Happiness Village didn't live up to its name at all. Luka had never visited it before—there was no real reason to. Sure, he would've liked to see the harpies, but it was fairly far, and the path was littered with wild monsters. His mother never let him go anywhere outside of Iliasville alone.
"Hm.. You know, Alice, I was thinking… How come some monsters still attack us, even when we don't provoke them? I mean, coexistence has been pretty widespread for the last three decades." He pointed out.
"It troubles me too. They never did this when I was in charge… I think. My Heavenly Knights always kept an eye on things like this, but seeing as I've been usurped by my mother, and my laws are no longer being enforced…"
She was usurped by her mother…? She never talked about that before… I'll have to ask her about it later. "Monsters have laws…? Really?"
Alice sighed. Do humans really know so little about our society? Do they think we're all just primitive barbarians?
Well, to be fair, some of us are actually pretty barbaric, but that's beside the point!
"My family, the Fateburns, have been the ruling monarch for the last two thousand years, and no other family has ever sat on my throne," Alice explained, beaming with pride. "We have many laws, but only a few are really enforced. Don't assault other monsters, always follow the Fateburns, only attack humans in self-defence, et cetera. I added that last one myself."
"And yet…" Ilias motioned to their surroundings.
"They'd follow the law if I was still in charge! It's my mother's fault, not mine." Alice insisted. "Besides, those who live in human villages follow human laws, and nowadays most monsters prefer living with humans."
The difference between monster villages and human villages has been diminishing over the years. Nowadays most of them harbour both races … Well, it benefits both sides, so it's hardly a bad thing.
Sonya had heard many stories about what life was like for the average person before coexistence became widespread. Very few monsters lived alongside humans, and there were only brief periods of mild coexistence, but that all changed when the Great Disaster ravaged the world.
I still remember that time Uncle Lazarus told me about it. "Tens of thousands perished overnight." He had said. "The four of us—Me, Luka's father Marcellus, Merlin and Karen—travelled all around the world to help those in need. We eventually ended up at Hellgondo, ready to face off against Alipheese the Fifteenth… but that's a story for another time."
Happiness Village was a prime example of humanity's newfound friendship with monster-kin, or it was rumoured to be. But now the village felt empty, almost lifeless. "What happened here…?" Sonya asked. She felt like she was back in the Nameless Slums.
Luka didn't know, but he was eager to find out. He walked up to a human merchant to ask. "Hi… Do you know what happened here? Why is everyone so down?"
The older woman softly sighed. "Ever since those harlots flew off all the men have been borderline depressed. By harlots I mean the harpies—They're like humans but with wings and talons, and, you know, not human. Half of the young men in the village have lain with them, and that's being conservative. But what do I care? They're gone now, and it's only a matter of time before the men get over them."
Alice felt an odd pride well up as she listened. Jealous? She thought, but knew better than to voice it. "Where'd the harpies go?" She asked. "And why?"
"Who knows?" The merchant answered. "Far away, I hope."
She'll be of no help, Alice led the others away, but Luka lagged behind. Vanilla was tugging at his cape. "Wait, you said you'd help me achieve my dream!" She reminded him, loudly, and in public too. Luka couldn't help but feel a bit embarrassed. "Help me haggle with this merchant!"
"Did you just call me a hag, girl?"
"N-No! I said haggle…" Vanilla insisted. Is she deaf…?
Alice rolled her eyes and left the hero to it. It was his fault for accepting their offer in the first place—not that she didn't feel bad for the young bandits. They had proven themselves more useful than she expected; Vanilla was a talented merchant from the get-go. Teeny, a skilled maid. The Pocket Castle was much cleaner now, thanks to her. Gob was… energetic and good at moving things around, and Papi was an excellent fighter, as well as a skilled smith.
We brought her and Vanilla along … but now I'm starting to wish we brought someone else instead. If she's going to keep distracting Luka this we'll never get anything done. And I'm sure Papi will beg him to help her with her smithing practice too. I still remember when she snuck into my room at night to try to take a scale for a "super awesome shield"…
Alice spoke to a few of the locals, most of which repeated the same story. One day, the harpies simply disappeared. The only thing they left was a letter, saying that they had to go. It puzzled the Monster Lord, but there must've been a reason for their sudden migration: They had food, security and optimal conditions for survival here. There was no logical reason for them to leave, and to not even tell their lovers the reason…
There must be something more to this. We'll have to check out their tree house to find out why… It should be just a bit east of here…
It only took them a dozen minutes to get to Harpiness Village, which was centred around a massive tree. Luka had never seen one so large before. Alice suggested that it was not native to the area, but rather a sapling brought over from Fairy Island, far west of the Ilias Continent. The harpies had resided there long ago, but eventually decided it was too cramped and flew here instead, according to Ilias. Now they lived all across the world, but Harpiness Village had the largest concentration of them.
"Well, it's a good thing they were thoughtful enough to install ladders," Luka said, testing the strength of one. It was old and well-used, but sturdy enough.
Alice hated ladders, especially rope ones. They swayed far too much for her liking, but this one was bolted down at the bottom, and hopefully at the top too, which gave her a sense of security. "One at a time," She said. "I don't trust this thing."
"That'll take ages," Ilias complained. "I'll meet you up there,"
Right, she can fly… Lucky, Alice thought. She was the last to brave the climb. The Monster Lord technically could fly, but she didn't trust her wings in this form, they were small and weak. They could barely lift her in her true form, and that was with some magical assistance. Tamamo had a lot of trouble teaching the young lamia to fly, unlike her mother, who possessed multiple sets of wings, rather than just the one.
Luka pulled Alice up with one hand when she reached the top. They were high up, too high for her tastes. The wind was mercifully slow and gentle, which gave her some reprieve. They explored each house in the village. Harpies were not that unlike humans in their buildings. They had some supports for perching and unusually high ceilings, so they could better fly inside, but other than that they were pretty much the same.
Sonya couldn't shake her unease. It was as if the residents had just up and vanished. The shops were empty, either from the harpies taking the items with them or from thieves pillaging the now-abandoned village. The harpies had left less than a month ago, but no sign of their time here remained.
"Hm… Was this just a total waste of time then?" Alice wondered. "There might not be anything left to find, and I'm sure the locals have already searched this place up and down."
"Let's not give up just yet," Luka spotted another ladder, even longer than the last. There was one more level to reach. "I'm sure we'll find something…"
Alice had to steel herself once more to brave the ladder. Heights were one of her great fears. She closed her eyes and started the climb. The wind blew lightly against her as she pulled herself higher and higher. When she opened her eyes again, the ordeal was over, and they had reached the peak. Harpies feathers were plentiful up here, to her mild annoyance. Each of them now carried multiple feathers, just in case.
"The queen must live there," Luka said, pointing. It was a bigger house than all the rest, yet still retained some modesty. It was in dire need of a thorough cleaning.
There was no fence between the platform and the sudden drop below, which made Alice even more tense. A lamia was not built for the skies. She had never stood so high before. Neither had Luka, who took the moment to take in the view. From here he could see Iliasburg clearly, and could just about make out Iliasville's mountains in the far distance. They had come so far in such little time, he thought. Still, they had a long road ahead of them.
"Hm… It's a lot cleaner on the inside than it was on the out," Sonya said, brushing her hand against one of the wooden tables. The queen's house only had a dining room and her bed chambers, which was all she really needed, Sonya supposed. Still, the inside was clean, suspiciously so. She heard something in the back, behind one of the walls.
"There's somebody else in here," She whispered to Ilias. The goddess frowned. A harpy? She wondered. She created a dagger of light and held it out for protection. It was a skill only recently returned to her, but one she was glad to have back in her arsenal.
Luka and Alice trailed behind. The goddess jumped around the corner, pointing the dagger at the intruder.
"Eh…? You again?" She asked. "What the heck are you doing here!?"
It was a dark-haired man of average height, one who Luka had seen before. What was his name again…
"…Nero?" The boy asked timidly.
The man seemed pleased to see them. "Good morrow," He said. "Or is it noon? I've been in here for a long while now… As for what I'm doing here, I was waiting for you guys."
"To what end?" Alice asked.
Nero sipped his tea elegantly. It was a fine cup, embedded with symbols Alice recognised. That material, those symbols… it must be from my castle… that thief!
Alice kept her misgivings to herself, for the moment. Nero put down the cup. "To help you solve this mystery. The harpies have all gone, but where? And why? Quite the conundrum…" The young man stood, fixing his glasses as he approached. Ilias took a step back.
"…I mean you no harm," He said. "Why don't we all just sit down and discuss this over a hot cup of tea? I brewed it myself, and not to boast or anything, but even Granberia was impressed with my skills."
"Granberia? You've spoken to her?" Alice asked, slithering next to the man. "How? Why?"
"Oh… It was just in passing. A brief comment after I offered her a drink. Don't get so worked up about it… Ahem, anyway, as I said, why not sit down with me?"
Sonya couldn't see why not. She sat down across from him. Luka and the others eventually joined her, two of them having to leave and pull in chairs from the other room. "Well… I guess I'll start by telling you all I know… See, the harpies didn't just up and vanish one day for no reason. They were forced to leave when a sickness spread through them like fire in a forest. It's called the ALKQ5 Lust Fever. It's old—Ancient, even. It hasn't been seen in hundreds of years… Regardless, it's fairly difficult to cure. Lucky for us, I have it right here."
Nero held up a large seed of some kind. It could barely fit in his palm. "This is a Yggdrasil Seed. It can cure hundreds of different ailments. It's rarer than rare. It comes from Fairy Island, from the great tree there." He explained. "The harpies should only need a small bite each for it to work, though the queen might need more than that…"
"So what's the catch?" Ilias asked, wondering just how he managed to get his hand on such a rare item. "What will this cost us?"
"Nothing," Nero said. "I'm only here to help. They nested north of here, in an old abandoned tower."
The goddess snatched the seed rather inelegantly. "You're an odd one…"
"I've been told that many times before… Am I really that strange?"
"Very," Alice said, inspecting the man closely. His demeanour was strange… unusually refined, well-spoken and mannerly. There was something vaguely familiar about him, but she just couldn't quite put her finger on it.
"Oh…" The man looked oddly hurt. "I see… Well, I better be going. I wish you all luck on the rest of your adventure."
Nero left without another word. Luka and the others followed him out, but by the time they were there, he was nowhere to be seen. "What an odd guy," The hero said. He turned to the others. "We should get going too. He said they flew north of here, right over… Yeah, see that tower in the distance, I bet that's the one he was talking about. It's a few hours north. Let's make our way down and get going before it turns dark."
Lucretia always had a taste for the finer things in life. She often ordered fine wines from Grand Noah's breweries. She had even once gotten her hands on luxurious Remina wine, as a gift for her coronation. She took a deep gulp from her chalice. Alcohol was one of the only ways to suppress her lust… in the short term. She never let herself become drunk, but being tipsy was enough to distract her mind.
"My Queen, we have discovered another apple orchid, a few miles west of here. It's still within the confines of the forest, and we have been running low on food recently… We could always send a group to take some of the boys from Iliasburg—"
"How many times must I say it?" The queen asked. This was the fourth time someone had asked this week. "We will not abduct humans for their energy when there are safer alternatives. This… fever is too dangerous. I doubt any of us would have the willpower to stop and let the male rest."
"As for the orchid… send a team of our least lustful harpies to collect it." She commanded. Some of the greater victims of the fever had tried to fly away from the tower, despite their monarch's orders. They had to be restrained to protect the locals.
Though I can hardly blame them … Even I find myself constantly longing for some companionship… A comely young man to couple with, even if only for a night… How many weeks has it been now…?
Time seemed to move slower and slower with each passing day. The queen spent most of her time in the throne room, either sitting on the throne itself or pacing around, trying to control her lust. No harpy had been spared the fever. It had struck them without warning, starting from one or two harpies acting unusually lustful with their lovers. Before long, most of the population was unable to do much other than mate. The queen decided to flee one night, only having the foresight to leave a note.
We couldn 't risk writing much either… If would be disastrous if the men came here, searching for us. Even still, we couldn't help but fly too far from home… This is the best compromise I could come up with.
But it is only a matter of time. What will we do when they come …? Will we be able to stop ourselves from draining them…?
The queen took another sip. The lust was heavier now… she could hear something in the distance. A few floors below…
"Go check that out," She ordered. She pressed one wing against her forehead. The lust came on harder now. Dealing with it herself never worked for long. Some of the others had even taken to doing it with each other to sate their desires, but that too proved ineffective. She took a full-sized gulp of her chalice.
For how long will my loyal subject continue to listen to me? She wondered. A third of them have already started to disobey me… In a week or two, it'll be half of them. The next, all of them. Before long, I won't be able to control myself either…
"As you wish," The harpy bowed lightly, before flying off. The queen waited for over ten minutes, and yet she never returned.
She heard noises again, closer now. On the same level as her… and now she could smell something too. Her lust exploded once more. She could smell it… a man, a boy really. His scent was like a fan to the flame of her lust. There were others too, but they didn't matter. Food… at last.
No. I must stay strong … This fever will not control me. I am the queen above all else…
There was no door to her throne room. The intruders entered unabashedly, four of them in total. A purple-haired boy, a small blond angel, a red-headed priestess by the looks of it and a purple-skinned lamia. She could already sense their power… It was not meagre, but it was far from her level.
"Leave," The queen forced herself to say. She could feel herself losing to the lust. "Before the fever… takes hold."
"So you're the queen," The boy said. "Listen, we have a cure for the fever. We've already given it to those we encountered, if you just take a few bites—"
"No… You must go…" The queen's vision began to blur, and before long, all she could see was her prey. "Or… Perhaps you should stay…" She heard herself say. "Yes, that sounds like a great idea."
The angel shook her head. "I knew this would happen. She'll see sense once we beat her up a bit, but be careful. She isn't the queen for nothing."
Lucretia rose, her eyes set on the boy. He was a hero of some kind, she surmised: A sword fighter. A bad match for her soft wings, but her talons might put up a better fight. She flew towards them.
Harpies prided themselves on their speed and dexterity, but they fell short when it came to their attack power, and their innate feebleness didn't help. They could scarcely take more than a few hits while still retaining their ability to fly. Broken wings were a common ailment among the harpies. The queen was no different, though the priestess' reckless swing was too weak to do any real damage. It did knock Lucretia off course for a moment, however, which gave way for the hero's strong downward slash, which was only stopped by the harpy's claws.
Lucretia had one leg bent high, so her talon could hold off the boy's sword, while her wings kept the others at bay. The angel let loose a weak string of lightning, which coursed through the harpy's body, conducting itself through her talons and spreading to the boy. He faltered for a moment, which gave her the chance to free herself from her difficult position. She picked the hero up and threw him across the room. Flying high above the other three, she picked her target carefully.
The angel seems to be staying as far away from me as possible … She must be the only one with good ranged attacks. The priestess must be the support, seeing as she's running over to the boy, presumably to heal him… Which means she could be their weakest member… or perhaps it is her…
The queen swooped in on the young lamia. She tried to duck, but couldn't move her body quick enough. Lucretia's talons scratched her scalp and ripped through her silver hair. She was weak.
"You won't last long like that," Lucretia said, landing. "You're slow and weak. You… What is that symbol…"
Is that … The Fateburn's Sigil? And her eyes… Her power is sealed, which means she must be…
Eh, what does it matter? The boy is the only one here I want. I can discard the others.
Lucretia dodged around the lamia's rapier thrusts. "Weak? You haven't seen half of what I can do!"
"You're in my way, girl. Surrender the boy to me, and I'll let you leave unharmed." The queen offered. Her many years of negotiating would surely come in useful now.
"Fat chance of that," The lamia infused her rapier with darkness. "I am Alipheese Fateburn the Sixteenth, and that boy is sworn to me."
"The Monster Lord would never be so weak," Lucretia said, still smiling. "I know at least a dozen harpies with more power than you, including myself."
The queen never heard the sword. In the blink of an eye, she was on the floor. Blood welled up below her, dripping from her head. "What…"
The hero stood above her, his sword at the ready. "Give up, we only want to help you!"
Lucretia pulled herself to her feet. "My head…" The side of her head had a shallow wound, cutting just above her ear. "You little bastard, I'll make you pay for that…"
"The fever clouds your judgment," The supposed Monster Lord said, slithering next to the hero. Her rapier joined the boy's sword in pointing at her. "You know who I am, Lucretia. We met once not long ago. The Lucretia I know would never act like this."
"You…" The queen shook her head. "That's right, the fever… I am Queen Lucretia, and you are… the Monster Lord."
"Here, eat this," The boy stuck out a half-eaten seed. He was glad to see his attack did return the queen to normal, at least temporarily. Her constant staring had been unnerving.
"I know what this is… A Yggdrasil seed." The queen said. She took a generous portion. "Just as I thought… It is not enough. I could eat the whole seed and the fever would still not be cured. Use the rest on the others… it is of no use to me."
"I see…" The boy sighed. Even now Lucretia was suppressing the urge to jump him and have her way with him, right then and there. She certainly had the power to do it… "We'll give the rest to the other harpies then, as you said… but what should we do with you…?"
"I'll stay here," Lucretia said. Don't jump him… don't… you are the queen… and he is going to help all your subjects… leave him be… "There is no other way to guarantee the safety of the others… but my harpies should return to our home, to their families. I'm sure they've been worried sick."
Alipheese nodded. "They have. They're the ones who sent us here in the first place." We better be getting a reward out of this for all our hard work…
"Then they must make haste." The queen said.
"Where did this fever even come from in the first place?" The angel asked. "I know it well. It died out after the end of the Great Monster War. There's no way it could've simply just reemerged."
The queen frowned. "You are correct, little angel. I believe I remember the cause. Yes… it was a few weeks ago. Three powerful succubi came to visit me… for a reason I can no longer recall. They seemed… foreign, to me. They asked odd questions, and they only stuck around for a few minutes. They eventually flew off and left me puzzled… A few days later the fever spread far and wide, and we had to leave."
"Three powerful succubi…" Ilias looked worried. "What were their hair colours?"
"Their hair…? As I said, it is difficult to recall… but one of them was definitely blue-haired. As to the others… It is difficult to say."
"Blue hair… Morrigan, the youngest of the Lilith Sisters."
"Lilith? You mean… the Lilith Sisters?" Alice asked. "How could they possibly have come here? They were killed over a thousand years ago!"
"How would I know, you stupid snake?" Ilias pointed out.
Luka knew better than to let them continue. "We best get going then," He said to the queen. "We'll come back for you, Lucretia. Just wait a bit longer."
Lucretia nodded. She returned to her throne and watched them leave. Her chalice was empty now… and after the rest had left, there would be no one left to refill it.
How dreadful … How will I entertain myself now?