Key:
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"Speaking, or in-text quote"
'Thoughts'
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Year 16 AL, Defense Mechanism
Delving deeper into the Cave of Treasures revealed that, despite its namesake, there did not seem to be many treasures awaiting inside.
Of course, Luka wasn't necessarily interested in plundering any of the envisioned treasures in question, but it did seem awfully strange that there wasn't something lying around. One would think that there would be coins, maybe some gold-plated armor, or even perhaps exotic - and possibly cursed - artifacts lying around. However, there was still a very distinct lack of any of these things.
Again, the young Hero didn't really need treasure to be there, but the presence of such things would help liven the atmosphere, at least.
Luka's gaze glanced over to Lona for a second, and he frowned just a bit at the cut running sideways along her cheek, a reminder of their previous battle. 'Maybe it's for the best that there isn't anything like that to distract us. The longer we're here, the higher the chance of encountering something we might not be able to handle.' Eventually, the small group found themselves at a fork in their path. One hall went off to the left, the other went to the right.
"We choose the left path first last time, so I suppose that we should take the right path now." Luka said to himself while looking between the two options. Alice didn't seem too convinced, "That method of decision making is awful, you may as well flip a coin if you want to rely on chance alone."
"Well, if I had any coins on me right now, I would just flip one. But all of my money is in my traveling bag..." Luka said, seemingly unfazed by the slight. "...So I'll just stick with going right this time. It's a fifty-fifty chance that it'll be the correct way, so it isn't that big a deal." Alice ran a black-gloved hand down her face but let the matter drop. There was no reason to argue her point, not when it could so easily be swept away by the boy's bizarre reasoning.
The small group took the turn and, as if having heard Luka's thoughts before, there was a treasure chest sitting in the middle of the well-lit hallway. It was somewhat rustic, its wooden brown front having only a very simple gold trim along its edges. It also seemed to have been there for a very long time, as a layer of dust covered its facade.
"...I don't suppose that this is the chest that holds Poseidon's Bell?" Lona asked, eyeing the wooden container with some doubt. Luka tilted his head, his long purple hair falling to the side. "Ehh, I don't think that it would. It seems rather plain to hold something like what we're looking for."
Alice slithered up behind him, "What, are you some sort of chest-expert now?" The white-haired Lamia questioned. Luka raised his hands a bit innocently, "Th-That's not really what I mean. I just feel as though something capable of negating storms might be held in something a bit more..." He trailed off while giving his hands a slight wave, "...I dunno, opulent?"
Rattle
Luka looked over to the chest, which had seemingly started to shiver. However, when his eyes fell upon it, it remained still. He looked back to Lona, "Ehh... What was that?" The white-haired Elf's dull brown eyes stayed locked onto the treasure chest, "I-I'm pretty sure that it just moved." Lona said with some confusion. Luka glanced back at the wooden crate, noticing this time that the chest had indeed seemed to be closer...
...And then he noticed that Alice was gone again.
"W-Well, it seems that Alice was right about going down here, let's go back down that other way Lona!" The white-haired Elf had no time to reply as Luka grabbed her by the hand and quickly yanked her back, nearly causing her to trip over her long green skirt along the way.
The two left the room behind, not noticing as the chest every-so-slowly inched forward and it gave another rattle...
...Upon coming back to the fork in their path, the two met with a surprised-looking Alice.
"Oh, so you actually do have some awareness, then?" The lavender-skinned Lamia asked rhetorically. "I really thought you'd get yourself into another embarrassing fight back there." Luka was about to say something, but a suddenly indignant Lona cut him off as she pulled away from his grip and strode up to the Lamia with anger in her eyes.
"You knew that there was a Monster down there?" Lona asked, a hint of anger leaking from her tone. Alice remained nonchalant, giving a halfhearted shrug as she replied. "I figured that there would be one, yes." Alice's answer apparently did not sit well with the Elf, who placed her hands on her hips. Luka watched the rising tension with a great deal of worry. The last thing he wanted - and needed, honestly - was for the two Monsters to be arguing.
"Alright, alright, how about we just-" He started, but Lona wasn't finished.
"Why would you let him go down there then!? You should've at least given a warning if you knew that he could've gotten hurt!" Alice steeled her golden eyes, Lona's tone obviously not being appreciated. "It is not my responsibility to do anything of the sort. Luka is a Hero; his safety is his own worries, not mine." The purple-haired Hero flinched at the Lamia's words, her statement eliciting an odd and painful throb from his heart. Whether it was intentional or not, Alice's proclamation of indifference cut Luka deep.
Lona's body tensed as her temper worsened at her fellow Monster's cold words. She moved to question Alice further, but Luka quickly stepped forward, garnering both of their attention as he addressed them. "P-Please, you two, we really don't have time for this. Our focus should be on finding Poseidon's Bell." The young Hero quietly pleaded. The Elf looked down at the boy, the fire in her gaze fading at the sound of his voice.
Luka forced up a smile for the white-haired Elf, "L-Let's just continue on. The sooner we can leave, the better. Right?" Lona eyed the boy for a few moments before giving him a nod and responding, "Right."
Luka breathed a sigh of relief and looked to the last path left available. "Well, it has to be at the end of this hall. There can't be that much cave left..." The purple-haired boy said. "...I hope." And so, the trio marched on down the last available route through the cave.
Luka's thoughts drifted away from the moment and went back to what Alice had said. The strange pain in his chest only worsened the more he thought about what the Lamia had said. Specifically, he was bothered by how unconcerned Alice was about his safety. If he was seriously injured, or even worse, would she really not care at all? Did his well-being not matter at all to her?
'That can't be true, though. Alice cared enough to stop Granberia from killing me, and she seemed to be concerned before I went to confront Lucretia...' The purple-haired boy thought as he fiddled with his fingers in an attempt to comfort himself. '...Yeah, and if Alice didn't care at all, she wouldn't be helping me with my sword fighting.'
However, Luka still felt a nagging sense of worry that his traveling partner didn't care for him as much as he had thought. Realistically, it really shouldn't bother him that much. They had only known each other for a little under a week, so it wasn't as if they were significantly close. Alice being his closest friend was only really the truth because he'd never known anyone so intimately for this long other than his parents...
...Luka frowned, only now really understanding how sad that sounded.
The young boy shook off the negative thoughts. Those weren't things he needed to focus on right now! He was a Hero, and so his number one priority needed to be finding Poseidon's Bell so that they could get out of this cave already!
"Well, you'll certainly have your work cut out for you here." Alice's voice abruptly cut in, causing Luka and Lona to look over to her. The white-haired Lamia had stopped slithering forward and had closed her eyes, a very strange air surrounding her. "W-Why do you say that?" Luka asked, confused as to how Alice would know such a thing.
Alice remained silent for a moment, an oddly concentrated look on her face. Instead of answering, she merely said, "Good luck, you'll need it." With that odd final statement, Alice vanished and left Luka and Lona in a stupor. The white-haired Elf beside him was sent into a stuttering fit, "Wh-What does that mean!?" Lona asked, her dull-brown eyes wide and panicked.
Luka gulped and looked forward to see that there was a turn at the end of the hall. The walls were bathed in the light of torches, much more so than any of the halls they had seen before. The young Hero felt a pang of dread hit him all of a sudden as he put together what Alice must've meant:
The Monsters had found Poseidon's Bell first.
The purple-haired Hero felt his heart drop at the realization. It was the only conclusion that made sense. The Two-Tailed Kitsune had already let it slip that Tamamo was here looking for the Bell, so Alice's disappearance all but confirmed that the Heaven Knight must be up ahead. Luka felt the goosebumps rise on his skin, a chill hitting his body.
Luka looked over to Lona, who was still staring at him with an anxious face. The young boy attempted to put on a look of confidence, though he felt as though it wasn't very convincing. "Well, we've come this far already. Poseidon's Bell has to be up ahead, I'm sure of it!" He declared. Lona seemed to brighten up just a tad, although she kept a quivering first wrapped around the handle of her sheathed sword. The Hero faced forward and started marching towards the end of the stone hall.
As the two drew closer to the turn, they could make out two voices conversing just out of sight.
"...-this so?" The fragmented question came from a low but soft voice. Idly he wondered if this was the infamous Nine-Tails, or if it was another lower-ranking fox.
"Y-Yes! And he had purple hair, too!" The response came from what sounded to be the Kitsune Luka had encountered earlier. Luka frowned; there was no way for him to know if the unknown voice was Tamamo or not, so he'd be going in blind if he turned the corner now.
The first voice unknowingly answered this question of his with a hum, "Hmmm, Tamamo will be very interested in this. You may go in, then. I'll keep watch for this boy." Luka and Lona listened as a door opened and quickly shut before everything went quiet once again.
'So this other Monster isn't Tamamo.' Luka thought as he slowly started to sneak forward, his Elf friend even more slowly following behind. The closer the duo got to the turn at the end of the hall, the stronger the feeling of dread became in the two's hearts.
Luka paused once he reached the end of the stone hall and turned to look at Lona. The white-haired Elf seemed to be shaking, her body visibly shaking before his very eyes. He bit his lip, taking heavy consideration into his next move. Upon seeing the cut on her left cheek, courtesy of the Spider girl they had fought previously, Luka made his decision. "Hey, Lona." He finally whispered, gaining the white-haired Elf's attention.
She bent down, unintentionally giving the young boy a better view of the diamond-shaped cleavage in her green dress. "Y-Yes, Luka?"
The young Hero did his best to ignore the untimely lewd distraction and said, "I want you to hang back for this one, okay?" Lona became visibly shocked by his request and leaned in even closer, "Why don't you want me going with you?" She asked almost frantically.
Luka quickly waved a hand, "It's not that. I just don't want you getting hurt, Lona. I-I'm the Hero, so I should-" The white-haired Elf stopped him, grabbing his arm tightly in her hand. Luka was taken aback by the gesture, and even more surprised by her next words. "I didn't ask to join you so that I could just stand by and watch, Luka!" Lona exclaimed, shaking him a bit from her own trembling grip.
The young Hero paused, trying to think of a way to navigate this without causing an argument. He understood that Lona wanted to help him, but he couldn't stomach the thought of her getting hurt on his behalf again. "Just let me handle the brunt of this, okay? If this Monster is too strong, I don't want you to get hurt alongside me..." Luka whispered.
Lona looked as if she was going to argue, but the young Hero stopped her, "...Please, I couldn't forgive myself if something bad happened to you." The white-haired Elf was struck by the quiet intensity of his plea, feeling unable to muster up any type of counter to his request. Begrudgingly, Lona nodded, "Alright, Luka." She whispered back to him.
Luka swiveled back around, having to take the Elf's word despite not being entirely sure if she would actually heed his request. With one last deep breath, the young Hero turned around the corner.
At the end of the short hall was a wide room, and at the end of this room was what appeared to be an old and rusted iron door. On either side of the door were a pair of large and bright torches, their fire being bright enough to illuminate the entirety of the small room. What gained the Prophet and the Elf's attention first, however, was the Monster lying in front of the door.
She was certainly more than expected, as her voice betrayed just how much of a specimen she was.
The Monster was definitely a Kitsune, but not in the same way as the last one had been. Her "upper" half was somewhat normal as she had mostly Human attributes, this only being offset by her bright yellow-green hair and fantastically fluffy ears. The only thing that bothered Luka was the fact that this Kitsune had no clothes to cover her large breasts and pale flesh. However, even this was somewhat of lesser importance, as the most striking part of this Monster was her "lower" half.
From the waist down, she was all fox.
From her powerful-looking front and hind legs to her large but sleek torso, the Kitsune was covered in yellow-green fur. The most startling part though, was her seven large tails. Each one of them rose to point to the ceiling and ended in darker green fur at their tips. They were much larger than the Two-Tailed fox he had encountered before, each tail easily being larger than his own body.
Luka gulped once more at the sight. Nothing about her was necessarily grotesque. In fact, he actually thought that the Kitsune appeared quite pleasant despite her general abnormality. But he was certainly not prepared for how divergent she was compared to how he understood most Kitsunes to appear. In his mind, they all were somewhat like the silver-furred one he had seen when first entering the Cave of Treasures: mostly humanoid, with little bits and pieces of foxlike features. This one, though, was nothing like that.
The Kitsune in question perked up, her light red eyes locking onto him with a curious gaze. Luka struggled to keep himself from shaking while he slowly strode forward, but he could feel the power radiating off of the Kitsune standing before him. Luka couldn't help but wonder that if this is how strong a Seven-Tails was, how powerful would the Nine-Tailed Kitsune herself be?
"So, you are the one Kitsu was talking about? I believe she said your name was Luka?" The Seven-Tailed fox asked as she pushed up to stand fully, becoming even larger in the process. 'Kitsu?' Luka thought, 'That must be the name of that Two-Tailed fox from before.'
Nervous but undeterred, Luka pressed forward with Lona in tow right behind him. The young boy took a couple steps into the room before stopping, the large yellow-green Kitsune tilting her head at him all the way. "Yes, I am Luka." He confirmed, giving a small bow to the larger Monster. The Seven-Tails gave a small hum at the display, before turning her light-red eyes to Lona. "Ah, then she must be the Elven love slave Kitsu told me about?"
Luka quickly threw his gloved hands up to his face in equal parts embarrassment and frustration. "No..." He said while running his hands down his face. "...Lona is not my love slave. She is my friend! J-Just a friend!" He ended a bit more forcefully than he meant to. Lona behind him suddenly found the floor very interesting as her face became flushed red, unable to keep eye contact with the Monster before them.
The combined overreaction of Luka and Lona's bashfulness caused the Seven-Tails to raise a brow, not at all convinced by the young Hero's proclamation. Either way, it wasn't really any of her business what the Elf was to him. "I see. Either way, Hero Luka, I have to extend some appreciation to you." The Seven-Tails said, causing the purple-haired boy to eye her curiously. "Appreciation... for what?" The boy asked.
The yellow-green-furred Kitsune turned her entire body to fully face Luka, folding her Human arms beneath her exposed breasts. "For saving Kitsu. She had told me about the altercation you had on her behalf." She said, spurring Luka to think back to the interaction he had with the silver-furred fox. 'Huh, she really hadn't seemed all that thankful after I freed her.' He thought.
"I couldn't have just left her there..." Luka began, "...Nobody deserves such a terrible fate."
"I agree. To fall prey to a Spider would be an awful thing." The Seven-Tailed Kitsune responded as she relaxed back onto her hunches, moving a hand up to start scratching behind her own ear. "So, as thanks for your actions, I'll give you the chance to turn around now and leave without further issue." Luka bristled at the Monster's words.
On the face of it, there wasn't anything wrong with the Seven-Tailed Kitsune's offer. In fact, it was something of a breath of fresh air to have a Monster, not immediately want to attack or seduce him. However, the timing could not possibly be any worse, for Luka had no choice. He couldn't leave, not without Poseidon's Bell.
Luka stepped forward, "I-I can't do that. I need Poseidon's Bell to get to Sentora."
The yellow-green-furred fox stood in silence, her seven tails waving idly behind her. The purple-haired boy felt an eerie energy fill the air, the sensation causing Lona to gasp and shuffle closer to him. Luka himself had to take a deep breath to quell the rising anxiety rattling in his body. He wasn't familiar with how power rankings worked with Kitsunes, but it was quickly becoming clear to him that this fox was much more powerful than the Two-Tails from before.
The Seven-Tails raised her head, her light red eyes sternly looking down to Luka. "I'd advise against testing your luck, Hero..." She raised a single finger up to the ceiling, "...Giving you the option to leave is a generous offer, one that I wouldn't have made if you hadn't saved Kitsu. If you choose to fight me instead of taking your leave, you will regret it."
Luka steeled his nerves, standing tall before the Kitsune despite his growing sense of worry. "I don't want to fight, but I'm not leaving here without Poseidon's Bell."
The Kitsune lowered her hand as she responded, "Very well, but just so you know what you are getting into..." A prideful smile came to the Kitsune's face as her tails started to rise in a display of their sheer size. "...You have just challenged Nanabi, Tamamo's one and only Seven-Tails. I am the third strongest of all the Kitsune and am not one to be trifled with. For your own sake, you'd better be prepared, Hero Luka."
Said Hero gulped, not at all feeling very prepared at the moment.
The Kitsune, now known to Luka as Nanabi, turned and started to circle him slowly. Her large set of seven tails waved behind her majestically, twirling and curving like the waves of the ocean. Luka took Angel Halo off his back as he revolved with her, grimacing as her long sharp claws dug into the floor with each step. Their little dance ended up placing the Kistune in between Luka and Lona, the latter of whom was standing frozen by the entrance of the hallway with a look of concern. He tried to give her a reassuring smile, but the act failed to bear fruit as the anxiety in her dull-brown eyes did not lessen.
Luka was put on the spot as, without warning, one of Nanabi's tails shot forward at him! The young Hero jumped back, nearly colliding with the iron door behind him as he overreacted to the Kitsune's feint. Nanabi chuckled, "Haha, at least you have good reflexes. This may even be a bit fun." Another one of the fox's seven tails flew towards him, quickly flying past as he sidestepped it. Luka gasped, not noticing as another tail followed right after! The boy managed to roll out of the way but awkwardly stumbled to his feet while getting up.
He watched as Nanabi smirked, continuing her stalking around the room as Luka himself paced backward to keep the distance. The young Hero gnawed at the inside of his lip, 'Man, this is already looking bad, and we only just got started...' He glanced back to Lona again, who seemed to have made a similar conclusion, if her horror-filled eyes were anything to go by. He forced his attention back to the Seven-Tails, who was thankfully not looking to rush the pace. '...Have to stay focused, I can't afford to make a mistake here.'
The purple-haired boy ran through his options. Realistically, the Kitsune's seven tails made it to where he'd have to operate mostly reactive in this fight, as trying to put Nanabi on the backfoot would be a feat he just wasn't capable of pulling off right now. Instead, he'd have to wait for an opening...
...If one ever appeared, that is.
Nanabi launched another barrage of tails at the young Hero, this time a total of three shooting at him all at once. This time, Luka swiped at the oncoming attack, nearly managing to cut at one of the Kitsune's tails. However, the tails dispersed right before Angel Halo could connect, and his counterattack missed. Luka frowned but kept his sword aloft. The soft sound of the torches crackling mixed with the Kitsune's tails swishing filled his ears, the calming noise betraying the tense position he was in.
However, he had noticed something during that last attack: Nanabi's tails seemed to twitch right before they attacked. Luka wasn't sure if it was a careless tell on her part or if it was her muscles clenching up before the strike, but it seemed to happen with the tails she used to attack specifically. 'If I can just look out for that, then I might just have a chance...' He thought, keeping his pale-blue eyes peeled for any tail-twitching.
The Seven-Tailed Kitsune's smile grew, "Most men could never defend against even one of my tails, let alone three. You are an interesting one..." Nanabi's ears twitched as she looked him over with curious light-red eyes. Too curious. "...If you impress me enough, you may even win the right to be my mate."
Luka fought away the urge to groan. 'Why must it always come down to that!?' He silently thought in frustration, opting to keep his mouth shut. This was not the time to get distracted by such things, as he was at a severe disadvantage already. Adding his own tendency to get flustered would certainly not help, and thinking about mating with Nanabi would only make that worse.
Four of Nanabi's tails twitched in preparation to attack, something that Luka's nervous gaze was able to quickly pick up on. The tails began to shoot towards him but the purple-haired Hero was prepared for this now.
"Thunder Thrust!"
Luka darted past the oncoming tails, watching as Nanabi's confident smile morphed into shock. His feet pounded on the dirt floor, and he sprung towards the Seven-Tails! Nanabi had barely any time to react to the unexpected attack, moving too late and too slowly to evade him entirely. Luka's sword jabbed into the large fox's side, eliciting a loud and angry growl from Nanabi.
He pulled back, Angel Halo leaving a deep scar on the Seven-Tailed fox's side, but Nanabi would not let him escape unscathed. One of her large feet kicked out and sent Luka flying across the room. The young Hero heard Lona cry out in alarm as he hit the stone wall back-first, the impact echoing through the small room. Luka fought the urge to buckle, keeping himself upright in case Nanabi had a follow-up planned. He was surprised, however, to find that the yellow-green Kitsune simply standing where she had been before...
...With a small brown leaf on her forehead?
Luka gazed at the sight with confusion, he was almost certain that the leaf hadn't been there before.
"You are definitely stronger than what one might think, Hero. But don't get ahead of yourself. It's time that I stop toying around and start getting serious." The young boy's blood ran cold as he felt Magic starting to grow inside the cramped room. He looked to Nanabi, who stood there with the same prideful smirk from before. Now he was really beginning to wonder just how in over his head he was. If she was just messing with him before, did he even stand a chance at beating her at full power?
Again, Nanabi launched a tail attack at Luka, the boy gasping in shock as the Kitsune sent five of her tails this time. Luka - in a manner one could consider wild - flailed his sword at the approaching tails, the poor boy overwhelmed by the large Kitsune's attack. Through a combination of his speed and a good amount of luck, Luka was able to swat away Nanabi's first four tails. However, the fifth tail struck him hard in the chest and sent him flying back into the stone wall for a second time!
This time, the young Hero buckled as the back of his head sharply cracked against the stone wall. He cried out miserably, dropping Angel Halo as he fell down to his knees. Luka clutched the back of his head with both hands, unable to do anything more than kneel there as his head began to ring. The pain had to be some of the worst he had ever felt, a dull ring echoing faintly in his ears. Luka tried to look up to where Nanabi was, but he was quickly met with a wave of acute nausea.
As he kneeled there, the purple-haired Hero could hear the sound of the Kitsune angrily yelling out some sort of curse. Then, he became somewhat aware of the fact that there was a frantic movement going on ahead of him. 'No, please don't let that be Lona!'
Slowly, Luka removed his hands from his head and brought them in front of his face. There was blood, lots of it. The entire palm of each glove was covered in the dark red liquid, its surface gleaming in the light of the torches illuminating the room.
Luka gasped as he heard the sound of something barreling towards him. He looked up, ignoring the pain shooting through his head to see Lona being tossed in his direction! The young boy recoiled and quickly held out his arms to catch the white-haired Elf. Luka let out a startled grunt as he caught Lona, very nearly colliding with the wall once more. The Elf was limp in his arms, having been rendered unconscious by whatever attack Nanabi had used on her.
The young Hero shook, both in pain and anger at himself as he looked down at Lona. This was exactly what he had feared, what he had tried to keep from happening.
"That's it, I'm through messing with you..." Luka looked up to the growling Seven-Tails, noticing that there was a long bloody cut running down her front right leg, the injury running from the thigh and ending right above the paw. Presumably, this was created by Lona while he was out of sorts. The young Hero laid down Lona as gently as he could, trying his best not to further harm the Elf.
Nanabi started stalking forward, a dangerous look dancing in her light-red eyes. "...I hadn't intended to make this more painful than it needed to be, but I won't take such an insult to me lightly!" Luka gasped as all seven of the Kitsune's tails twitched and flew toward him and the unconscious Elf with a speed much greater than before. With no time to muster any sort of counterattack, Luka swiftly threw his hands together.
"Shield of Heaven!"
Just before Nanabi's tails could reach the two, the clear white Holy barrier cut in between, the Kitsune's tails striking the dome harmlessly. The Seven-Tails gawked at the display of Magic, obviously not having expected such a phenomenon. "What is this?" Nanabi mused, forgetting her previous anger and beginning to lightly prod the barrier with her tails. Of course, none of the attempts broke through Shield of Heaven.
Luka struggled to stand, his head still throbbing from the previous attack. The young Hero had to keep blinking as the light of the torches was starting to irritate his eyesight and make his nausea even worse. His mind was a mess, the situation seeming only to get worse and worse as it went on. At this point, any idea of winning this fight was gone. His barrier was a bandage solution for a much larger problem, as he knew that it wouldn't hold forever. Luka's attention was drawn to Nanabi as she raised a hand up, extending her pointer finger up to her chin as if to shush. Then, curiously enough, a very small flame erupted from the finger.
Luka tilted his head as he peered at it, his confusion evident to the grinning Nanabi. "That barrier of yours is impressive, especially for a human. Let us see how long it will hold..." The young Hero watched as the flame started to grow, an eerie dread growing in his heart as the Magic the fox had been building seemed to come to a fever pitch. Then, the Seven-Tailed Kitsune opened her mouth to say:
"Fox Ninpo: Fox Fire!"
Nanabi blew on her finger as if to blow the fire out, but instead, it instantly grew into an inferno! Luka's pale-blue eyes must've widened to twice their usual size as the swirling red flame shot toward him and Lona. Luka, with very little option otherwise, hopped over the Fallen Elf to stand in front of her. If nothing else, if Shield of Heaven failed to hold, then maybe his body could at least keep Lona from getting burnt too. And so the young Hero stood before the raging fire and clenched his hands together tightly, so much so that his knuckles were white beneath his bloodstained gloves.
'Please, please hold...' Luka prayed as the fire shot towards him with terrifying speed. Nanabi's attack hit the clear-white barrier full force, the sheer brightness of the Shield and the Magical fire causing Luka to tightly close his eyes. In the following few moments, the Seven-Tailed fox's attack engulfed the Hero's Magical barrier like a wildfire crossing a grassland...
...However, as the fire eventually died down, an astonishing sight was left behind.
"H-How!?" Came the startled gasp of Nanabi, disbelieving of the sight before her. The Kitsune's light-red eyes were locked forward, recognizing the fact that Luka's barrier had withstood her fire and protected him and Lona without fail.
Luka himself shook, his own disbelief as strong as Nanabi's, if not greater. He had fully prepared for his technique to fail simply because of the difference in power yet Shield of Heaven had weathered the storm and kept both Luka and Lona unscathed. He was thankful that it had held, obviously, but he couldn't believe that the technique Micaela had shown him was that powerful!
The young Hero, equally as bewildered as Nanabi was, gave his belated reply to the Kitsune's question. "Er... I'm not... sure?" It wasn't much of an answer, but Luka honestly had no idea what to sat. This seemingly raised Nanabi's ire, her light-red eyes going from shock to anger once more. Her lip twitched before she said, "Nevermind how you did it. I'm putting an end to this now." Before Luka could react, the Seven-Tails made her move while his eyes were on hers.
"Hypnotic Eyes!"
Nanabi's light-red eyes flashed blood-red, and Luka felt his body lock up in response to the spell. Unlike previous times - like with the Mandragora's song or Vanilla's Eyes of Obedience - Luka's latent Holy Magic was unable to effectively guard him from Nanabi's spell, as its effects were much more potent than what his mostly sealed powers counter. And so, Luka was immediately put to sleep by the hypnotic spell, his head lulling to the side as he fell asleep while standing...
...Unbeknownst to anyone, this would lead to something deep inside Luka unearthing, something quite unnerving...
Alice had watched with vested interest - and an aching sense of dread - as the fight went on to become more and more out-of-favor for Luka. Truthfully, Alice wasn't sure how Luka would fare against the likes of Nanabi. The Seven-Tails wasn't the strongest Monster that the boy had faced, but she certainly was one of the strongest and now it seemed as if the Kitsune had the boy right where she wanted him.
The Monster Lord looked on as the Kitsune grinned victoriously at the sight of the sleeping boy, but Nanabi's smile quickly vanished upon noticing that the Hero's Magical barrier remained in place. Indeed, even as Luka slept, Shield of Heaven stayed to protect him and Lona.
The white-haired Lamia hummed at the sight, not quite sure what to make of the development as Nanabi began prodding at the barrier once more with her large tails. 'Strange, I assumed that he needed to actively concentrate to keep that up.' Alice thought, thinking back to how the boy had demonstrated the technique before. However, interestingly enough, the barrier seemed to be keeping itself up.
As curious a development as this was, however, it paled in comparison to what was about to occur.
The first clue for what was to come was subtle one, something that Alice was only able to notice due to the Monster Lord's keen eye. A slight quiver occurred in the boy's left hand, somewhat as if a chill had run through his body. Alice eyed the hand in question with curiosity, watching as it slowly became more and more prominent. Nanabi paused, having noticed this as well.
"Peculiar..." The Seven-Tailed Kitsune murmured, unknowingly watching alongside Alice as the quiver spread from his left hand to the entirety of his arm. Alice frowned, her heart feeling a sudden and odd wave of distress at the sight of the shaking limb. As the vibration worsened, the Lamia found that her heart was beginning to race.
"Meditation."
Breaking the Lamia from her thoughts was the voice of Luka. Except, it didn't quite sound like Luka. It was his voice, Alice had no doubt of that. But the tone held no kindness, no heart. It was empty, emotionless. However, the worst had yet to come.
"Blood..."
Nanabi drew back some, noticing as something within the air of the dome started to crackle. A peculiar energy was rising within the room, one that the Kitsune was not entirely familiar with. Alice felt it too, but the Monster Lord found herself somewhat perturbed, as the aura coming off of Luka felt suspiciously similar to how Micaela's had felt.
"...Pain..."
Alice furrowed her brows as Luka began to speak again, not knowing that this wasn't just some random spewing of words. It was the chant of his Mother: Lucifina, The Daystar.
"...Exhale..."
Alice shuddered, the peculiar and unstable energy that was emitting off of Luka seeming to crackle throughout the entire room.
"...Expel."
Nanabi drew back from the barrier, noticing as something within the air of the dome started to crackle. A peculiar energy was rising, one that she had not felt before. Alice felt it too, but the Monster Lord found herself somewhat perturbed, as the aura coming off of Luka felt suspiciously similar to the one Micaela had given off.
With that final utterance, Shield of Heaven dropped to reveal the still-sleeping Luka, now with Angel Halo inexplicably in his left hand. The entire arm was still vibrating, as if all of the Magic that had been built up was now congregated solely into the limb. Faintly, Alice could make out an indistinct white flow surrounding the sword.
Nanabi, meanwhile, was feeling a vague sense of apprehension at the sight of the now seemingly vulnerable Hero. The seven-Tailed fox watched as Luka stood unmoving before her, remaining asleep as if what had transpired had never happened at all. Tamamo's second-strongest Kitsune peered at the purple-haired boy warily, her previous confidence having been rattled by whatever had just transpired. Then, as the Kitsune's guard was down...
"Blood Fissure Thunder Thrust."
...Quicker than what most normal eyes could see, Luka catapulted towards Nanabi and embedded his sword straight into the Seven-Tailed fox's stomach. The yellow-green Kitsune froze, the stabbing pain quickly causing her to silently groan before swiftly becoming sealed into a more feral-looking form and dropping at Luka's feet.
Just like that, the fight was over.
Luka twitched, his pale-blue eyes fluttering open hazily.
The young Hero glanced about the room, his mind in a haze. "H-H-Huh?" He stuttered out, wondering what had just happened. Luka just happened to look down, noticing the shaking sealed Seven-Tails sitting on the ground before him. "N-Nanabi?" He murmured, not understanding how the Kitsune was now sealed.
'Did I do this?' Luka thought as the sealed Nanabi scampered over to the iron door and began scratching on it. Luka's mouth opened a bit as he frowned, his heart becoming saddened at the sight before him. As harrowing as his fight with the Seven-Tailed Kitsune had been, the fact that she now seemed frightened of him made the young Hero sad.
The last thing Luka wanted was for anyone to be afraid of him.
"Urrhm..." The purple-haired boy turned towards the sound of a low moan, his eyes finding Lona as she rolled on the ground, still seemingly unconscious. Luka placed Angel Halo on his back before quickly kneeling beside the blonde-haired Elf and lightly grabbing her by the arm...
...
'Wait...'
Luka did a double-take, gazing intently at the groggy-looking Elf's hair to verify its color.
'...Blonde hair?'
The young Hero didn't even know what to think about this detail but decided to just let it slide for the moment in favor of checking on his friend. He gently shook the Elf by her arm, but her eyes remained closed. 'Damn it, Nanabi must've really hit her hard...' Luka quivered; a spike of self-loathing rose inside of him. '... I should've known that this would happen, I should've told her to stay out of it completely!'
Creeeaak
Luka looked at the iron door as it very slowly began opening, the squeaking of the door ringing out painfully. The boy's heart felt as though it would burst; surely, there was only one person - that he knew of - that could be coming through that door now and the very idea raised his anxiety through the roof. The young Hero trembled as he stood from his kneeling position, knowing well what was waiting for him now.
He looked back down to the still unconscious Lona, the same pang of regret and anger hitting him again. Luka quickly paced into the middle of the room, hoping that he'd be able to keep attention away from the blonde-haired Elf.
As Luka took these steps forward, a figure came forth through the darkened doorway.
The first thing he noticed was how surprisingly short the golden-furred Kitsune was. She was a bit shorter than Kitsu, making her nearly a head shorter than himself. However, despite this physical dwarfism, he could feel the power coming off of this fox. Her large emerald eyes were striking and met his own pale-blue ones as soon as he moved into direct eyesight. Luka fought the urge to look away as she paused in the doorway, looking him up and down with great interest.
Luka could not quite see how many tails the Kitsune possessed, only a few of the waving golden tails visible at the moment. The purple-haired Hero noted that the Kitsune's clothing seemed to be quite loose on her, the white and purple robe seeming close to falling right off her shoulders at any moment. If the fox wasn't so petite, she'd probably be showing off a ridiculous amount of cleavage...
The golden-furred Kitsune looked down at the sealed Nanabi, tilting her head a bit as she gave the Seven-Tails an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry, Nanabi. I hadn't thought that such a thing would happen while I was in there..." She bent over a little, gently scratching the yellow-green fox on the top of her head. "...I'll have to unseal you later, Nanabi. I hope you understand." Then, the fox's attention came back to him.
"Hmm, so you must be Luka." The young Hero flinched, unsure as to how the Monster would know his name. The golden-furred Kitsune moved once more, slowly sauntering out from the doorway. His pale-blue eyes watched as the fox's tails were revealed...
...All nine of them.
"A-And you're Tamamo no Mae, aren't you?" Luka tentatively asked, though in his heart he already knew the answer.
The Kitsune gave a very foxlike grin before flicking her wrist, the action bringing out a small red fan with a silver border. She brought the fan up to her face, more than happy to give him his answer. "In the flesh!" The fox proclaimed. Despite having expected this, Luka nearly faltered. Indeed, standing before him was the Heavenly Knight Tamamo.
The boy took a couple deep breaths to calm himself as he analyzed the situation.
This position was far from ideal. Realistically, no matter what he had just pulled off with Nanabi, it would take a miracle from Ilias herself for Luka to stand a chance against Tamamo. Past experience with Granberia had already taught him that a Heavenly Knight was far too strong for him to compete with in battle, so challenging her wasn't a viable option. Because of this, Luka had to navigate this in a much more careful manner, if possible.
Luka cleared his throat a bit and gave a deep bow towards Tamamo, before rising up to meet her gaze. "G-Greetings, T-Tamamo no M-Mae. It is a p-p-pleasure meeting you!" He proclaimed, trying to be as respectful as possible to the Nine-Tails. Tamamo's emerald eyes peered at him a bit closer, her smile fading into a more curious expression. Luka gulped as the Nine-Tailed Kitsune began to circle him, audibly sniffing the air.
'Is she... smelling... me?' He wondered, unsure if this was a good thing or not. As Tamamo left the doorway, her large - and very soft-looking - tails uncovered the doorway, revealing the nervous form of Kitsu, the silver-furred Kitsune. 'Huh, that must be how she knew my name...' The boy took a moment to analyze the Two-Tails, 'Kitsu the Kitsune? Not to be disrespectful, but that isn't a very creative name, is it?' His thoughts were broken by Tamamo, who came back into eyesight as she finished her circling.
He was a bit surprised to find that the Nine-Tails had gotten closer during her revolution, coming close to arm's length of the Hero. Luka gave a light sniff, noticing that the fox seemed to have a very specific scent herself. She almost smelled like...
...Thin-fried Tofu?
The realization hit him hard, recalling that Alice had said the name of that specific food when they first entered the Cave of Treasures. 'Had she known that Tamamo might be here from the start?' He wondered, but his train of thought was cut off as the Nine-Tailed Kitsune in front of him quickly opened and shut her fan, a delighted smile coming to her face.
"Oh, you are an adorable one, you'd make for a delightful mate!~" Her proclamation brought an unwanted blush to his face. This was certainly not the type of topic he needed to be participating in, especially not with a Heavenly Knight!
Luka let an anxiety-riddled chuckle, "Ha-Ha-Ha, I'm f-flattered, but that's not what I-I'm here for." His stammered words did little to sway Tamamo's interest; in fact, it only seemed to further entice the Heavenly Knight. The Nine-Tails strolled closer, all of her tails swaying playfully behind her. "Ah, but it's true. I can tell that we'd have lots of fun together..."
The young Hero grimaced, his dismay showing openly now. As Tamamo shuffled closer, he noticed something swaying in her other hand.
Attached to a little brown string was a very old and small bell. It was rusted over badly, the only parts not covered in the red tarnishing having an off-gray color to it. 'Is this Poseidon's Bell?' It wasn't as lavish as one would expect. In fact, as far as "treasures" go, this item did not look like it belonged in a Pirate's stash. It looked more like something a person would find in a collector's shop...
...Or, more likely than not, stuffed in a box in someone's basement.
Tamamo followed his questioning gaze and lifted the bell up in front of her face. "Is this what you are looking for? I'll admit, I expected it to be a bit more..." The Nine-Tails shrugged, "...Opulent?"
Luka hummed, finding himself to agree with the Heavenly Knight. "T-That's what I thought..." He started before giving a shrug. "...Although, on the other hand, I suppose having something so powerful in such a small form would be more preferrable." Without meaning to, Luka's words attracted Tamamo's interest even more than before.
"Fufufu," She giggled, drawing even closer to the young Hero. "So, you prefer fun-sized?~" Luka paused, missing the fact that the Nine-Tailed Kitsune was not talking about the bell anymore. "Erm, I-I guess so?" Luka sputtered, not trying to offend the Kitsune by disagreeing but also not really sure if he'd personally use that type of term himself. Tamamo giggled again, evidently quite pleased at his answer.
"That's good..." The Nine-tails said, flicking her fan open and swishing it in an alluring manner. "...I'll make sure to keep that in mind..."
Luka tilted his head at the vague statement, but Tamamo quickly moved on. "Either way, I'm here for business, not pleasure. Alma Elma has been making my travels quite troublesome, so I'll be needing Poseidon's Bell." Luka couldn't stifle his flinch, the movement immediately drawing the Heavenly Knight's attention. "Hmm... Do you want this as well? If so, what do you plan on doing now?"
The room grew eerily quiet, the only noise once again being the soft crackling of the torches on either side of the iron door. Luka gulped, feeling the power of the Nine-Tailed Kitsune fill the room. It wasn't a malicious presence, but he would be dumb to assume that he'd even stand a chance in a fight with this Monster. If she was as strong as Granberia, then he'd surely only last a minute or so at best.
His mind raced for a solution, any solution to the situation. But Luka kept coming up empty. The young Hero didn't know how he had defeated Nanabi, but he couldn't count on that to save him here. No, he had to figure something else out. 'Well, she's a lot less hostile than Granberia was...' He thought, '...Maybe she'd be more open to hearing me out?'
He was going out on a limb here, but with no other options available, Luka could do nothing else but plead his case with the Kitsune and hope that she'd be sympathetic to his cause. The purple-haired boy wrung his hands together, wincing as he noticed that his own blood was still on the gloves. "I-I know I have no place to ask, really, but could you consider allowing me to have the bell?"
Tamamo tilted her head as he continued, her emerald eyes evaluating him intently.
"I n-need to get to Sentora myself, Tamamo. B-But I don't have a-any intention to cause trouble for Monsters! In fact, I-I'd like nothing more than to spread peace, to help bring Humans and Monsters together, that's all. S-So, if you would, I would really appreciate it if you gave me Poseidon's Bell..." After a moment more of silent staring between the two, Luka added, "...Please?"
The Nine-Tail's silence continued, her face unreadable. Luka couldn't stop the quivering of his legs as the shorter Monster was somehow able to make him feel like he was half his own height. Then, her face twitched, a smile growing ever so slowly until she openly laughed at him. It was light but loud, the sound of it echoing wonderfully around the room.
Luka stood in a daze, unable to figure out if this was a good thing or not.
Finally, her laughter died down, but a large and genuine smile was still on her face. "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."
Luka felt his heart skip a beat. The Monster Lord knew about him!?
Tamamo giggled at his increasingly flustered state, "Well, you've swayed my heart with your mighty words, young Hero. Here!" She exclaimed and stepped forward, holding out the bell aloft from its string. "You may have the bell." Luka was speechless. Did his heartfelt plea actually work or was the Kitsune playing some type of game with him? Tentatively, Luka reached out and grabbed the bell with his fingers, to which the Nine-Tails dropped the string in response.
And with little fanfare, Luka now possessed Poseidon's Bell.
"You... You're really going to let met have it, just like that?" Luka said, glancing between the bell and Tamamo. The golden-furred Kitsune gave an exaggerated shrug, "Yup. I didn't really need it that bad. Why, did you want to fight me for it?"
Tamamo's question caused him to hold his hands up innocently, "N-No, not at all! I-I actually m-much prefer this. I'd never fight a Monster just for the sake of it. I only fight those who try to stop Humans and Monsters from coexisting." Tamamo nodded, "Good, I figured that a fight would be an awful way to reward someone after they saved one of my own."
The young Hero paused, before remembering the Two-Tailed Kitsune still standing in the iron door's entryway. He looked over to Kitsu, who had been watching the interaction the whole time. 'Huh, now I'm really glad that I saved her. If I hadn't, I'm sure that Tamamo would not have been nearly as cordial with me.'
"Don't get this twisted, we will fight in the future." Luka met the Nine-Tailed fox's emerald eyes again, a more serious look on her face. "I am still one of the Heavenly Knights, so our paths will cross again, you can count on that." The purple-haired boy bit his lip, knowing full well by this point that what the Kitsune was saying was true. He didn't want to admit it, but he was beginning to really understand that some fights simply can't be avoided.
If nothing else, though, he would not kill. No matter what, he'll keep that promise to himself.
"I understand..." Luka said softly, lowering Poseidon's Bell to his side. "...Thank you, Tamamo no Mae."
The Nine-Tails suddenly whipped her fan open once again, holding it in front of her face to obscure everything but her emerald eyes. "Careful now, keep saying my full name in that adorable voice of yours, and I may just get the desire to bring you back to Sentora with me and see how else you can say my name~"
A very strained and nervous grin came to Luka's face, a heavy blush spreading swiftly as he tried to dissuade the idea. "E-Eh, th-thanks, b-but I'm not in-interested in that!" Tamamo snapped the fan back close, a large grin on her face. "Oh well, maybe next time. But for now, I bid you farewell." Then, as quickly as Luka could blink, Tamamo no Mae, the sealed Nanabi, and Kitsu all vanished from sight, leaving Luka behind.
Luka stood in the aftermath in silence, his mind adrift in many different thoughts as he pocketed Poseidon's Bell. Whether it be on purpose or not, Tamamo had revealed quite the startling fact to him: The Monster Lord herself knew about him, and apparently had a vested interest in him...
...Whatever that meant.
'How does the Monster Lord know about me, though?' Luka bit his lip, many possibilities running through his mind. He circled around, looking at the still passed-out Elf lying on the floor. 'Can't think too much about that right now. As troubling as that is, I need to focus on getting Lona out of here.' Luka looked down at the blonde-haired Elf as he paced over to her, a large frown growing on his face. He could see her chest move as she breathed, but other than that, Lona was still not moving.
Luka clenched his fists tightly, before shaking his head. 'Can't keep feeling bad about it, just get her out of here Luka.' The young Hero stood over Lona, having hit a roadblock: How the heck was he supposed to get Lona out of this cave if she wouldn't wake up?
Luka's frown morphed into a grimace, his anger turning into unsureness. The only foreseeable option that he could see, would be for him to carry her out...
...'Oh boy.'
With no other option, Luka squatted down and brought his hands down. He paused, remembering that his gloves were covered in his own blood still. Luka quickly removed the gloves and stuffed them into his pants pocket. He'd have to get those cleaned later. He tentatively slid his hands underneath the Elf and heaved her up. Lona wasn't very heavy - thankfully - but the issue he found was less about her size and more about his.
That, and feeling her body through her clothes with his bare hands was giving him very untimely flashbacks to the night before.
Luka shook away the lewd memories and trudged out of the room. Though, as he went, he couldn't help but wonder something:
With all the Monsters gone, why had Alice not returned yet?
And with this chapter out, this story has reached over 20,000 views. Usually, I wouldn't be one to draw much attention to the statistics, but I found it truly astounding that this story of mine has gotten so much traction. I do thank everyone who has stuck with this story so far, it truly is something that makes me proud.
Anyways, a lot happened in this chapter, much of it being quite a bit different from the original game. Most notably being the fact that Luka does not find out here that Alice is the Monster Lord. This little change will make it to where Luka is unaware of who Alice really is for a very long time. I'm not sure how most will take this change, but I think it makes for a more interesting dynamic, especially as Luka and Alice grow closer.
Furthermore is the slight peek I gave here at the nature of Luka's Angelic side. I intend for this part of him to be the result of his repressed trauma, so it is a purely reactive phenomenon that comes out when the "true" Luka is either physically or emotionally compromised. We'll see more peeks of it here and there as we continue, just keep in mind that this isn't necessary a "dark side" of Luka but is more of a congnitive state that he regresses into when under severe mental stress.
Deadinside378: Well, I hope that it was satisfactory!
espioll: The reason why Lona would know about Tamamo but not recognize Alice as the Monster Lord is simply because Tamamo has been around for so much longer and is, in general, a much more prominent figure since she is the Mother of all Kitsune.
Alice is relatively new in her position as the Monster Lord, so her true identity would not be known by many people, which I believe is something that even the original game states. I could be misremembering, but either way that I'd the logic I am working under here.
Guest: As time passes, more and more of the nature of their relationship will be revealed. In some ways, Black Alice and Heinrich are similar to Alice and Luka, but not everything will be quite the same.