any angel I've seen. And we didn't find anything like this one in Promestein's plans. However, she does have some mechanical parts, so it's definitively something straight out of Promestein's mind. Maybe if she dug up one of the very old designs of the old hag…"

"You mean something as old as the absolute weapon?!" Tamamo was frozen. "That's… I'm not even sure she heard about that!"

"Time out you two…" Alice frowned. "What are you talking about?"

"Grrr…" Tamamo frowned and Alice only realized her mistake too late as the kitsune got up. She steadied herself as her mentor swatted her on top of the head with her paper fan once again. "I'm talking about the angelic counterpart to the Giganto Weapon! Remember your lesson next time!"

"…sorry." Luka reassuringly patted his significant other on the head while trying to suppress a smile as she cuddled up to him.

"This one I want to fight." Granberia was grinning heavily, joined by Alma Elma.

"Me too… it looks like she's the kind to enjoy both giving and receiving a good pounding."

"I'm surrounded by barbarians and degenerates…"

Before we have time to register what's going on, the angel begins shooting bullets of light from her palm that rain down on the ship!

Morrigan: "You lunatic of an angel! Do you even know what you're doing?! Don't you remember how much killing just one person wrecked the flow of time? We're only supposed to interfere indirectly!"

Zion: "A mere succubus dares to lecture a great angel like meee?! I will not compromise when it comes to annihilating you and your sisters!"

Alice raised an eyebrow at the scene. "I don't know who's worse between Morrigan who nearly did the very thing she's blaming Zion of doing or Zion for actually doing it and not giving a damn about collateral damage."

"I cannot answer that, but I'll still say that the latter is why I left Ilias."

Ilias: "At this rate the ship will sink! Luka, let's jump into the sea!"

Luka: "B-but, in this storm we'll..."

Ilias: "When a ship of this size sinks, it will cause a giant whirlpool! We need to get away before we get caught up in it!"

"Now I really appreciate that I met Alma Elma on my route instead of that. At least she cared enough to not send me down in the cold depths of the ocean."

"The only place I would have sent you to the depths of was my tail~."

"I rescind my comment."

"Awww, how cold… I'm sure that you would have loved it."

"Mmmh!" Tamamo spawned a light moss-like bat and struck the Succubus Queen on the head with the item. "First strike for inappropriate horniness. The next one will be more severe. You've been warned."

Alma Elma giggled and sat back.

Zion: "I'll crush you, imp!"

Morrigan: "I'll slaughter you, psycho angel! Wind! Gust and gale!"

"And just like that, everyone on the boat who was supposedly important enough to protect is forgotten, left at the mercy of the cold, cruel ocean…" Alice assumed her signature posture with her arms crossed under her chest and sighed. "I suggest we take a break for today, if only because Rami's knocked out cold again and I have the feeling the next time will be lethal."

"Aaaaaahhhhhhaaaaahhhh…"

"I agree. This game's a bit messy, but it's fun. Let's get back at it first hour tomorrow!"

"Alma Elma? Not everyone here is skimming on their duties as much as you are, and unless you want to only eat bread for the next months, we would appreciate you doing your job."

"Mph! Party pooper!" Alma Elma crossed her arms under her chest and flew away, making Tamamo sigh.

"Said job would have entailed accompanying us to Succubus Village to make sure that the succubus we saw on screen as well as her sisters are still soundly sealed. I guess I'll go alone then…"

"I'll accompany you." There was a surprising sense of urgency in Micaela's voice.

"I'll send everyone you need." Alice stood up. "If it can be as serious as we've seen, then you will need every help available."

Tamamo softly smiled. "Thank you for your support. I appreciate it. However, it's better if I go alone with Micaela. You need some special training to counter aura magic, and as is you would just be more targets for their spells."

While the remaining group looked down, disappointed, Alice decided to trust and respect the decision of the two veterans.

"Still… be careful."

Omake: Micaela wanted to test something

Nanabi: "By the way, do you need something from me? Perhaps you'd like to challenge me again?"

"Mmmh..." Micaela pensively massaged her chin. "So we're able to challenge her again… and knowing monsters, she'll join us if we win. Can you challenge her again?"

"Sure!" Rami answered with a giggle. Behind her, not a single word was said, but everyone was staring at Micaela as if the seraph had gone of her rockers.

Nanabi used Kitsune Storm Talisman!

Luka and his party lost the fight.

starts playing.

"I honestly can't tell what you expected." Tamamo's ears wagged a bit as she fanned herself. "Luka and his crew got defeated so fast, we didn't even learn much about how she fights. She uses earth skills, her tails, and maybe a little fox ninjutsu and that's it."

"Harpies have high evasion… maybe we can level up Reina to counter most of her skills. Even if she's weak against earth, it will balance out with her taking little damage from the other attacks."

"We'll just level the team and come back afterward, don't worry about her, I'm taking notes somewhere and-"

"No. We will recruit her before leaving Ilias continent." Micaela looked utterly focused and took Rami's place. "We need to build up our strategy a bit with what we have, and then we'll see."

Tamamo muttered to herself in shock. "(Oh. Oh no. No, no no no…)"

"(What? What is it Tamamo?)"

"(Luka? You're about to see a facet of your aunt you never knew about.)"

"(What are you talking about?)"

"(Remember how competitive and determined to train she got after losing to you in the colosseum in front of everyone?)"

"(Hurgh… don't remind me.)"

"(Well… Micaela is actually the same. But worse.)"

"Reina is a bit underleveled, but let's try again."

Luka and his party lost the fight.

starts playing.

"…That went even worse than last time. You're sure you don't want to progress a bit and get back to her later?"

Micaela's brain cells elected to ignore the remark from Alice. "Let's level the team a bit here."

"(Yup. This is going to take a looooong time.)"

[…]

starts playing.

Sky Dance: Increases Evasion and Magical Evasion by 50% for 4 turns.

"This is way more powerful than every other single defensive skill combined we could access to so far. Also I remarked that Luka has an ability granted by apprentice hero to allow him to revive the first time he died. Everyone must have that as well."

"Noooo, not even more training! I want to see more of the story!" Rami's whining was ignored by Micaela to the displeasure of everyone else. Then the Heavenly Knights and Alice glared at each other, blaming one another at their cowardice for not taking a firmer stance against Micaela's desperate quest for power.

[…]

"I see, so if we can set up Endure on everyone, then they'll be able to tank an additional first hit as well. Coupled with the fifty percent chance evasion granted by sky dance, the durability of these characters will be exponentially increased."

"Aaaaah…" Rami's brain was back to its steaming mod. This time, even Alice and Erubetie were massaging their foreheads as more headaches were in sight.

"Aren't you just taking it a tad too far? At this point, you will be able to beat her through sheer power anyway."

"Mmmh… you might be right, but…"

This but alone was enough to make everyone jump up in apprehension.

"-what if there are more monsters like that? Kraken, Sphinx, Yamata No Orochi… so many possible powerful monsters that Luka faced and couldn't take head on. What if we have to deal with them and are able to recruit them afterward? We'll get even more power than that earlier."

"…I guess you have a point."

[…]

"Mmmh. I'm sure I can optimize my strategy by using the dance and song skills first before using the one-turns buffs."

"Aaaaaah…"

"(Poor Rami.)"

"(It's not Rami this time, it's Granberia. Rami's already unconscious.)"

"(I'm pretty sure that by this point, we'd already be in Sabasa…)"

[…]

"Aaaah…"

"Perfect!" Micaela pumped her fist. "I now have the perfect strategy which will ensure victory against whatever we face!"

Micaela looked behind her. All of her partners had their eyes closed. While Tamamo and Erubetie looked like they fell asleep, the remainder of the crew looked like they all suffered some aneurysm. Micalea wondered if she should look for help, then the seraph shrugged then turned her attention back to the game.

"I will now be able to take on Reaper."

Reaper: "You wish to challenge me? Have you lost your sanity?"

"Yup."

Reaper: "So you were serious about this foolishness... I have no intentions of fighting you myself, however. Someone strong from the present world should suffice. Copy from F10229X135Y089 and...paste!"

Alice appeared!

"Ah. Oh well, I'm lucky that they're all asleep then."

Alice used Monster Lord's Cruelty!

Luka and his party were defeated.

starts playing.

Micaela sighed and skipped the scene. "Back to the drawing board."

[…]

Reaper: "Ooh, not bad at all...I suppose I must oblige now."

Reaper appears.

"Just how much hit points she has? Alice would have died five times over from that! It's unfair!

Reaper is defeated!

"Finally!"

Reaper: "I'll admit you're powerful, but you should put that power to better use. Fighting me here gains you absolutely nothing. If all you wanted was to test yourself, then you should be satisfied now."

So I defeated the Reaper for nothing...That's kind of a let-down.

"No it wasn't, you dropped a pretty good dress."

[…]

"Why does everything feels easy now? I thought Promestein would have at least balanced her game correctly. Oh, well, I guess she's a scientist, not a strategist."