Key:
Text
"Speaking, or in-text quote"
'Thoughts'
Additional Emphasis
Year 16 AL, Saying Farewell
Tamamo no Mae hummed an aimless little tune as she navigated the halls of the Cave of Treasures. Currently, the Nine-Tailed Kitsune was holding the sealed Nanabi in her arms, making sure to give the poor fox a bit of comforting head-pats while she was stuck in her compromised position. Though this was not without a little bit of a lecture for the Sven-Tails, "Let this be a good lesson, Nanabi. Never underestimate an opponent, no matter how innocent they may appear."
The sealed Kitsune gave a small huff, unable to reply in any meaningful way, but Tamamo seemed to understand what the fellow Kitsune meant. "Now, don't get so upset over it. It may be embarrassing, but humiliation is a great teacher. Of course, I assume that you can see this after getting beaten by such an adorable Human." Nanabi gave out a low groan, which spurred Tamamo to chuckle.
"Fufufuu, oh Nanabi, that wasn't very nice." The Nine-Tails chastised, but her tone was devoid of any real stern intentions. Tamamo heard a stifled giggle come from behind her, and the Heavenly Knight turned her head to level a stern gaze back at the silver-furred perpetrator. "Don't think that I had forgotten about you, Kitsu. Your performance here today leaves much to be desired, much more so than Nanabi."
The Two-Tailed Kitsune behind Tamamo flinched at the sudden attention she was given, her ears drooping down in shame. "S-Sorry, Tamamo. I-I'll be more careful next time."
The Nine-Tails turned away but continued her scolding of the young Kitsune. "I'd hope that you do. There won't always be a cute little purple-haired Hero running around to help you..." A sly and toothy grin came to Tamamo's face as she turned around once again, her emerald eyes gleaming with mischief. "...If you're looking to capture his attention, there are simpler and safer means than getting caught in spiderwebs, I assure you."
Tamamo's suggestion had an immediate effect on the silver-furred fox, whose face lit up bright red at her superior's words. "What!? No way! I'm not after his attention!" Tamamo gave a chuckle at her subordinate's indignation before responding, "Oh, I must've read too much into things, then. You just seemed so flustered when telling me about how he protected you from the "Scary Spider" so I just assumed he may have caught your eye." Kitsu sputtered at Tamamo's teasing before eventually falling silent, not wanting to dig her hole any deeper than she already had.
The Heavenly Knight gave a satisfied chuckle before her thoughts settled on the boy in question.
Luka most definitely seemed to be an interesting one. To be so young and seemingly weak, yet able to defeat someone as strong as Nanabi? It seemed impossible, yet Tamamo held the evidence of such in her very arms. The only question now, was how?
Being who she was, the Nine-Tailed Kitsune had been aware of the fight going on between the two while she searched the treasure hoard for Poseidon's Bell. She could clearly sense both Nanabi's presence and Luka's presence distinctly as the battle went on, the Kitsune obviously feeling like a Monster and the boy obviously feeling like a Human. However, towards the end, something strange happened.
Luka's aura changed.
It shifted and morphed into something unfamiliar to Tamamo. The power still had remnants of Human in it, but there was a very subtle flavor of something else there. Something alarmingly similar to Angelic Magic. Not long after Tamamo had made the realization, Nanabi was swiftly sealed and the unusual power coming from Luka disappeared as though it was never there in the first place.
Which led Tamamo to finding a sealed Nanabi and a purple-haired Hero who looked as lost as an abandoned newborn kitten awaiting her outside the treasury.
Not once throughout Tamamo's direct interaction with Luka did she feel that same presence, everything about him seemingly Human as she inspected him. So why was it that she had felt Holy Magic come from him? Humans have always been able to use magic, but not that type as far as Tamamo knew. But then again, Humans have proven themselves to be capable of accomplishing the impossible before.
If they could dabble in Dark Magic, then perhaps the opposite could be true? After all, those who become Baptized by Ilias would usually receive a mark of her power to "shield" them from Monsters. 'Although I am sure that he wasn't Baptized, I couldn't sense any of Ilias's presence on him. If only I could inspect him further myself, but that is not under my jurisdiction. Not when he's captured Alice's attention.'
Tamamo hummed to herself, 'You've happened upon a very interesting boy here, Alice. Though I do wonder...' The Heavenly Knight paused, her thoughts being cut off as she felt a very familiar presence behind her group. Tamamo smirked, having been waiting for such a thing. '...Speak of the Devil, and she shall appear.'
The golden-furred Kitsune turned and held out Nanabi to the Two-Tails, "Here, Kitsu. Meet me outside, I have a bit of business to attend to. I trust that you can find your way out from here?" The silver-furred fox jolted from the sudden request but took the sealed Seven-Tails carefully in her arms and replied, "Y-Yes, Tamamo! I won't get lost again!" The Nine-Tailed Kitsune watched her subordinate sprint down the hall in what was - thankfully - the correct way to the entrance of the cave.
Tamamo stood there as the presence drew nearer from behind, though she was not fazed in the slightest. After all, no one knew the Monster Lord as well as her. "Ah, Alice. I was wondering when you would say Hello..." Tamamo started, her tails slowly swaying as she turned back around one more to face the Lamia. Alice's face was dour, her disappointment evident in her golden eyes. "...I'd something the matter, Alice? You seem displeased."
The white-haired Monster Lord gave a tired sigh before replying, "Tamamo, what was that?" She asked, to which the Kitsune coyly asked back, "What was what?"
"You know what I mean." Alice quickly snapped, "I asked you to challenge him, not to just give him the bell. That was the whole reason for you coming here." Tamamo tilted her head up, her face morphing into a look of faux realization, "Ohh, is that what you had meant? My apologies, my Lord, I obviously had misinterpreted your orders."
Alice crossed her arms haughtily, her disappointment all the more evident in the gesture. "I don't understand how you could. I expressly told you to test Luka's abilities as a Hero, did I not?" Tamamo nodded, "You did, yes, but when he asked so nicely with those large puppy-dog eyes I found myself unable to say no!"
Alice squinted at the Kitsune, her annoyance clear in her gaze. "What do you mean you couldn't say no?" Tamamo shrugged, lifting her silver and red fan up to her face, "Well, Luka was very persuasive. He even said please, Alice. I've never been so thoroughly and Heroically bested before."
Suffice it to say, the Monster Lord looked unconvinced.
Tamamo sighed at Alice's pointed look, "That, and he did deserve some type of reward for saving Kistu. Whether you appreciate it or not aside, I felt it appropriate to reward him for that. The lives of my foxes are very important to me, you know." The Lamia rolled her eyes, evidently not as swayed by Tamamo's reasoning.
"Nevermind, you'll just have to make up for this blunder another time, then..." Alice looked away, her scowl now aimed at the ground. "...You know how important this is to me, Tamamo. Everything needs to be set-up right and I can't accomplish it unless he's properly prepared." The Nine-Tailed Kitsune frowned, knowing too well what the Lamia was referring to.
Tamamo gazed upon the younger Monster for a while, before finally noticing something peculiar: the Lilac flower sitting in Alice's hair.
The Nine-Tails smirked, knowing well that this wasn't a natural part of the Monster Lord's biology, unlike the other two flowers which had been there since birth. And Tamamo knew that Alice hadn't had it when she left Hellgondo, so that meant that it had to have been put there rather recently.
Who, oh who, could've been the one to entice the Monster Lord to put that there?
"I find myself having to congratulate you, Alice." Tamamo suddenly said, earning a perturbed look from the Lamia. "Congratulate me on what, exactly?" Alice asked.
Tamamo's smirk turned absolutely devilish as she sauntered closer, a teasing gleam in her emerald eyes. "On having the cutest Human on Earth as your little traveling partner, of course!" Alice's eye twitched, but she forced herself to keep her composure. "He's not that c-cute." Despite her best efforts, the slight quiver in the Lamia's tone betrayed her words.
Like a shark smelling blood in the water, Tamamo made her move. "Aww, is that so? Well, if you aren't interested..." The Nine-Tails held her fan up to her face once more to obscure everything but her eyes as she whispered, "...Does that mean he's free for the taking?"
Alice's face brightened and her response was swift, "WHAT!? N-No, he's NOT!" Tamamo had to reel in the urge to cackle, watching in amusement as the Lamia standing before her lost her cool. The Kitsune snapped her fan close again and gave Alice an innocent look before asking, "My, why ever not?" The Monster Lord bristled, a slew of different conflicting emotions running through her eyes. Finally, the Lamia steeled her facade once more and leveled her gaze at the Nine-Tailed Kitsune.
"Because Luka needs to complete his mission and reach Hellgondo. Which means that he needs to focus on getting stronger." Alice stood a bit straighter as her face cooled down. "And he can't do that if he's off having... fun with you."
Tamamo no Mae watched Alice closely, taking in the Sixteenth Monster Lord's answer. The Kitsune had made her objection to Alice's end goal known on multiple occasions, but her efforts to sway the Lamia's opinion usually ends with the Monster Lord doubling-down on her mission of self-sacrifice. Yet, the Nine-Tails could see an inkling of a possibility here, a chance that something could get in the way of this path Alice had set herself on.
A purple-haired something.
A little push here, a little nudge there, and maybe, just maybe...
"Alright, then. I'll keep my hands to myself." Tamamo eventually said, raising her small hands up to pantomime her words. She lowered them back down quickly as she added, "Though you may want to go over that with Alma Elma a couple dozen or so times. You know as well as I that she has trouble differentiating duty from pleasure..." Tamamo gave another sly smile, "...And with a face like his, she'll certainly have trouble fighting that temptation."
Alice's face twitched again, an exhausted look coming to her face at Tamamo's mentioning of the one known as Alma Elma. "I am well aware of that."
Tamamo gave an exaggerated wave with her fan, "Well, I'll be taking my leave now..." Tamamo said, but she stopped as another sly grin came upon her face, "...Have fun with your little Hero, Alice~"
Tamamo let out a laugh as the lavender-skinned Lamia vanished, clearly tired of the Nine-Tail's teasing. The smile on the Kitsune's face eventually faded as her laughter died, and she turned to leave the Cave with a much more thoughtful expression. 'Yes, have fun, Alice. If I can't change your mind, then perhaps he could.'
After a few moments more of walking, Tamamo left the cave, idly noticing that an overcast of gray clouds had started to form. 'Don't tell me that Succubus is already at it again. If I have to dry these tails out one more time because of her, I swear...' The Nine-Tails banished the rare bout of angry thoughts and glanced around to find her two subordinates.
She found Kitsu close by, looking down and sniffing at something behind a bush that stood right next to the Cave entrance. Laying curled up in the grass beside her was Nanabi, who apparently had fallen asleep while waiting for Tamamo to return. The Nine-Tailed Kitsune eyed the sight with curiosity, and slowly paced over to the much younger Monster. The emerald eyes of the Heavenly Knight found what Kitsu was looking down at: Sitting behind the bush, was a traveling bag.
"What do we have here?" Tamamo asked, causing the silver-furred fox before her to jump.
"O-Oh! H-Hello, Tamamo!" Kitsu exclaimed as she diligently moved out of the way, allowing her superior to walk up to the bag and inspect it. The golden-furred fox lightly sniffed the air around the bag, stopping to grin as she recognized the scent. 'That's definitely Luka's, I've never encountered any Human that smelled as strong of Vanilla as he does. Humans and their bizarre soaps. After all these years, I still don't understand their infatuation with artificial scents.'
Tamamo looked from the traveling bag to Kitsu a couple times, a certain mischievous idea coming to mind. It might come back to bite her later, but Tamamo couldn't help herself now that the thought was in her brain. That, and Alice deserved some type of payback for making the Nine-Tails travel all this way just to leave as quickly as she arrived. "Kitsu, do you want to make up for today's shortcomings?"
The silver-furred fox's red eyes lit up at her superior's offer, giving a series of quick nods. "Of course I do! Whatever it is, consider it done!" The Nine-Tailed Kitsune gave a sinister chuckle at her fellow fox's eager reaction while turning to the side to gently pick up the sleeping Nanabi. She faced Kitsu once more, a wicked-looking grin plastered on the Heavenly Knight's face. Kitsu's enthused expression started to morph into nervousness as Tamamo remained silent.
'Oh my dear Kitsu...' Tamamo thought as she started to gently scratch the top of the sleeping Nanabi's head once again. '...You really shouldn't accept a task without knowing what it is first.'
Luka, admittedly, was having quite a bit of an issue with getting Lona out of the Cave of Treasures. He wouldn't say it, but having to carry the now blonde-haired Elf was becoming an issue. Lona wasn't really heavy by any means, but the problem he was really starting to have was actually balancing her dead weight.
He wasn't knocking her head around or anything, but Luka had a couple of close calls already, and he was starting to worry that something bad might happen. The last thing he wanted to do was bash the unconscious Elf's head against one of the cave's hard stone walls, but with his somewhat thin arms, the effort to not do that was growing more and more difficult.
Worst of all, Luka was pretty sure that he wasn't even halfway through the cave yet.
The young Hero stopped to adjust his grip for the umpteenth time - making sure not to grasp anything delicate - when he felt something poke his shoulder. He gave a small yelp of surprise, but his fear was dispelled as he clumsily turned and found Alice standing there behind him. The Lamia had a strange look on her face, but either way, Luka found himself grateful to see her. "A-Alice, there you are!" He exclaimed, a wide and relieved smile coming to his face.
The Lamia looked down at Luka, her eyes looking intensely into his own. The purple-haired boy faltered at her staring, his smile fading away bit by bit. "W-What?" He stammered, unsure as to why Alice seemed so perturbed. Finally, the lavender-skinned Monster opened her mouth to speak, but Alice paused when she noticed that there was something off about Lona.
"Did you... dye her hair when I wasn't looking?" Alice asked bluntly, causing Luka to take a glance at Lona's face. "Er, no. Actually, that was part of what I was gonna ask you." Luka started as he glanced up to Alice, "By chance, can you tell me what the heck happened during my fight with Nanabi?"
Alice blinked dumbly at his question, obviously not having expected the boy to say such a thing. "What, you don't remember what happened?" Alice asked, which gained her a shake of the head from the young Hero. "N-No, the last thing I remember is Nanabi flashing her eyes, and I blacked out for a second. Then, when I came to, she was sealed." Luka's gaze was filled with genuine confusion, which only aided to befuddle his traveling partner.
'He really doesn't remember what happened? But how is it that he could've defeated someone like Nanabi while sleeping?' Alice thought, the very idea not adding up in her mind. Sure, Luka showed promise and an ability to learn quickly, but realistically, he shouldn't have been able to defeat a Seven-Tails in such an overpowering manner. 'But how, then? How could he have pulled it off? What the Hell am I missing here?' The Lamia thought.
This, coupled with the odd and inhuman feeling of his Magic, only fueled the fire of curiosity within Alice. Unfortunately, though, Luka seemed just as clueless as to how his powers worked as she was, which left the Lamia with more questions than answers.
"Well, it seems as though you happen to be very good at fighting in your sleep. You were actually able to defeat Nanabi by yourself while unconscious..." Alice said, trying to play off his abnormal behavior, mostly for her own sake. "...You should nap more often, maybe you'll start training in your sleep next."
Luka hummed, actually giving the idea thought before shaking it away. "No, I probably shouldn't do that. If I slept all the way to the Monster Lord's Castle, I'd miss out on the whole "adventuring" part of being a Hero." Luka decided. Alice shrugged while responding, "Well, have it your way. Awake or not, we need to get going. We've sight-seen for far too long." With that, Alice slithered past Luka, spurring the young boy to follow.
Alice returned her attention to the blonde-haired Elf in Luka's arms as they transversed the caverns. For a moment, Alice scowled at the sight of the Monster being cradled so close to the Hero's body, something that Luka noticed from the corner of his eye. However, before Luka could question this, Alice said something that surprised him. "Something else you did, besides changing her hair-color, is that you somehow reversed Lona's Degeneration."
Alice's statement nearly caused the young Hero to drop Lona, his face alarmed but also overjoyed. "R-Really!? She's not going to turn into a Dark Elf again anymore!?" His eager question made Alice immediately shake her head, the act confusing Luka until she elaborated.
"I did not say that she'd never turn again, just that her Degeneration has been nullified for the time being. While you've seemed to reset her in a way, she's still predisposed to Degeneration." Luka frowned at Alice's words, looking at the still-unconscious Elf's face. "So... There's nothing I could do to stop her from falling to Darkness again?" His traveling partner considered his question for a moment, closing her golden eyes in thought.
"I wouldn't say that. Most Monsters can fall to Degeneration, but not many actually do. As long as she's not constantly lusting, she shouldn't have any issues..." Alice opened her eyes, leveling her gaze to Luka. "...Although I should tell you something that you probably won't like to hear." Luka stared warily as the lavender-skinned Lamia continued her explanation.
"She'd have a much easier time fighting temptation, if she wasn't with us. More specifically, I should say, if she wasn't with you." Alice's statement sent a chill up his spine. Luka hobbled a bit to catch up to the Lamia, "Wh-What do you mean, Alice? Why can't she be around me?" Luka was unaware that his question was irking his traveling partner, who quickly snapped back.
"Remember what I said about Degeneration the first time? I believe that I had made it quite clear that she's particularly fond of you." Alice said, her tone becoming agitated. She looked over her shoulder to give Luka a stern look. "As long as she's around you, she's going to want you, do you need further detail?" Luka frowned, now seeing what Alice meant. As much as he wouldn't want to admit it, the young Hero couldn't argue against his traveling partner's point. After all, it hadn't taken him and Lona a day to engage in...
...Sexual relations.
The problem was clear to Luka now: the longer they were together, the more Lona might want from Luka and that would eventually become very problematic. No matter how he looked at it, Alice was right. Lona being in Luka's party could be putting her at risk and he couldn't take that chance. The young Hero felt a pit of sadness grow in his stomach, for the new issue was how to explain this to the Elf in question.
Soon, Luka and Alice could see a four-way intersection of the cave's pathways drawing near straight ahead, signaling that they were getting close to getting out of the Cave of Treasures. 'Alice might just be right...' Luka thought somberly, '...If being around me is endangering Lona, then maybe-'
Rattle Rattle
Luka paused, looking back over his shoulder to the hallway they had been walking down. His eyes widened as, at the end of the dimly lit stone corridor, he saw...
...A treasure chest.
"Huh, how did that get there?" The young boy asked out loud, recognizing the chest as the one he and Lona had stumbled on before. Alice gave a curious hum, "Hmm, seems like you made it mad." As if in agreement, the wooden crate started to shudder before their eyes, the movement very slowly bringing it within a couple meters of the two.
"I did what!?" Luka exclaimed, looking between Alice and the approaching trunk. However, the movement was a bit awkward due to the unconscious Elf still lying limply in his arms. "H-How did I make a treasure chest mad!?" Alice shook her head at the boy's words, "Because, it isn't actually a chest, Luka."
Rattle Rattle
Rattle Rattle
After a couple more rattles, the wooden chest burst open, revealing a very strange sight. The edge lining the top and bottom of the treasure chest's opening had a row of very large white teeth and the inside of the chest seemed to resemble the inside of a mouth, as all the walls inside were red and fleshy. Luka recoiled as then, even more bizarrely, a figure jutted out from the inside of the treasure chest.
"YOU!" The person yelled out, pointing a ghostly-white finger at the boy. Luka froze in shock, taking in the sight with wide eyes.
The person seemed to be a humanoid girl dressed all in black and had long locks of hair just as black as the dress she wore, contrasting wildly with her aforementioned pale skin. Her eyes were a bright and furious red, her irises boring into his intensely. Luka gawked at the Monster before asking, "M-Me!? Wha-"
"You insulted my chest!" The Monster accused, still angrily pointing at the young Hero. Luka blinked dumbly at the pale girl, not quite understanding what the Monster meant. "I-I... I... What?" The black-haired girl grabbed the edges of her treasure chest, gritting her teeth as she put an awful lot of effort into hopping forward while continuing her chest-centered rant.
"You said... My chest... Wasn't opulent!" The Monster hissed. Luka's mouth hung open in confusion until Alice tsked, drawing the young Hero's attention.
He looked up at the Lamia as she said, "Wow, you insulted a Mimic's chest? That's awfully cruel of you, Luka. I'm a bit disappointed, actually." The purple-haired boy was gobsmacked. He had not intended to offend the Monster; he didn't even know that the treasure chest was sentient, let alone aware that it was sensitive about the quality of its chest! If he had known that beforehand, he would never have said something so careless.
"Hey, wait a minute!" He exclaimed, slowly swiveling a bit to look back to the Mimic with an apologetic frown. "I-I'm sorry, I hadn't meant to insult you! I just didn't think that you had what I was looking for, that's it!" Unfortunately, though, Luka's appeal fell on deaf ears, as the black-haired Mimic angrily - and slowly - continued to drag herself towards Luka. Then, as if the situation couldn't get more precarious for the young Hero...
"Catch... Catch..." A light and breathy voice whispered from behind him.
Luka whirled his head around to look down the hall, 'No, don't tell me. Is that another Monster!?' Indeed, his thoughts were unfortunately correct. For, from the dimly lit stone passage, another unusual Monster crept into view.
The Monster's upper body was pale and nude, the light of the torches illuminating her white flesh for the boy to see. The Monster's face was oddly serene, her large eyes being perpetually closed. A large purple jewel adorned her forehead, the gem faintly glowing in the gloomy cave. From her head jutted out two large orange horn-like tentacles, which came from where her ears would be, right beneath where her long lavender-colored hair flowed.
The Monster's lower half was insect-like, though not in the same way as the Spider before, as this Monster seemed to be more bulky than spindly. The top of her body was made of a smooth purple shell, almost like one that a turtle would have, except for the two large orange tentacles coming out on either side of her torso. Then from there, multiple similar tentacles writhed beneath her, serving as the Monster's legs.
Luka watched on in horror as the orange limbs on the newcomer's head writhed and started pointing towards him. Shortly after, the Monster hummed and whispered, "My next... Catch..." Then, the new Monster started to crawl closer. Luka shuddered, watching the tentacles slip around each other as they slid across the ground.
The young Hero looked with wide eyes between the Monsters flanking him on each side, 'What do I do!? I can't just drop Lona to fight. She might get hurt in the crossfire!' Luka's heart raced under the pressure until he was brought from his panic by Alice, who addressed him with a bit of annoyance, "Oi, would you knock that off!? Your twitchiness is making my stomach upset."
Luka replied with a surprised "Eh?" and looked to Alice, not having realized that she was actually still there. Alice huffed, "You'll owe me for this one, just be thankful that I'm willing to do this to save time. That, and I'm getting hungry again." Luka peered at his friend with a stupefied gaze, very nearly saying "Eh?" a second time before Alice all but bashed him on the head with her gloved palm.
The poor Hero felt as though his entire body dropped into a hole in the ground, his surroundings rapidly morphing from the dim inside of the Cave of Treasures into the small clearing outside of the Cave of Treasures. Despite his best efforts, Luka finally could no longer keep his equilibrium, falling backward towards the ground with a wail. Lona awoke with a start, giving a similar yell of alarm as she felt perpendicular on top of the boy as he hit a half-second before she did.
Luka grunted upon being squashed by Lona, who flailed on top of him for a moment. Eventually, the two were able to stop tossing about and right themselves, Lona getting to her knees and looking around the clearing with very confused eyes as Luka pulled himself up to sit. "Wh-What's going on!?" Lona exclaimed, finally setting her dull-brown eyes onto the purple-haired boy. Luka went to elaborate, but Alice beat him to it, "Luka got Poseidon's Bell and then had to drag you butt out here because you got yourself knocked out. It was pretty embarrassing, actually."
Lona brushed off the Lamia's insult to gawk at the boy. "Y-You defeated that Seven-Tails!?" Luka scratched at the back of his head, scrunching up his face for a moment as he noticed that there was no blood on the back of his head anymore. 'Strange, I swear that I got busted open back there. Why is it that so many things are starting to make less and less sense?' He thought before looking to the blonde-haired Elf to answer.
"Y-Yeah, I beat Nanabi." Luka said, causing Lona's dull brown eyes to widen in awe. "Wow... Wait..." She scooted closer, "...Did you defeat T-Tamamo no Mae too!?" The Elf asked in exclamation, causing Luka to stammer a bit. "Eh, well-" The purple-haired boy started, but Alice slithered over to cut in once again.
"Hey! Let's move it already, we don't have time for chit-chat." Luka and Lona both flinched at the Lamia's tone, the two quickly rising from the ground. Luka took a moment to dust himself off, before looking around the mouth of the cave. He noticed with a hum that a blanket of gray cloud had seemingly come in as they were inside the Cave of Treasures. 'Strange, it was fairly sunny the last time we were outside...'
Finally, he spotted his traveling bag lying behind a bush and went to retrieve it. Lona followed, not-so-subtly frowning at Alice, who appeared thoroughly unfazed by the gesture.
Luka grabbed his bag and lifted it up into his hands. He paused, noticing that something was... a bit off...
'It feels just a smidge heavier...' The young Hero thought, giving the bag a small lift. It wasn't much of a difference, but it was enough for him to notice. Then, he saw that the zipper seemed to be just a bit open. '...That's weird, I always zip it up all the way just in case of bugs.'
Luka hummed, reaching for the zipper to see if there was anything odd afoot. "Luka, stop messing with your sack and get moving already." Luka immediately cringed at the comment, slinging the bag over his shoulder. "It's not a s-sack, it's a b-bag..." The young Hero whispered back.
Alice rolled her eyes at the boy's meekness but added nothing more as he started walking away from the Cave of Treasures and back to the shoreline. However, as he passed the Lamia, she gave a near-violent recoil as she absentmindedly sniffed him. Luka raised an eyebrow at this, "What's wrong?" The young Hero asked. Alice's face scrunched up in displeasure, "You smell like thin-fried tofu, we need to wash that awful stench off as soon as possible."
Luka took the Lamia's answer into consideration as he led the group back towards Iliasport, thinking back to when she had last referenced the food item. She hadn't seemed so happy that time, either. "Is... there something wrong with thin-fried tofu?" The purple-haired boy asked, to which Alice was quick to reply with a significant amount of venom. "It reminds me of Kitsunes, that is what's wrong with it."
'Why does she despise foxes so much?' Luka thought, nearly asking out loud before thinking against it. He was too afraid of what type of obscene expletives may come from his traveling partner's mouth.
Speaking of traveling partners, Lona took the opportunity to walk up to Luka's side. "Luka, you never did tell me what all happened back there. So, you defeated Nanabi and then what?" The purple-haired Hero felt a bit bashful; he wasn't quite accustomed to the amount of interest the blonde-haired Elf was showing towards him. "Well, I did meet Tamamo, though I didn't have to fight her."
Lona was obviously taken by surprise by this, her pointed ears visibly lowering a bit as he revealed that detail. "Tamamo... She just gave you the bell?" Luka nodded, reaching into his pants pocket and retrieving the small, rusted bell. "Yep, I asked for it and she gave it to me..." He paused, carefully stepping over a small flower in the grass before him. "...Although I feel like she only did it because we saved that Two-Tailed Kitsune."
The blonde-haired Elf gave a small "Ah" of understanding, looking at the small bell in his hands with great interest. "I'll be honest, I was really worried that you wouldn't be able to get it, Luka. I'm glad that it worked out well."
It was at this that Alice scoffed, evidently not feeling the same. "It didn't "work out well." Luka only got Poseidon's Bell because Tamamo happened to feel charitable today. If she had wished, she could have easily bested him and left with the bell no problem." The young Hero cringed, knowing in the back of his head that what Alice said was true. However, Lona seemed to take great offense to her fellow Monster's words.
Luka was put on alert as Lona whirled around to glare at Alice, who met the glare with one of her own. "Why are you always so hard on him for!?" The Elf exclaimed, "Don't you think he deserves a bit more credit than that? Even if he didn't fight her, he was still able to get the bell!"
Alice rolled her golden eyes, "Only because Tamamo gave it to him. That is hardly deserving of celebration." Luka frowned, looking at Alice with a great amount of hurt. In his mind, he thought that he'd done pretty well so far. However, it seemed as if his traveling partner did not agree.
"Either way, he still has a long way to go until he can stand even a chance against the Monster Lord..." Alice said, doubling down on her point. "...For she will not be will not be willing to extend any mercy to him, unlike Tamamo did." The cold proclamation made Lona fall silent, though she still held a scowl on her face. Luka, on the other hand, had a much more melancholy look in his pale-blue eyes.
The way in which Alice put it so bluntly was harsh, but once again served to put things into perspective for the young Hero. He could avoid fighting regular Monsters all he wanted but the Monster Lord herself would no doubt desire a fight. However, the words of Tamamo ran through his mind.
"Oh my, now I know why the Monster Lord has such a vested interest in you. That type of sappy heartfulness could melt an iceberg if need be."
What did the Nine-Tails mean by vested interest? Did the Monster Lord have some other higher agenda that had to do with him? He wasn't sure why she would, he couldn't have been known to her for that long anyways.
Unless the Monster Lord knew that Luka was Ilias's hand-chosen Prophet.
'No, there's no way that she could know that! Nobody outside of Heaven should have that type of knowledge, right?' Luka thought, but a twinge of uncertainty hit him. After all, the Monster Lord was the strongest of all the Monsters, so maybe she was ways of finding these things out. But out of all the things the Nine-Tailed Kitsune had said, one thing still greatly confused him.
What did she mean by sappy heartfulness!?
After a couple of quiet hours' worth of walking the northern shoreline of the Ilias Continent, the trio were near the outskirts of Iliasport, the port town itself being well within view.
Thankfully, the gray overcast hadn't intensified by very much; however, there were the occasional distant thunder crashes coming from off of the coastline. This was awfully suspicious to Luka, who immediately thought of what he had been told before about the storms off of Iliasport. 'That must be the Monster right now, causing havoc and making it to where people can't get to Sentora.'
The thought made him pause, as another thing that Tamamo had said back in the Cave of Treasures came to his mind.
"-Alma Elma has been making my travels quite troublesome, so I'll be needing Poseidon's Bell."
Luka hadn't given the errant comment much thought back then - as he had the much bigger issue of a Heavenly Knight taking up his attention back then - but now he was curious. Was this Alma Elma the one causing these storms? It seemed likely since there was no other reason he could think of for Tamamo needing the bell herself unless it was because of this now-named Monster. This begged the question: What type of Monster could create a storm of such magnitude?
'Could she be some sort of large Sea Serpent or Kraken?' Luka thought to himself, assuming that whatever he was dealing with must be a sea-faring Monster.
Thinking about this storm-creating creature led the boy to another question: how was he going to get someone to set sail for him in the first place?
Luka reached into his pocket - the one not carrying his still bloodied gloves - and took out Poseidon's Bell. 'Would anyone even believe me if I told them what this bell did?' It seemed unlikely, as Amira had spoken of it in terminology that seemed to suggest that Poseidon's Bell was more of a legend than anything else. If that was the case, then anyone he talked to in Iliasport may just laugh him off if he claimed that it would keep their boat from sinking.
Luka sighed, 'Well, all I can do is try and see what happens.' He thought before stuffing the rusted trinket back into his pants pocket.
Before too much longer, the trio entered into Iliasport. The port town was much like how they had left it, quiet and barren. Most shops remained closed and there weren't many more than a few people wandering about. The population grew some as they reached the actual ports, a fair number of people shuffling alongside the docked boats. Most of the vessels seemed to be for fishing, which made sense since that would be one of the few goods left that the people of Iiasport could feasibly receive and trade without actually going to Sentora.
Luka, alongside his two Monster companions, walked into the heart of the port. The young Hero himself cast a glance over the harbor to see if there were any captain-looking men around that he could ask for "safe" passage to Sentora. Finally, after a few moments of searching, Luka found a potential candidate standing in front of what appeared to be a small fishing vessel.
The man was of a shorter stature than most - though not as much as Luka himself - but his body was stocky. His skin held a tinge of red to it, probably from an extensive career of seafaring. He wore a dirtied maroon jacket over a plain brown shirt and black pants. Atop his curled brown hair was a faded leather cap, 'A captain-looking one!' Luka noted while tentatively walking up to the man as he looked over what appeared to be his ship.
The man noticed Luka from the corner of his dark eyes, looking over at the approaching boy with a curious look.
"H-Hello!" Luka exclaimed with a smile, putting an ungloved hand on his chest, "My name is Luka, and I was wondering if you'd consider helping me get to Sentora." The man's face stopped at his words, freezing into a look of stupefaction.
The purple-haired Hero hesitated, "Uh, i-if it wouldn't... be... a-an issue... th-th-that is..." Luka muttered, steadily losing confidence as he went. From behind him, Lona and Alice silently watched on, the Elf with pity and the Lamia with frustration. Finally, the man replied with an unamused tone. "Is this a joke? You do know what happens to any ship leaving port for Sentora, don't you? That type of trip would be suicide."
Luka gulped, feeling the eyes of some of the sailors aboard the ship falling on him in curiosity. "Erm, I-I do know the risk, yes..." The purple-haired boy reached into his pants pocket, pulling out Poseidon's Bell to show to the man. "...B-B-But with this, w-we won't have any issue with storms, I assure you!" The man scoffed at Luka's claim, not even giving the small and rusted bell a passing glance as he turned away from the boy.
"Go away, kid. I don't have time to entertain children." Luka flinched and stood awkwardly with the bell in hand as the man returned his attention back to the boat in front of him. The purple-haired boy took a step toward the man again to continue his plea, "T-This isn't a joke, I mean it! This is Poseidon's Bell, so if just hang it from the bow or something, it'll-"
The man, evidently having heard enough, gave a loud groan of irritation. "Ugh, I said beat it, boy! Go home and annoy your parents or something, I don't have the patience for your stupid pranks." The young boy bristled at the mention of his parents, the slight unintentionally rousing his temper. But before Luka could say anything else, he felt a stern hand clasp his shoulder.
"Move, Luka." The suddenly very cold voice of Alice commanded.
Luka offered no resistance, his own anger dispelling once feeling the tense shift in the air as the Human-disguised form of Alice stepped in between himself and the captain. The man - seemingly not having noticed her before - gave a shocked look before beginning to double down, "Look, I already-" The disguised Lamia's eyes gave a bright flash, immediately halting the man's words.
"Take us to Sentora, now."
The man stood straight, his face suddenly alert after Alice's command. "Yes, understood!" Luka and Lona watched on in shock as the man turned towards his onlooking crew in the small fishing boat, who seemed just as perplexed as the young Hero and Elf were. "Oi, you lot, prepare our ship for departure! We head out, immediately!" He said, hurriedly climbing up the wooden stairs leading to the boat's side.
Luka turned to Alice as he heard the small crew give confused replies of understanding, "Alice... d-did you hypnotize him?" The disguised Lamia gave a smug-looking smile, "Yes, yes I did. My eyes can charm, confuse, petrify, or cause someone to faint if my will commands it." The young Hero's pale-blue eyes widened at her proclamation.
"Wow, that's amazing Alice." The young boy said in awe, to which his traveling partner's grin widened, evidentially very pleased by Luka's praise. Lona, on the other hand, didn't seem quite as pleased by the revelation. "Seems a bit scary, to me." The Elf murmured. Alice gave a small, closed-mouth chuckle but said nothing more to the comment.
Suddenly, the captain called out to the three from his boat, "Our ship is ready to set sail, all aboard!"
Alice quickly left Luka and Lona behind, not wasting another moment to get on the ship. "Come on, Luka. I'm not staying on this continent a moment longer." The young boy nodded, moving to join his traveling partner until he was stopped by the blonde-haired Elf.
"Hey, Luka, can I have a second please?" Lona asked, her tone somewhat tense. Luka swiftly looked back to the Elf with concern, taking note of the overall downness of her demeanor. He looked back to Alice, who peered down at the two impatiently. The boy turned back to Lona, "Y-Yeah, sure."
The Elf bit her lip as he drew nearer, her dull-brown eyes falling to the stone ground of the man-made shoreline. She fiddled with the hilt of the sword Luka had given her, a physical tell of her sudden anxiousness. Luka came close, looking up at Lona before asking, "What's wrong, Lona?" His Elf friend kept her silence and continued to play around with the sword hilt as he stood next to her.
Finally, Lona surprised Luka by bringing her hands to her hips as she began to remove the sword sheath from around her waist. The boy's pale-blue eyes looked at the Monster in muted confusion as she took off the scabbard and presented it to the young Hero. A small moan of surprise left Luka's lips as his gaze bounced between Lona's face and his Father's sword. "L-Lona, what-"
"Luka..." The Elf's soft voice was somber, "...I think that I probably shouldn't go to Sentora with you."
The purple-haired Hero winced at her words. Even though he had been having thoughts about such a thing after his conversation with Alice, he had not expected Lona to be the one to suggest that she depart from the group. The Elf put a hand on his shoulder, effectively keeping Luka silent as she continued. "I-I've had a wonderful time with you, Luka, but I'm starting to believe that you'd have an easier time without me."
Luka frowned, "Are you sure, Lona? Y-You don't really have to go." The blonde-haired Elf shook her head, "I think it's for the best. If what Alice said was true, then I might be hampering your progress more than helping it and if that's the case, then I'd rather stay behind. I don't want to be a burden if you have to fight someone as strong as Nanabi again."
Even though Luka wanted to argue against her, the Elf's words had truth to it. Lona's involvement in his fight with the Seven-Tails could've gotten her seriously injured and having to then carry out of the Cave of Treasures had almost been a significant setback, one that he only avoided because Alice had decided to actually help him instead of making him settle it himself like usual. If the Lamia hadn't suddenly decided to aid him, Luka might have never been able to escape that cave alive...
"...Well, if you really think so." Luka eventually said as the Elf took her hand off his shoulder. The young Hero took his Father's sword from Lona as he continued, "Will you be going back to Enrika, then?" He asked, to which the Monster nodded.
"Now that I'm no longer a Dark Elf, I should be of a bit more use there then just guard duty..." Lona said, her dull-brown eyes lighting up a bit as she beamed at the boy. "...I really can't thank you enough for that, Luka. What you did for me, it really is more than I could've ever hoped for."
Luka found himself a bit lost for words as the faintly blushing Elf looked down upon him. He still wasn't very used to taking such praise in stride, but a small smile came to his face either way. "W-Well, I'm just glad that I was able to help." Lona looked up to the boat and noticed that Alice was nowhere to be seen on board, presumedly having found somewhere on the boat to wait for them to come up. The Elf felt a particular urge hit her, one that was perhaps a bit ill-advised, but since they weren't being actively watched...
Lona grabbed Luka by the shoulder, the boy giving a small yelp of surprise before being pulled towards the Elf, who gave the boy a quick kiss on the lips. It wasn't even half as ravenous as the ones they had shared the night before, but the sudden burst of affection caused a wave of red to hit the young Hero. Lona broke away quickly before the sensation could elicit any other untimely urges, "S-So long, Luka." The blonde-haired Elf stuttered out, taking a few steps backward as Luka glanced away from her.
"U-Uh, y-yeah, g-goodbye Lona." Luka replied, his blush slowly leaving as he was able to face her once more. "A-And when you get to Enrika, could you say hello to Micaela for me? I want her to know that I'm doing okay." Lona's dull-brown eyes widened, the name causing her to realize something very alarming:
Lona had never even told anyone in Enrika that she was leaving in the first place.
"O-Oh, of course I will! I'm... quite sure that Micaela will be... very interested to know about everything..." Lona gave a nervous gulp, causing Luka to peer at her with a questioning gaze before the Monster started to wave him off. "...You should go now, I've held you up long enough." Luka smiled and waved before running up the wooden steps and leaving the suddenly nervous Lona behind.
Luka stepped up onto the boat, hearing one of the younger sailors talking to the captain. "Um, sir, why are we taking these people aboard again? Who even are they?" The maroon-jacketed man scoffed at the youth and quickly fired back, "Don't mutter such disrespectful things, lad! These fine travelers are... are..." The man looked to Luka, "...Eh, who are you again?"
The young boy coughed into his ungloved hands before giving a small wave to the two. "M-My name is Luka, I'm-"
"Doesn't matter, let's get going." Alice rudely cut in from the side, surprising Luka at her sudden cut-in.
The disguised Lamia strode closer, her golden eyes looking all around the boy. "Where's that Elf at?" She asked with a touch of annoyance. Luka lifted up his Father's sword a bit as he replied, "Lona isn't coming with us, she's going back to Enrika." The young Hero watched as Alice's eyebrows rose at Luka's answer, "Wow, I'm surprised that you actually got her to shove off that quickly."
Luka rolled his eyes and walked away from the edge of the boat as some of the men started to work at getting the boat to leave the port. "I didn't make her shove off, we simply agreed that it was for the best." This tidbit of information surprised Alice even more, "Really now?" She asked, peering over the edge to look for the Elf but the shore was bare. It seems as if Lona hadn't wasted any time in making herself scarce.
Alice finally shrugged, "It's better this way, she was just going to keep lagging behind as you got stronger anyways." Luka frowned, not feeling quite the same. "My journey isn't just about getting stronger, Alice. There's more to being a Hero than just that." The white-haired Monster hummed at his words but offered nothing more as the boat started to move away from the port town.
Luka shuffled over to the railing, peering at Iliasport as they slowly started floating away. The young Hero's heart pulsed dully in his chest as the reality began to set in once again. He was leaving the Ilias Continent, his home, for the first time ever. Finally, he was taking his first big step towards fulfilling his destiny as Ilias's Prophet. From here, everything would be completely unchartered territory.
And while change was usually something Luka was very tentative when approaching, he actually found himself becoming a bit excited. Who knows, he might even really enjoy this!
CRAA-CRAAA-AACK
Luka jolted, his feet actually leaving the wooden floorboards of the ship as the loudest thunder strike he ever heard resounded through the air. The purple-haired boy turned just in time to witness a titanically large bolt of lightning stream through a collection of awfully dark-looking clouds in the distance. "U-Uh, was that always there?" Luka asked out loud to no one in particular while pointing to the distant clouds.
Alice stepped up to his side and leaned her face down next to his as she eyed the storm on the horizon. "Just a suggestion: you may want to have that bell prepared before those clouds get here."
And there is the penultimate chapter before the next Heavenly Knight, Alma Elma, enters the fray. Suffice to say, that'll probably be a very different type of encounter. Should be a fun one, I think.
Lona is now gone from Luka's party, but it won't be the last we see of her in this story. Though this doesn't mean that Alice and Luka will be alone for too long, for Luka's next extra companion is right around the corner! In fact, technically you can say that she's already been with them...
episoll: That's part of the reason why I held off on having Luka actually use techniques like Fallen Angel Dance and Daystar, and instead had him use a technique Alice already taught him. So at the very least his Angelic nature is a little bit better concealed. That, and because of the unique nature of his soul, it isn't quite the same as how the Angels' or Ilias's souls feel. Until it's fully released, his powers are still more of a mix of Human and Angel.
Speaking of, Luka's Angelic half is going to be an interesting dynamic to his character. Like I said in the previous chapter, it's more of a regressed mental state than a "darker side" or anything like that. It's less about active malice, and more about self-preservation. Though the means in which this is achieved will steadily become more extreme as it becomes more prominent...
no clue either: She did feel it, I just didn't get to elaborate on that until this chapter. But she won't be aware of why he's able to use it besides theorizing.
Shield of Heaven, on top of being a technique I made up for this story, is indeed one that is unique to Micaela. However, since Tamamo didn't actually see Luka use it, she wouldn't be able to make that observation.