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Year 16 AL, The Triune of Prurience
As the Prophet of Ilias sailed through the night to Sentora, a certain Heavenly Knight of Wind had already made her return to the Monster Lord's Castle all the way on Hellgondo. The Queen of the Succubi flew in through a conveniently open window, landing with a graceful air despite how much the momentum made certain voluptuous parts of her body bounce around in a rather tasteless manner.
"I'm baaaack!~" Alma Elma declared with a great smile, her light and lavish voice reverberating loudly through the long hall. "I return utterly routed by the valiant - and undeniably lovable - Hero Luka! It seems as if his skill is more than I could handle."
The hall in question was made up completely of dark purple-bluish stone, with multiple columns of the thick stone going down the entirety of the corridor's length. Standing in the long room, seemingly waiting for the Succubus Queen to show up, were two of her fellow Heavenly Knights. The first to reply was the Heavenly Knight of Fire, Granberia, who seemed doubtful of Alma Elma's claim.
"That couldn't possibly be the case." The Dragonkin stated. "That boy couldn't have beaten you unless you got caught playing one of your idiotic games again." Alma Elma just gave a sly smile at Granberia's dismissive comment, "Are you trying to imply that I would be one to embellish? I'm hurt, Granberia." Before the Dragonkin could say anything further the third Heavenly Knight, Tamamo no Mae, made herself known.
"As certain as I am about that being the case as well, Luka does seem to have the potential to become a formidable opponent." The Heavenly Knight of Earth remarked, stepping forth to stand between the two. "He was able to defeat Nanabi, which is no easy task for a Human. Most wouldn't even be able to go the distance with a Seven-Tails, let alone best one entirely."
The Queen of the Succubi bounced on her heels a bit, "Oh yes, I'll sure he'll end up becoming reaaaally strong..." She said with a bit of disinterest, before whispering to herself. "...Though I think he'd be better used in bed than in battle..."
Either Granberia did not hear Alma Elma's lewd comment, or she simply didn't care, and so she continued talking about the young Hero's strength. "When I fought him there was nothing much special about his power. He had more courage than other Humans I've faced, sure, but I've battled stronger and fiercer." It was then that Alma Elma snickered, causing the already irritated Heavenly Knight of Fire to turn her bright yellow eyes to the Succubus Queen.
"What exactly are you laughing at?" The Dragonkin asked not-so-nicely. The light-purple-haired Monster hummed before giving the Dragonkin a coy look, "Oh, nothing. I just find it that you say all of that, considering since he left his mark on you~" The statement was emphasized by a pointed finger, a finger aimed right at the light scar on Granberia's left cheek courtesy of Luka during their fight in Iliasburg.
Almost immediately Alma Elma's comment caused Granberia's jaw to lock up, a very visible tell of the Monster's frustration. Truly, although she wouldn't admit it, the young Hero getting even that much in on Granberia had been something of an embarrassment. Never before had someone so seemingly weak gotten the best of her, and she certainly had not buried the frustration from that yet.
The Dragonkin shifted, turning away from the other two Heavenly Knights and striding down the hall with purpose.
A surprised Alma Elma called out to the retreating Monster, "Granberia, where are you going?" The now vicious-looking Dragonkin did not answer, leaving her fellow Heavenly Knights to watch her disappear from sight. Tamamo, who had been silently watching the interaction thus far, finally spoke up. "Oh my, it seems as if you've lit a fire in her, Alma Elma. You know she doesn't like to be teased."
The Succubus Queen tsked, "Eh, I'm not so sure. I think that our little Hero is to blame for her current behavior..." Alma Elma sighed, putting a hand to her chin as she stared out the window she had just flown through "...Ah, I will have to apologize to you, Luka-boy. I'm afraid that I've accidentally sicked Granberia on you, that will certainly be ugly."
Tamamo nodded, "That is for certain. Being in the sights of Granberia is not a very pleasant situation, I'm sure..."
The two fell into silence before Alma Elma seemed to realize something. "Hrm, have you seen Erubetie lately? It has been quite a while since I've last seen her." Tamamo raised her closed fan to her face, her massive tails waving behind her slowly. "I believe that she's shut herself up in Undine's cave again, most likely soaking herself in the waters of her birthplace again."
Alma Elma let out a long and loud sigh, her face becoming bored once again. "Ugh, fighting and soaking, is that all those two care to do? If it wasn't for us, this group would be the most miserable collection of Monsters imaginable." Tamamo chuckled at the Succubus Queen's comment, "Hehe, you are right about that. But I'm afraid that I must be taking my leave as well. I miss the comforts of my own bed, you understand?"
The Heavenly Knight of Wind nodded, "Oh, I do. Though my own bed is in desperate need of something more interesting, the ones I've had as of late are..." Alma Elma deliberated for a moment, searching for the right word. "...Well, they haven't impressed. Oh, if only, if only..." The Succubus trailed off, her bright red eyes lifting to stare at the ceiling as she thought about a certain purple-haired boy.
After a moment, Alma Elma looked off to the side, and her gaze met Tamamo's, who was suddenly not so amused. The Succubus Queen rolled her eyes, "Oh, don't start. I'm only fantasying, I have no intention of breaking the agreement. I assure you that."
Tamamo watched her fellow Heavenly Knight for a moment, appraising the Succubus Queen. Eventually, Tamamo dropped the stern gaze and lifted her fan up to her face once more, "I believe you. Truly, that's not what worries me the most at the moment..." The Nine-Tailed Fox trailed off, her emerald eyes suddenly very conflicted as Granberia headed out to clash with Luka for a second time.
Heaven above was in the midst of preparation. Specifically, these preparations were being made in the Ninth Level of Heaven and were being overseen by the Leader of the Archangels, Ariel. She stood on a hill of clouds, her sharp red eyes looking down at what served as the training ground for all the Angels in Heaven.
The grounds consisted of a large square slab of white marble and stretched on for at least fifty meters on all sides. The size was somewhat ridiculous, but with how many Angels there were in Heaven to train, it was undoubtedly necessary. Spaced out on the tiled slab at regular intervals were large columns of sculpted marble that stood tall and proud in the Kingdom of Heaven. These served as artificial "obstacles" for any of those using the training grounds for dueling.
At the moment, two of Ariel's fellow Archangels were in the middle of such a duel. The two in question were Archangels Chamael and Valkyrie.
Currently, the blue-haired Archangel was keeping her distance as she knew how formidable Valkyrie was at close range. However, this was no disadvantage to Chamael either, as she was one of the few higher-leveled Angels who specialized in long-range combat. The taller Archangel jumped back with the aid of her wings and threw forward her right hand, launching a golden blade made of Holy Magic from her sleeve!
The attack whistled through the air, colliding with Valkyrie's sword with a loud clang as she moved to deflect it.
Ariel's calculated stare twitched some as Valkyrie visibly stumbled from the defensive maneuver. The sparring session had been going on for only a couple minutes now, but the leader of the Archangels had been able to notice from the start that something was awry with the former War Angel's performance. Valkyrie seemed to have had her head out of the match from the start, making mistakes and failing to capitalize on breaks in Chamael's offense multiple times already unlike how she normally could.
Clearly, something was throwing off the former War Angel's game.
"It seems as though Valkyrie is having issues focusing; I wonder what troubles her so." The soft voice of the golden-haired Archangel Runael commented, causing Ariel to voice her own concerns, "She's being unusually sloppy today. Her and Chamael are evenly matched on any given day, but so far Valkyrie's showing here has been less than impressive."
The two high-ranking Archangels continued to watch as Valkyrie zoomed after Chamael, who continued to jump back while throwing her knives at the former War Angel. Valkyrie swatted away the attacks again and launched herself forward with a wild swing, and Chamael pulled out two more of her blades to meet the Archangel.
Their weapons collided, Valkyrie's swipe being stopped by the two blades of Chamael. The taller Archangel hardened her face as she used her larger size to push Valkyrie away, quickly slashing at the white-haired Archangel's sword hand right after the break. Valkyrie was forced to slide back across the marble tiles as Chamael did not let up, keeping her fellow Archangel on the backfoot with a flurry of quick stabs.
Suddenly, Valkyrie seemed to rekindle her fighting spirit and swung back, parrying one of Chamael's knives from her hand!
The Archangel's bright blue eyes went wide as Valkyrie yelled out, slashing somewhat wildly and forcing Chamael back once more. The blue-haired Angel nearly backed into one of the marble pillars on the training grounds, side-stepping at the last moment as Valkyrie launched forward and stabbed into the column. Valkyrie grunted as her momentum was very suddenly and harshly stopped in her tracks.
The white-haired Archangel let out a sharp gasp as a golden knife filled her vision, the tip of Chamael's blade aimed right towards her face. The white-haired Archangel's face fell upon realizing that she had just been rendered defenseless, which meant that she had lost the spar. Not only that, but she had lost quite early into the training session, which would certainly not reflect well on her.
The Leader of the Archangels watched as the two Archangels separated and bowed to each other. Chamael turned to walk to the center of the training grounds, Valkyrie following suit after removing her sword from the marble pillar. Normally, this is when Ariel would descend to evaluate her subordinate's performance. However, surprisingly, Archangel Runael stepped forward.
The red-eyed Leader of the Archangels gave her second-in-command a curious look as Runael raised a hand, "Perhaps, maybe I should send them off? Valkyrie, in particular, may require a bit of encouragement after that." Ariel turned her gaze from her second-in-command and looked back down to the Archangels. The blue-haired Chamael was standing at attention with hands behind her back, alert and waiting for her superiors to descend. Valkyrie, on the other hand, was visibly downcast, the normally proud Archangel now with slumped shoulders as she stared down at the ground.
Ariel nodded, "Yes, that may be for the best. You may continue." She said and promptly vanished with a single powerful flap of her wings.
Archangel Runael flapped her multiple sets of massive wings, rising off of the hill of clouds to descend to the lower Archangels. Chamael's blue eyes became a bit inquisitive as Runael was not usually the one to offer feedback for training but said nothing to question it. Valkyrie's gaze stayed on the ground, only lifting somewhat when the sound of Runael's wooden sandals clacking on the marble tile signaled her arrival.
"Greetings, Sister Runael." Chamael said with a bow. The golden-haired Archangel returned the gesture and regarded her subordinate with a gentle smile, "You did well, Sister Chamael. Ariel and I both are glad to see that you are able to keep improving so much."
The normally stoic Chamael offered a slight smile, "Thank you, Runael." Without another word, the blue-haired Archangel was dismissed, leaving only Valkyrie now. The white-haired Archangel still held her gaze to the ground as she stood in front of Runael, her right hand tightly holding her sword in a reverse grip now that the sparring session was over.
"Greetings, Sister Runael." Valkyrie muttered quietly, her somber tone gaining a frown from her superior. Archangel Runael took a step towards Valkyrie and addressed the younger Archangel, "Sister, what is it that disturbs you so? Ariel and I have noticed that you were off your step the whole spar."
Valkyrie silently clutched at her robes, a very sudden and strong heat coming to her face. The Former War Angel knew exactly what was perturbing her, but there was positively no way that she could explain her problem to Runael. As compassionate as the second-in-command of the Archangels was, Valkyrie doubted that Runael could sympathize with her plight.
"I-I apologize about my lackluster performance, Runael. I'm just n-not feeling quite well today." Valkyrie quickly lied, still keeping her eyes on the ground.
Runael opened up her emerald eyes and looked over the former War Angel. Valkyrie's face held a tint of red and the Archangel seemed to have a slight tremble in her arms. Indeed, without knowing the true reason behind the Archangel's distress, one could easily believe that she was feeling ill. There were even slight dark circles beneath the white-haired Archangel's eyes, a blemish that suggested that Valkyrie hadn't been sleeping well either.
Runael's frown deepened, and she placed a hand on Valkyrie's shoulder, startling the Archangel in the process. "I am sorry, my dear Sister, I hope that whatever ails you passes over quickly. Ilias willing." A bitter sigh nearly escaped Valkyrie's mouth but she stifled it, not wanting to upset her superior. The thing that was "ailing" the former War Angel would certainly not pass quickly...
...Not when the Prophet Luka was so far out of reach.
"Th-Thank you, Sister Runael." Valkyrie replied as the second-in-command of the Archangels released her shoulders. The emerald-eyed Angel kept her troubled gaze on the white-haired Archangel a moment longer before a smile came to her face. She leaned over some, looking down at Valkyrie with another smile. "I do have some news that may put you in better spirits, at the very least."
Valkyrie's bright blue eyes were full of curiosity as she looked up to Runael, who continued to talk with great enthusiasm. "The Seraph Eden has informed Ariel and I of something that is to happen, something quite exciting!" The Archangel's many great wings fluttered, and she put both hands together before finally revealing the great surprise:
"Soon, the Prophet Luka will be visiting us here up in Heaven!" Runael exclaimed with another flap of her wings.
To any other Angel, this would certainly be exciting news that was cause for celebration. However, for Valkyrie, the revelation may as well have been a wave of ice-cold water splashing over her very heart. "I-I-Is this true? Wh-When will he be here!?" The white-haired Archangel asked, her voice wavering a bit from the sudden frantic combination of motions rushing through her all at once. Runael was more than happy to elaborate, "Unfortunately, I can't say exactly give a specific date, but Eden seemed to believe that it would be well within a few days."
Valkyrie felt her heart somehow both soar and plummet at the same time. The object of her newfound and taboo affection would be right in Heaven! The very thought was already raising the white-haired Archangel's heart rate, making her already reddening face even darker. Runael frowned and put the back of her hand up to Valkyrie's forehead, surprising the younger Archangel. "Oh my..." The second-in-command gasped out while removing her hand, "...Valkyrie, you're burning up! We should return to the Eighth Level at once, you obviously need rest."
Runael flapped her wings, spurring Valkyrie to do the same, and they both ascended to the Level of their fellow Archangels. They broke through the barrier of clouds, flying through the Heavenly realm until coming to Valkyrie's particular living quarter. The gray marble house was much like the other buildings of Heaven, the shape being rectangular and its facade devoid of any special designs other than the small golden plaquette engraved over the door:
Archangel Valkyrie
"I'll make sure to keep you in my prayers tonight, Valkyrie. I hope that your health is in better shape by tomorrow." Archangel Runael said, leading Valkyrie to her home. The white-haired Archangel nodded, quickly shuffling to her door as quickly as she could without offending her superior. "Th-Thank you, Sister Runael." Valkyrie sputtered out, taking no time to open the door and practically fly inside, spurring the concerned Runael to stare at the door for a few moments longer before eventually leaving.
Valkyrie leaned face-first up against the other side of the gray door, shame engulfing her entire being. The Archangel couldn't even think straight with the storm raging inside her.
Her performance in her duel was bad enough by itself. Chamael was a formidable opponent, but Valkyrie losing due to an amateur mistake made what should have been a respectable bout turn into an embarrassment on her part. However, as strong as Valkyrie's feelings of disgrace were for that blunder, her shame was now coming from something entirely different.
This shame came from the excitement Valkyrie felt now that she knew that Luka would be in Heaven. However, there was an issue with this: While in Heaven, there was absolutely no chance that she could approach the Prophet in the way she craved. It'd be impossible to pull off, as the danger of being found out was much too great.
Valkyrie felt her knees quake at the depressing realization, and she pushed away from the door. Valkyrie kept her arms stiff at her side as she walked deeper into the one-bedroom house, looking about her living quarters with tired eyes.
The Archangel's home was simple, the room bare of any decorations other than a tall glass case that Valkyrie used to store her sword and armor. She walked across the dull-white carpet of her home and stored the sword next to her armor with a distinct lack of pride. The white-haired Archangel stepped back and glanced up at her gear, her shame growing exponentially as she looked over the sword and armor. They represented all the attributes that she should have, the attributes she used to pride herself in having.
Just how far had she fallen? Simply thinking about Luka shook Valkyrie to her core and now the idea of him being in Heaven - of him being within her reach - was almost too much for her. She could hardly think of anything else. Luka's visage had kept her up every night since she left Iliasburg, it was why she had been so off during her spar with Chamael. The only true "sickness" she had, was the one in her mind that caused her to think about nothing more than breeding with the boy!
Valkyrie pulled at her hair and turned away from the glass case to walk to her bed. The Archangel whirled around and sat down on her bed, a simple one-person mattress with white sheets. It was wrong, everything about what she felt was wrong. And yet, the fire burning inside of her only grew greater and greater.
KNOCK-KNOCK-KNOCK-KNOCK
The white-haired Archangel nearly fell off of her bed with a squeak, not at all having expected the harsh banging against her door. Valkyrie's face was hesitant as she rose, less out of fear but more out of confusion. 'Who'd be knocking at my door at a time like this?' Valkyrie thought as she reached the front of her happened from there could never have been predicted by the former War Angel as when she opened her door, a very bizarre sight awaited her.
Standing on the other side of the door was a very short - and very angry-looking - Angel. The white robe hanging from her was much too large and very loose, the garment covering her entire body below her neck. The Angel had blonde hair, much like all the others in Heaven, except hers was in an oddly familiar-looking braid that went down to her lower back. However, the identity of this Angel didn't hit her until she noticed that her eyes were pink...
...And that the pupils were heart-shaped.
"C-Cupid!?" Valkyrie stammered out, to which the now-identified Angel of Love forcefully pushed her way inside in response.
Valkyrie gawked at passing Angel, who seemed to be positively fuming now. The pint-sized Cupid whirled around as the door was closed by a bewildered Valkyrie, who couldn't be any more confused from what she was seeing. "What..." Valkyrie began, "...Wh-What happened to you?"
Cupid's mouth twitched, "What... happened? You wanna know what HAPPENED!?" The Angel of Love's white robes were thrown about wildly as she pointed a small accusing finger at the Archangel, "It's your fault that I'm like this, Valkyrie!"
The white-haired Archangel flinched, "M-My fault!? What are you talking about, I didn't do anything!" Cupid stomped up to Valkyrie and grabbed the Archangel by her robes, "EXACTLY! You left me high and dry in Iliasburg, and because of that I got eaten Valkyrie! EATEN!" She yelled, her words startling the white-haired Angel. "E-Eaten? Wait, you were the soul that returned to Heaven?" Valkyrie asked.
Cupid let go of the taller Archangel's white robes and threw her hands up in the air. "Yeah, I was attacked by some vile, disgusting Monster while you were off somewhere doing Ilias knows what!" Her pink eyes narrowed, and she gestured to her petite body. "So, now I look like this! Look at me, I think Archangel Mariel has more curves than I do now!" Indeed, all of the assets Cupid used to possess were now gone, the process of being reincarnated by Throne Eggiel reverting her to the child-like form all Angels had when they were first created.
Valkyrie slowly shook her head as Cupid hefted up the oversized white robe and manically paced around the room. "What type of Monster even did this to you?" Valkyrie asked the distressed Angel of Love, who continued to pace around the room as she threw her hands up in frustration, "Gee, you know, I didn't happen to catch a name when she was devouring me, Valkyrie!"
The white-haired Archangel sighed, "I'm sorry about that, Cupid. If I had known that something like this would happen, I'd never have suggested that we split up in Iliasburg."
Cupid gave a great big huff and folded her arms as she looked away from the taller Angel. Valkyrie had to actually lift a hand to her mouth to stifle a laugh, as the pouting Angel of Love looked a bit ridiculous in her current childlike form. However, Cupid noticed this and whirled around to look at the Archangel once more. "OH! So you think this funny, huh!?" The pint-sized Angel snapped as she leveled an adorable glare at the Archangel.
Valkyrie waved her hands back and forth, "N-No, not funny at all, Cupid." The Angel of Love groaned out as she grabbed at her blonde locks in frustration, "Ohhh, I can't believe this! How could this possibly get any worse!?" The pint-sized Angel cried out.
The white-haired Archangel grimaced, knowing that there was quite a bit that Cupid had missed while she was in the middle of being reincarnated by Throne Eggiel. "Well," Valkyrie began, "Heaven is on a soft lockdown. Ariel doesn't want Angels leaving without express permission to do so." Surprisingly, Cupid just scoffed and waved both hands dismissively.
"Eh, whatever, that doesn't matter. We need more time to scheme, anyway. After what happened in Iliasburg, it's clear to me that we need a better method at getting Luka alone..." Valkyrie's face faltered at the Angel's words, realizing what else Cupid was unaware of. "...The only thing that'll be really hard now is finding out where he'll be at next-"
"Here." Valkyrie interrupted.
Cupid froze, her pink eyes going wide. "D-Did you say..." The Angel stuttered out, not believing what she just heard. "...That he'll be h-here!? As in, here in Heaven!? WHEN!?" Cupid yelled out, rushing to grab Valkyrie by her robes again.
"I don't know when, but Archangel Runael implied that it would be soon." Valkyrie answered, causing the Angel of Love to fall further into despair. Cupid wailed, letting go of the somewhat confused Archangel to frantically stomp around the room once more. "N-No, this is terrible! Just awful!" The blonde-haired Angel declared.
Valkyrie slowly nodded, "I know. We wouldn't be able to... foster any type of results with him while he's here. The danger of being found out is too high to make that type of risk." Cupid was quick to stop in her tracks, the Angel's demeanor instantly flipping as the conversation went back to their mutual target of lust.
"Risk? I don't care about the risk, Valkyrie!" Cupid said, turning to face her now confused friend. The Angel of Love sighed once seeing Valkyrie's befuddlement and gestured towards her petite form, "The issue we have now is the fact that I've lost all of my allure! I mean, look, my body is as flat as a washboard now! How am I supposed to rile Luka up if I have nothing to rub up against him!?"
Valkyrie stood awkwardly and watched as Cupid muttered quietly to herself, nearly tripping over her robes as she paced around for a second time. "Well, if we want to fuck him while he's here in Heaven, that means only one thing..." Cupid faced Valkyrie with an uncharacteristically serious expression, her heart-shaped pupils narrowing in on Valkyrie's bright blue ones. "...You are going to have to be the one to seduce him for the both of us."
The statement sent Valkyrie into a panic, her face glowing bright red. "M-Me? I can't! That's why you are the one who's supposed to do the talking!" The white-haired Archangel exclaimed, spurring Cupid to stomp her feet angrily.
"I know that, but I don't think that even I could get him to want to fuck this!" Cupid yelled, pantomiming to her childlike body. "That's why you need to butter him up first; so when I come in, he'll be too worked up to resist!"
Valkyrie recoiled, "B-But either way, we could n-never have intercourse with the Prophet while we're in Heaven! We need to wait for a better time and place." The Archangel tried to plead, but Cupid furiously shook her head before she declared, "No, no more waiting! The longer we wait, the more difficult this'll be to pull off. The next time we see that boy, we're gonna shatter our virginities for good!" If it wasn't so depraved, Cupid's conviction in staying with her grand plan would be admirable. But Valkyrie didn't seem so convinced.
It was then that Cupid remembered something.
Or rather, someone.
"Wait, there may just be a way to make this easier for us..." Cupid started, folding her hands behind her back as she turned away from Valkyrie. "...Yes, if Luka is in Heaven at just the right time, then this could just work out in our favor." The Angel of Love mumbled, much to Valkyrie's confusion and she stepped forward to ask, "What are you talking about?"
The half-sized Cupid seemed to mull over the idea forming in her mind for a few moments longer before turning around once more, facing Valkyrie with a confident smile. "Believe it or not, we do have another Angel in Heaven with a common... interest." Valkyrie gasped. There was someone else like them? Another Angel with lecherous thoughts!?
"But could that be?" Valkyrie questioned as Cupid's smile grew more wicked, "Who could possibly-" The Former War Angel paused, an admittedly obvious name popping up in her mind.
Oh no.
Not her.
The Fourth Level of Heaven was mostly similar to the Ninth in that its walls and floors were entirely made up of Heavenly clouds. However, there was one key difference: The clouds were of a light purple hue instead of being golden. The air also seemed to shimmer, as if the atmosphere itself was reflecting off the light of the clouds. All-in-all, it was one of the most lavish areas of Heaven.
And it all belonged to one Angel: The Dominion Endiel.
'If only it was owned by a more dignified Angel...' Valkyrie thought, though it wasn't as if she had any room to judge, considering the Archangel's own growing depravity.
The white-haired Archangel walked side-by-side with the shrunken Cupid as they delved deeper into the purple-hued Level of Heaven. Valkyrie's face was very uncertain, as she was not particularly fond of Cupid's idea. The Angel of Love, on the other hand, held a cocked smirk on her face as she led the charge towards the middle of the Angel they were seeking out.
Soon, something began to peak out through the purple fluff and shimmering air. Instead of a marble house, like most Angels would have, the sole Dominion of Heaven resided in a much smaller and more unique home.
It resembled something like a very large tent, except that its walls were made of dark purple velvet valances that one might find hanging around a bed. The lavish tent-like residence had a bright golden trim along its bottom, which floated just above the clouds below it. There was a very small parting in the dark purple curtains, the inside of it being darkened.
The two Angels stopped in front of the purple and gold tent, and the pint-sized Cupid put her hands up to her mouth. "Psst! Endiel! Are ya in there!?" The Angel of Love whispered out. The odd pair of Angels stood and waited for a few seconds, and then the curtain began to part. Kneeling on cushiony purple insides of the tent was a yawning Dominion Endiel.
"Awww~" The gray-haired Angel yawned out, taking her time to lift her arms up to stretch before opening her glowing red eyes to look upon her late-night guests.
The Dominion appeared to be quite surprised to see the duo of the newly reincarnated Cupid and the Archangel Valkyrie. "Hmmm, greetings, Sister Valkyrie..." Endiel greeted, to which the white-haired Archangel gave a brief and stiff nod. "Sister Endiel." The Archangel responded tersely.
Endiel then looked to Cupid, whose appearance greatly confused the Dominion. "...Huh, did you lose some weight since last we met, Cupid?" Endiel asked.
The Angel of Love winced at the question, "In a way, yes. The less we talk about that, the better." Cupid put her hands together before continuing, "Anyways! Dominion Endiel, we need your help with something." The gray-haired Angel slowly crawled forward on her hands and knees - much to Valkyrie's evident displeasure, as the Dominion's see-through white "robe" were far too revealing - and sat at the edge of her living quarters.
Endiel looked between the two for a moment, her curiosity being raised by the oddness of the situation. Everything from the shrunken Cupid, to the presence of one of the Archangels, and the fact that they were asking for a favor so late at night. It would seem awfully suspicious to any other Angel, but the whimsical Endiel was more so just fascinated with what this matter could possibly be about.
"So, Cupid my dear friend, what could you and your friend possibly be needing from me at such an hour?" The Dominion asked, crossing her legs over each other as she leaned in. Cupid put her hands on her petite hips, "You see, Valkyrie here-" The Angel of Love grabbed the white-haired Archangel by the arm, "-Just so happens to share a common attraction with a certain Prophet of ours."
Dominion Endiel's red eyes widened at what Cupid had just divulged, and she glanced over to Valkyrie. "Really? One of the Archangels themselves is looking to break their chastity?" Endiel questioned, suddenly having quite of bit of interest in the former Angel of War. Valkyrie looked away from the Dominion's prying gaze, "I-I... w-well..."
"Yep, she confessed that to me just a few days ago." Cupid interjected, pushing forward past the sputtering Archangel. "However, in our attempts to pursue our common interest, we've hit a bit of a snag." The Angel of Love pulled at her white robes to draw attention back to her childlike body before continuing, "I can't seduce Luka with a body like this, and Valkyrie is COMPLETELY sexually ignorant!"
"H-Hey!" Valkyrie called out in indignation, but her cry was waved off by Cupid who muttered, "You know it's true!" Before looking back to the amused Endiel. "Anyways, we need a little bit of help, and I know you'd be interested." Endiel smirked and leaned back in her velvety abode. The gray-haired Dominion lackadaisically raised a palm to her chin, humming to herself as she looked off to the side.
"You are right, I've had the Prophet in my thoughts for a many number of nights now..." Endiel trailed off, covering her mouth with her hand as a soft giggle came out. After a few moments, the gray-haired Angel was able to compose herself and look at Cupid with a curious gaze. "...I'd be more than happy to help, but how do you suppose I can do this? Unlike you, I don't have as much leeway for where I can travel."
Cupid smirked, grabbing Valkyrie's arm once more. "Well, according to our sister-in-arms here, the Prophet Luka is supposed to be in Heaven any day now."
"Ooo, is this so?" Dominion Endiel questioned as she looked back over to Valkyrie, who gave the gray-haired Angel a nod of affirmation. Endiel gave a small chuckle before standing from her purple-walled tent to stand over her two fellow Angels. "Well, if this is so, then you can count me in." The Dominion said before crawling back into the purple curtains behind her.
Cupid let out a quick celebratory cheer and grabbed Archangel Valkyrie for the third time. "Come on, then! Let's get to scheming!" The Angel of Love proclaimed, pulling her friend towards Endiel and her velvety abode. Valkyrie looked down at the pint-sized Cupid with great hesitation, "Wh-What, why do we have to go in th-there for!?"
The pint-sized Angel of Love looked up to meet the Archangel's bright-blue eyes, "Becaaause, we can't just speak about this out in the open! A congregation of this nature needs to be done in private." Valkyrie did not seem very assured by Cupid's explanation but otherwise followed Endiel and Cupid into the tent, where the newly formed group began to plot out the steps they would take to conquer the Prophet Luka.
Well, small break over. This is more of a brief and somewhat uneventful chapter, but I wanted to have a bit of the Heavenly Knights meeting and then set up certain things for when Luka does go to Heaven again. Much fun and/or disturbed things to happen then but until we get to that, next chapter will return attention back to Luka and Alice as they arrive to Port Natalia.
Once they do get to Port Natalia, things will start getting much more compelling, especially once Lazarus comes back into play. One of the reasons being because, in this fanfic, Luka knows nothing about Lazarus or his connection to Marcellus.
Also, shrinking Cupid isn't a permanent change, just a bit more of me altering how certain things work in the original game so that the idea of Angels being reincarnated is a bit more literal. Again, though, she'll slowly go back to having her original body size.
espioll: Yup, Kitsu will be the next party member. Her addition will be fun, I think. And I do plan on having her teach Luka some things along the way, since I want him to be skilled in things other than just using his sword.
That, and Kitsu annoying Alice simply just by existing and being around herself and Luka is just funny to me.