Key:
Text
"Speaking, or in-text quote"
'Thoughts'
Additional Emphasis
Year 16 AL, Heart of the Storm
Luka gazed up at the clouds above with a growing sense of anxiousness.
It was late into the evening but one would have trouble deciphering this if they were going off of the sky alone, as it had become as dark as nighttime. The clouds they had seen in the distance while leaving Iliasport were upon them now, an odd type of energy flowing through the air once the storm clouds had reached them. Surprisingly, the water remained calm, and no harsh gales came down on them.
However, the young Hero's anxiety did not falter. For he knew that the inevitable was coming. At some point, the Monster behind these attacks would make herself known...
"Hey, what did I tell you about getting twitchy!?" Alice's voice rang out, bringing his attention back to the Lamia. With all of the sailors having made themselves scarce - at the "suggestion" of Alice and her hypnotizing eyes - his traveling companion had shed her Human disguise and was now attempting to teach Luka another technique. The purple-haired boy gave a nervous chuckle, moving to adjust his gloves before realizing that he wasn't wearing them still due to his bloodstains.
"Hehe, s-sorry Alice. I've just got a lot on my mind." Alice huffed at Luka's reluctant answer and quickly set the boy straight, "Nevermind the nervousness, you need to focus on the here and now." The young Hero tried not to squirm too much as he gave a nod and tightened his bare-handed grip on Angel Halo. He grimaced at the feeling of the sword's somewhat ridged handle, not at all liking how the sensation felt on his naked palms.
It took a massive amount of restraint from the abnormally agitated Lamia to not snap at Luka, but she was just able to pull it off. "Up until now, you've gotten by decently enough, but now that we're going into Sentora you'll need to really start getting serious. Monsters there can be vicious, and you'll need to be able to match that intensity." Luka blinked at Alice's words, not at all liking how that sounded. He wasn't really what one might call "intense."
However, he would do his best to become better. For the sake of being a Hero, he will be intense!
"Alright Alice, how does this make me look!?" He asked before taking up what one might consider a Heroic pose. The Lamia gave Luka a once over to assess his "intensity", her golden eyes taking in every last detail.
The Hero's pale-blue eyes were wide and shining even in the darkening atmosphere, that same shine seeming to light up his grinning face. Luka's small body was tensed as he held Angel Halo aloft in his hands, though his efforts only made him look just a touch greater than usual. A light breeze blew through Luka's shoulder-length hair, his purple locks waving around quite pleasantly across his fair skin. The Monster Lord opened her mouth to answer his question; however, what she said came as a surprise to both Luka and Alice.
"Delicious." She spoke, barely above a whisper.
...
...
...
The silence that followed was near-deafening. The Prophet of Ilias and the Sixteenth Monster Lord stared at each other with wide-eyed gazes. Luka's face was somewhere between his previous confident smile and abject horror, while Alice looked as though she was overcome with a desire to throw herself overboard.
"Did... D-Did you say... Delicious?" Luka asked, his still somewhat smiling but also grimacing mouth twitching a bit as the boy wasn't exactly sure how to even react. His cheeks broke out into a fiery blush, having to even repeat what Alice had said causing him a great deal of embarrassment.
Alice, meanwhile, had her mind racing as quickly as her furiously beating heart to try and think up a way to excuse her slip. "Y-Yeah," She finally said, "Th-That's exactly what any Monster will think when they see you the way you are now, which is why you need to work on your intensity more!" Luka didn't appear to be entirely convinced, but for the sake of sweeping that little comment under the rug, he didn't say anything else about the slip-up.
"J-Just keep that in mind," Alice started, "Because this next technique will require a good amount of intensity." The Lamia slithered towards the middle of the ship. Luka, still a bit shaken up by Alice's comment, followed slowly. The white-haired Monster positioned herself by the aft of the boat right in front of the captain's quarters, while Luka was in front of the mast, which sat between him and the ship's bow.
Alice crossed her arms as she began her next lesson, "Now usually jumping would be an incredibly stupid thing to do in a fight. It makes you predictable and an easy target." The lavender-skinned Lamia gave him a pointed look, "But, when the timing is right, it can be effective. Like with what I'm about to show you..." Alice pointed towards the ship's mast. "...Now, go climb that mast."
Luka hesitantly turned to the wooden post, "Err, you mean that thing?" He said, pointing to the wooden post. Alice quickly replied, "Yes, Luka, that mast there. You'll need to be at a decent height for this to work." Luka slowly nodded, walking to the wooden post with a wary look in his pale-blue eyes. Carefully, he used a conveniently hanging rope to pull himself up. Alice watched silently as he pulled himself up to the mast's lowest yard, standing on the beam a bit precariously.
"O-Okay Alice, I'm ready!" Luka called out, though his slight quiver said otherwise. The lavender-skinned Lamia nodded, "Now, this one is known as Demon Skull Beheading."
Luka's quivering stopped, his apprehension towards his vertical position fading as he stared down at Alice with a disappointed look. The boy's staring eventually disturbed the Lamia enough to get her to question him, "What, you don't like that name either?"
"No, I haven't liked a-any of these names!" Luka exclaimed, "None of them are Heroic at all! I can't even shorten that one to something halfway nice!" Aice's black-gloved hand went to her forehead as she sighed, "You're too focused on the small, unimportant details. The name of the technique makes no difference-"
Surprisingly enough, Luka cut off the Lamia with an indignant proclamation. "It does to me! I don't want people to be afraid of me because of me using such s-scary sounding moves!" Alice's hand dragged down her face and her golden eyes rose to give Luka a disbelieving look. "...You think people... will be afraid... of you?"
The purple-haired boy shuffled a bit before shrugging, "W-Well, it's p-possible..."
"Trust me when I say that won't be an issue, now jump!" Alice yelled, spurring Luka to finally concede. "Okay, okay, alright!" He said, shuffling his feet again to get a better position on the somewhat rickety yard of the mast. Another burst of light wind came through, forcing the boy to put a hand up to keep his hair out of his eyes. He took a deep breath and leaped!
"Demon Skull Beheading!"
Luka fell from the mast while yelling the technique, raising his sword and swinging it back down mid-jump as he swiftly fell to the ship's deck. Angel Halo gleamed in the dim light and the blade whistled as it cut through the air in a magnificent display of power. Luka's swing ended as he hit the ship's deck, Angel Halo hitting the wood planks as he landed.
CRACK
A quarter of the sword's length embedded into the wood boards, the sudden rupture echoing loudly in the air. Alice and Luka both gaped at the freshly made break in the ship's deck, the small area of the floor now being thoroughly broken. Luka removed his sword, leaving behind a sizable hole surrounded by split wood planks. The young Hero looked over to the Lamia, his worry-filled gaze looking over to her for some guidance. "E-Eh, wh-what should we do a-about..."
Luka stopped as Alice slithered over to a barrel, grabbing the item and quickly coming over and slamming it over the hole. "Do about what?" Alice asked bluntly, causing the young Hero to stutter back, "U-Uh... n-nothing, nothing." Luka cleared his throat as he put distance between himself and the unintended damage to the ship's deck.
'Out of sight, out of mind, I guess...' Luka thought, though a twinge of guilt hit him as he was sure that the sailors would eventually find the offending hole. '...Hopefully when we're not still on the boat.' He added in his mind.
"Anyways," Alice said suddenly, causing the young Hero to turn towards her. "The obvious problem with this technique is that you need to be at a significant height above your opponent to do it. Now obviously you can't fly, so this technique is quite a bit more situational than the other ones I have shown you." The purple-haired boy nodded while placing Angel Halo on his back, "Right, can only be used at very specific times, got it."
With that, the two fell into another short bout of silence until Alice slithered up to the purple-haired boy. "...Hey, Luka." The boy gave a hum as the Lamia extended her hand towards him, "Excuse me for asking, but may I see your ring?" His pale-blue eyes shot between the silver band on his left pointer finger and the awaiting hand of Alice with great hesitancy. Excluding when Micaela had fixed the ring for him, Luka had never taken the item off of his hand since he first woke up with it.
"Erm..." He groaned, holding his left hand close. "...I-I'd really rather not take it off..." He trailed off.
Alice shook her head, "I'm not asking you to remove it, there's no need for that." She extended her hand just a bit more, "I just want to look at it a bit closer." The purple-haired boy deliberated for a few moments more before sticking his left hand forward. He was taken by surprise when Alice grabbed his hand with her own and gently pulled him forward until the ring was up to eye level.
"Hmmm..." Alice hummed as she squinted at the ring on the boy's finger, her golden eyes examining the band very closely. Luka watched on, his mind finding itself getting stuck on how surprisingly tender the Lamia's grip was until she quickly released the hand. "...That's odd. Nevermind, that doesn't seem to be it."
Luka raised an eyebrow while lowering his arm, "Doesn't seem to be what?" Alice crossed her arms, though the gesture usually reserved for annoyance seemed to be more in thought now, "I had thought that perhaps your power was connected to this ring of yours, but I was wrong. There is something unusual coming off of it, but it isn't the power that you used against Nanabi."
The purple-haired boy perked up, having almost forgotten about that himself. "So what do you think it could be?" Alice closed her eyes, the boy's question being one that she had been thinking about on and off ever since they left the Cave of Treasures. Unfortunately, though, the Monster Lord could do little more than theorize.
The bottom line was the simple fact that it shouldn't be possible for Luka to use Magic of that caliber. It was far too strong for an untrained and inexperienced Human to do, yet Alice had watched him swiftly defeat Nanabi all the same. And then the way his power felt, it had been unlike anything she'd ever felt before. Then, a thought struck the Monster Lord...
...Alice peered at the wide-eyed boy in an appraising gaze. It was a stretch, certainly, but Luka's latent power might actually be a genetic anomaly.
"It could be that your powers come from something within your family line." Alice offered, to which the boy gave a tilt of his head. The Lamia continued, "There's really no way to know for sure but it could be that, at some point, an extremely powerful Monster altered your family's bloodline."
Luka quickly questioned this, "A-Altered? How would that be?" Alice took a deep breath, taking her time to make this off-the-cuff lesson as easy to digest as possible. "Well, the normal result of a Monster and a Human mating is Monster offspring. However, there have been exceptions that result in male Humans being born instead."
"So... You think one of my ancestors was an exception, and had a Human child with a Monster?" Luka asked, to which Alice merely shrugged, "I'm just saying that it's a possibility. Again, there's really no way of knowing, especially if you don't already know yourself."
The purple-haired boy shook his head, before looking down at his Mother's ring. It was certainly an odd thought; the young Hero never even thought it possible that there would be Monster blood running in his family line. But then again, his parents were the only family he ever knew. He had no siblings, no Aunts or Uncles that he knew of, no Grandparents either. If there was an anomaly like that in his ancestry, he'd be unwise to it.
"...No, neither of my parents ever mentioned something like that. And I've never known any f-family other than them, so I don't really have anybody to ask about it." Alice watched the purple-haired boy mess with the silver band, watching as his face turned somber. The Monster Lord bit her lip, it wasn't an expression that suited his face very well. "I'm sorry if all of this talk about family is upsetting, I'm not trying to drag up any painful memories."
Luka shook his head, keeping his gaze down to his ring. "N-No, it's fine. I know you didn't mean to do anything like that." The young boy gently turned the item around his finger. Then, a curious question entered his mind: Did Alice have parents? Obviously, she had to have had a Mother and a Father, but she had never mentioned them before.
"H-Hey, Alice..." Luka could feel Lamia's golden eyes fall upon him, and suddenly, he felt a lot less confident about asking his question. "...U-Uh, you know, I-I was-" He looked up to meet her gaze but found that his query died on his lips as he met the Lamia's gaze. At that moment, he forgot about the question and simply stood there, staring into the Monster's eyes.
Maybe he was imagining it, but the young Hero swore that he could see something in her eyes. Something strongly empathetic, much more so than he had expected. "Emotional" certainly wasn't a word Luka would use to describe Alice normally, but he could recognize it in her eyes now for sure. It made him wonder if, perhaps, he wasn't the only one between the two with painful memories.
Luka caught himself, realizing that he'd never finished his question in the first place. "...S-Sorry, I-I was just wondering..." He quickly stuttered while nervously shifting his weight from one foot to the other. "...Y-You never mention your own parents..."
It came out less of a question than he had intended, but there was an obvious effect on Alice from the mention alone. She was slow to reply, "They are no longer with me." Alice answered simply, her words saying both so much and so little at the same time. Luka didn't have to ask, he could feel the discomfort in his traveling partner's tone. It seemed to be a sore subject for her as well.
Surprisingly, however, the Lamia continued without his spurring. "My Mother I lost at a very young age; my Father I never knew."
Luka bristled, he hadn't any idea what to expect but Alice's strained tone pretty well conveyed what he needed to know. "I s-see..." Luka said, more so to fill the now very empty air. His pale blue eyes fell away from Alice, landing on the ship's deck below. On one hand, he was a bit glad that she would allow him to know something so personal, but now he was in the very awkward position of not knowing what to say next.
Thankfully - or unthankfully, due to what was to come next - the boy didn't have to say anything to quell the growing silence as a great flash of white surrounded the two.
CRAAA-CRAAACK
A particularly vicious crash of thunder resounded overhead, the sound of the lightning strike shaking the very ship itself. Luka looked up to the sky, watching as the clouds above started to swirl. The young Hero's breath hitched as he noticed how quickly the clouds started to spin when before they had appeared stagnant. In his heart, he knew that this couldn't be any regular storm.
Luka walked to stand at the ship's side, his ungloved hands clinging tightly to the railing as he looked down to the ocean below.
The waves were a bit choppy before, but now they were steadily growing in size, alarmingly so. The purple-haired boy could hear the agitation in the water, the loud cymbal-like crashing scratching at his ears. Normally, Luka was quite fond of water, but at the moment, nothing looked more unfriendly than the turbulence he was now looking down upon.
Ding-Ding-Ding
The soft, almost inaudible dings of Poseidon's Bell resounded out as a gust of wind blew through, reminding Luka of the item that had been his promised savior from this or any storm. The young Hero's hair billowed wildly around his face, this purple obstruction combining with the now misty air to make the small bell almost unseeable. But right at the end of the ship's bow, he could still barely make it out amongst the water below, hanging from the short bowsprit jutting from the boat's front.
Ding-Ding-Ding
Again, the bell rang out, the noise somehow getting louder this time. Luka took another look at the ever-growing storm and noticed something odd: No matter how strong the wind blew or how hard the waves crashed, the relatively small ship seemed to be completely unaffected.
CRRRAAAAAAAACK
Yet another incredibly loud crash of lightning exploded in the clouds above, the sheer force nearly throwing Luka to the ground! Yet still...
Ding-Ding-Ding
...The protection of Poseidon's Bell was steadfast, and the ship sailed smoothly over the waves that would've capsized boats over twice its size. Luka stole a glance over to Alice, who watched the phenomenon with great interest.
After a few more moments, the storm began to die down. The waves calmed, and the clouds above stopped swirling, to which Luka reacted with great relief. "W-Wow, it worked! It actually worked!" The young Hero exclaimed as he turned to Alice with a wide smile. "I-I'll be honest, I was k-kinda worried that this wouldn't actually do anything."
The white-haired Lamia's face was actually impressed, finding herself nodding in agreement. "Truly, it is an amazing treasure. I do wonder how a Human was able to procure it..." The idly thought was quickly banished, however, as Alice's face visibly fell. Luka opened his mouth to ask his traveling partner what was wrong, but he hesitated.
It had become very quiet.
The waves had stopped crashing, the clouds were stagnant once more, and even the light mist of rain had stopped. But now, there was something new: A very thick veil of fog floated up from the water below, crawling up the sides of the boat and onto the ship's deck. Luka eyed the sudden development warily, not sure what to expect now.
"Well, the easy part's over now." Alice said faintly.
Luka, still facing away from his traveling partner, tilted his head in confusion as he asked, "Easy part?" He went to look at Alice and question her further, but his heart sank when he found that the Lamia was gone. 'Oh, that's right...' Luka thought, feeling a bit disheartened. '...There's a Monster attached to this storm.'
The young Hero kept a keen eye on the ever-growing wall of fog that rose in the air, feeling as the cool and wispy air tickled his skin. At the back of his mind, Luka was sure that this wasn't a naturally occurring fog. No, it must be the work of Alma Elma, the Monster behind the storm.
Again, the purple-haired boy had to wonder what type of Monster this was. The name wasn't familiar to him, but if it was creating such a storm by herself, then she had to be immensely powerful. Like before, his mind ran through the possibilities of what this Monster could be. Luka shivered as all sorts of terrible images of scale and tentacle-covered Monsters assaulted his brain for a couple of moments before he vigorously shook his head to clear the thoughts.
'Can't get myself all worked up now. It doesn't matter what type of Monster this Alma Elma is! I need to get to Sentora, and so I will face her if that's what needs to be done!' Luka thought as he removed Angel Halo from his back, now having successfully built his confidence up some even as the fog grew thicker and thicker.
Ding-Ding-Ding
The sound of Poseidon's Bell ringing was caused by a very sudden lurch of the boat, the wooden vessel ever-so-slightly tilting towards the side opposite of Luka. The purple-haired boy's eyes widened some at the very faint creak of the wooden ship's floorboards. He was not alone. Luka pivoted, turning to face the other side of the ship with Angel Halo in hand.
There, standing across the way, was a dark silhouette.
Because of the thickness of the white fog, Luka could only make out a very small amount of detail. In all honesty, he had no idea what he was looking at. From his perspective, it seemed like a big blotch of black with two triangular shapes jutting out of what appeared to be a head. 'Well, definitely not a sea serpent or Kraken. But what the heck is it, then!?' He thought as the figure stayed standing still before him.
Luka felt his anxiety rise as the figure simply stood across from him, not moving or even saying a word. But, what did happen was a bit peculiar. One could chalk it up to simple nervousness causing his body to react in distress, but Luka swore that the very air itself started to heat up. Before he knew it, a line of sweat began to build on his forehead. He rubbed it away quickly with an arm, but it came back just as fast as it had appeared the first time.
The young Hero frowned at the sudden bout of uncomfortable humidity but kept his eyes locked forward. He knew better than to take his eyes off of this Monster. After a few more moments, the silhouette seemed to grow as two indistinguishable shapes started to lift from either side of the shadowy figure. Luka eyed the development with a cautious eye, not at all prepared for what was about to happen next.
Swish
Luka heard a quick movement of something thin rushing through the air, and a significant chunk of the fog covering the ship was dispersed. The young Hero took a sharp breath at the sight before him, the Monster standing before him not being at all what he had expected. For, Alma Elma was no oceangoing Monster. From the dull-white horns jutting from her head and the pinkish-purple bat-like wings that had flapped the fog away, to the thin purple tail softly waving around behind her, all of these details pointed to another, more deviant species than what he had first assumed...
'Oh no, please. Please don't tell me she's a Succubus...' Luka thought, gripping Angel Halo tightly while trying his damndest not to let his fear show on his face. '...By Ilias, I am not ready for that!'
The Monster's bright red eyes seemed to glow as she looked over him, the painfully playful smirk on her admittedly beautiful face not giving him any better feelings. He watched the Monster pace forward some, the regal-blue cape she wore around her body billowing just a bit in the wind along with her very long light-purple hair. The force was just enough to allow Luka to see just a peek of what was underneath.
Unfortunately, the quick sight of bare flesh seemed to indicate that there was not very much in the way of clothes beneath that cape.
The Monster's body shook some as she giggled at him, and then she spoke. "My, so you are the Hero I've heard of. Luka, is it? You look absolute delicious." If Luka was in better spirits, he'd find it funny that Alice's words would be mirrored so soon after she said it but currently, he was having trouble not falling into an absolute panic.
"Y-Y-Ye-Yes, I-I-I'm Lu-Luka..." He answered, unable to keep his voice from wavering. He wasn't sure how this Monster knew his name, but that question fell away to the back of his mind as the young Hero tried to clear his throat, which had become horribly dry. "...A-A-And you are Alma Elma, r-r-right?" The Monster wordlessly nodded her head, amusement dancing in her eyes. She paced closer, spurring Luka to attempt to back up but was cut short by the railing behind him. He shuffled to the right, trying to keep a good distance between himself and the Monster. To his muted horror, the Monster turned her path to follow him, her gleeful smile not wavering as they began to slowly circle around the ship deck.
"Is there something wrong, Luka-boy? You seem a bit skittish. You aren't afraid of me now, are you?~" Alma Elma asked.
'Luka-boy?' The young Hero thought, not sure what to make of that nickname before hesitantly answering back, "I-I'm n-not scared, j-just being careful."
The odd pair continued their waltz about the boat, eventually arriving at the opposite railing. A gust of wind blew again, hitting Luka from behind while hitting the Monster head-on. She sniffed at the air, her bright red eyes glowing once again as her smile widened.
"Ahhh, so you have some experience then? Funny, from how you act, I would've expected you to be untouched if you got this far." Alma Elma commented, much to Luka's confusion. The Monster giggled at his befuddlement for answering his unspoken question, "Hehe, I can smell that you've had some partners already. The most recent was an Elf, am I correct?" Luka froze on the spot, spurring Alma Elma to stop as well.
"You c-can s-smell that!?" He asked, horrified at the implication.
The Monster nodded again, evidently quite amused now. "Of course, I can smell Elf on you. Then, there's... Oh my..." The light-purple-haired Monster giggled, "...some Lamia, as well. Then there's a bit of Harpy... " She took another sniff, her red eyes squinting at him now. Alma Elma's face scrunched up, "...Hmm, I'm not sure what those last two are..."
Luka gave her a questioning look at the comment, but Alma Elma enthusiastically flapped her wings as she stood up straight. "...But yes, as The Queen of the Succubi, I am naturally an expert on all things related to carnality." Alma Elma finally answered with a particularly sultry air.
The young purple-haired Hero felt his heart nearly burst.
Not only had his worst fear about her being a Succubus been confirmed, but she was the Queen of all Succubi!?
THE QUEEN!?
Luka knew about Succubi and their scandalous nature and was aware that he'd most likely encounter some on his journey, but he never thought that the very first Succubus that he would encounter would be the most powerful one! He'd rather fight Granberia a second time, for at least a violent beheading was a quick and somewhat honorable way to die. But with a Succubus, one's fate would be much more prolonged and very...
...Well, he didn't want to think about that.
The young Hero quickly became aware of the fact that Alma Elma was leisurely striding towards him again, her light-purple hair swaying behind her along with her dark blue cape still wrapped around her body. Luka quickly continued his back-pedaling, which apparently was very entertaining to his Succubi adversary. "Didn't you say that you weren't scared? Come on, I don't bite. Unless you ask reaaaaal nicely~"
"N-No, I-I don't wish to be bitten, thank you!" Luka exclaimed as he continued his counterclockwise path around the ship deck. "I-In fact, I'm not interested in creating any conflict here! I don't like fighting." Alma Elma faltered at his words, her bright red eyes looking at him inquisitive as she gave her head a slight tilt.
"Oh, you don't want to fight?" The Succubus asked before giving the boy a wide and rather excited smile. "That's fantastic! I wasn't interested in battling anyways!" The anxiety inside of Luka waned for a moment. Was she serious? Was this Monster actually not wanting to fight him? It'd make things a lot easier for him if he could avoid having to battle such a high-ranking Monster.
Luka lowered his sword a tad, "Really?" He asked, his face relaxing as he continued, "You don't want to fight either?"
Alma Elma shook her head, "Oh no, I don't want to fight you..." Luka watched as two hands slithered out of the middle of her cape and grabbed at the collar of the fabric. "...I want to fuck you." The young Hero gasped as the Queen of the Succubi yanked off her dark blue cape to reveal quite a sight.
The Monster's "clothing" was as revealing as one could expect from a Succubus, her dark purple top seeming just barely able to hold back what was undoubtedly the largest pair of breasts he had seen thus far. Even worse, however, was the horrible excuse for underwear Alma Elma wore, which may as well not even be there considering how thin the garment was...
...Even worse, the boy couldn't lie about the fact that the sight stirred something within him.
Quickly shaking his head, Luka responded with great distress. "WAIT, TH-THAT'S NOT WHAT I-I MEANT!" He yelled, but his plea did not dissuade the Queen of the Succubi, who tossed the cape to the side. "Oh, now you can't go and tease me like and think you can get away with it~" Alma Elma said as she began to stalk the young Hero once more, her strides quick and full of sway.
The sight of the purple-haired boy furiously backpedaling and nearly tripping over himself while the similarly purple-haired Succubus followed would probably be comical to anyone watching, but Luka was internally - and quite a bit externally - freaking out. "I-I didn't mean to give you the wrong idea! H-Honest!" He exclaimed, but again Alma Elma ignored his appeal, instead more interested in other things.
"Now, how would you prefer for us to start?" Alma Elma asked, a wicked grin growing on her face. "I can use my hand and mouth, if that's what you want. Ooo! Or, if you're wanting something nice and pillowy..." She brought her hands up to her chest, giving her breasts a not-so-subtle bounce.
"N-Not... I-Interested... In th-those!" Luka choked out, averting his eyes to the floor. Alma Elma laughed, "Ohohoo, so you want something more deviant? Then how about..." Her grin became absolutely devilish, "...Anal?" The effect was instant, her suggestion spurring a red-faced Luka to snap his gaze up in horror.
"I WOULD NEVER!" Luka screamed, his voice echoing out loud around the ship and out to the ocean surrounding it.
Alma Elma put on an expression of faux-dismay, "Oh, come on, Luka-boy! We need to get this boat a-rockin' somehow, but we can't do that if you're so indecisive~" Quickly, the Succubi's face became feverish as another idea came to her mind. In a rather obscene fashion, the Monster's odd tail snaked forward between her own legs, and she grabbed the limb with one hand. "Ooo, how about this: I'll promise to only use my tail, but if I can beat you with just that, then I can do with you whatever I please!"
The pinkish-purple tail suddenly split into thirds at its end, revealing a dark and wet orifice. Luka twitched, the nature of the limb scratching at the back of his mind in the worst way. It was far too close to being like the pink tentacle that had been in...
...That nightmare.
Luka shook his head furiously, driving that particular memory away. 'Don't think about stupid things like that now, Luka! You need to focus!' The purple-haired boy held Angel Halo tight in his hands as Alma Elma grabbed her tail with both hands now, pointing the leaking end towards the young Hero. "So how about it, Hero? Are you ready to have some fun?~"
Before he could answer - not that Luka had a particularly good answer to the suggestive question - Alma Elma's tail shot at him with alarming speed, forcing Luka to hop to out of reach. But the Succubi wasn't done yet, and her tail extended further to chase after him! With a grimace, Luka stabbed towards the pinkish-purple limb, but his attack was swiftly avoided by Alma Elma who seemed peculiarly delighted by the boy's speed.
"Ooohoo, you're a fast one! I like that, give me a good show you cute little Hero!~" The Queen of the Succubi licked at her lips, before launching her tail at Luka again. The limb shot through the air once more and this time, Luka leaped forward to meet the attack head-on. However, he was surprised when the tail changed trajectory and wrapped around his wrists!
"G-Gah!" Luka exclaimed as his arms became bound within Alma Elma's tail. "Ahaha, gotcha Luka-boy! Now, let's see what we're working with here~"
The young Hero's pale-blue eyes look down in horror as the throbbing end of the Succubus's tail started waving close to his pants. Luka started to panic, before recalling when he was in a similar position in his battle with the Rafflesia girl the day before. The young Hero pointed Angel Halo at Alma Elma, preparing his next attack with vigor.
"Thunder Thrust!"
Alma Elma's bright red eyes widened, the Succubus not expecting the boy's sudden charge. But she quickly retaliated by jumping to the side, letting the boy pass harmlessly by her. Luka fumbled about the wooden deck of the ship, nearly falling flat on his face before he was suddenly pulled sideways. That's when he realized that Alma Elma's tail was still wrapped around his arms!
Luka heard a large flap, the Succubus Queen harshly flapping her wings as she spun around, using both her tugging and Luka's own momentum to send him flying towards the bow of the ship. The purple-haired Hero yelped as he rolled harshly against the wooden deck. He heard Alma Elma laugh as he rose to his feet, "Aha! What a bold little Hero you are. You almost caught me there!"
Alma Elma started to stalk Luka once more, the young boy shuffling backward in response as his mind raced. 'Great, what now?' He thought, no obvious solutions coming to mind. It was clear that Alma Elma had the speed advantage, which was detrimental to Luka since that was undoubtedly his greatest asset. But the Queen of the Succubi seemed to be much quicker, as he hadn't even landed a single hit so far.
The young Hero looked over his shoulder, noting with a bit of surprise that he was only a few steps away from the bowsprit that jutted several meters out from the face of the boat. The gears in Luka's head whirled as an idea came to mind. It was a bit stupid and very risky, but since the long bowsprit had some decent elevation, he could potentially use it to his advantage.
Luka started carefully staggering back towards the long wooden spar, forcing his gaze to stay on the inquisitive-looking Alma Elma. "Hmmm, what are doing exactly, Luka-boy? I didn't think that you'd be the first of us to start dancing on a pole."
The young Hero ignored the lewd comment, grasping the coarse length of rope running between the bowsprit and the boat's mast in his unprotected right hand. "J-Just you w-watch!" He proclaimed in a rare surge of indignation before launching forward with the aid of the rope! The Succubus only had a moment to gasp as the boy yelled his next and newest technique.
"DEMON SKULL BEHEADING!"
Alma Elma flinched, a look of genuine shock appearing on her face as the young Hero catapulted himself at the Succubus Queen. Luka all but hurled Angel Halo downwards, the blade whistling through the air as the young Hero fell through the air. However, right at the last second, Luka was very abruptly stopped by his opponent. Alma Elma's hands came up and caught the blade, each palm gripping the sword on either side. The young Hero fell to his feet, Angel Halo still being stuck in the Monster's grip.
Both of the purple-haired opponents stared at each other with wide eyes; Luka being surprised by Alma Elma's ability to completely negate his attack and Alma Elma being surprised by Luka's burst of speed.
"N-No way..." Luka gasped out before his feet hit the ground again, his sword still caught in the Monster's hands. How could she so easily catch his attack like that? He knew that Queen-level Monsters were strong, but this was unreal! How could he even hope to beat her now!?
"Oh, huh. Guess that I lose." Alma Elma declared flatly, letting go of Luka's sword with a shrug. The purple-haired boy blinked repeatedly, "Ehh, wh-what?" He replied in confusion. The Queen of the Succubi raised her hands, "I said that I'd use my tail alone, but I used my hands to block your sword just now. I broke the rules, so that means you win."
Luka looked incredulous as he began lowering his sword, not at all sure what to make of this. Was Alma Elma just going to concede, just like that? He was well aware that she had said she would only use her tail before the fight, but was she seriously going to uphold that rule? Luka found it strangely honorable - especially for a Succubus - but also quite puzzling.
Alma Elma grinned at the shocked Hero, "So, for now, I will leave you be. But should our paths cross again..." The purple-haired Monster leaned over, giving Luka quite possibly the most ridiculous view of cleavage he had ever seen, her breasts barely being contained by her indecorous clothing. "...I'll give you a taste of what true Heaven feels like." Alma Elma then raised a single finger and ran her long tongue up its side, making sure to make the action as loud and wet-sounding as possible.
Luka flinched, the indecent display again stirring something low inside of him. He looked away with a growing blush, to which the Succubi giggled, obviously taking immense pleasure in his aversion. "Aww, don't be like that. I know you'd like it, but until then, Luka-boy~" Suddenly, a strong gust of wind blew through, and Alma Elma vanished.
The purple-haired boy looked about the ship for a moment, before letting out a heavy sigh. He quickly put Angel Halo on his back and put his hands up to his face, running his palms and fingers down slowly to help alleviate some of his stress. 'That was awful, I don't think I've had a fight go that bad since-'
Luka's eyes bulged as he felt two very large and very soft mounds press up against the back of his head. "Oh, by the way..." He felt a hand run through his hair, the fingers gently caressing his scalp. The young Hero didn't even have to look to see who was the culprit, "...I may be a bit bias since mine is so similar, but I absolute adore your hair!"
He heard the Succubus Queen shift as she leaned down, her head-sized breasts pressing up even more against him. "Just thought I'd let you know before I left~" She whispered into his ear, the sensation sending a wave of pleasure up and down his body. Luka couldn't contain the small and horribly embarrassing squeak that came from his lips, and Alma Elma snickered, "Ahh, sensitive ears? I'll make sure to remember that next time~"
And with that, he felt the Monster disappear once again, a quick turn from the young Hero confirming that she was indeed gone this time.
Frustration overtook Luka, his loud groan of annoyance and humiliation filling the air. His face felt as though it was on fire, and now his pants had gotten uncomfortably tight once again. The young Hero paced over to the mast in the middle of the ship, whirling around to lean up against it before sliding down and sitting before it. He sat in silence, looking down at his hands as he fumbled his fingers around. Eventually, Luka opened up his palms and let his face crash into them once again in an attempt to bury his disappointment.
"That was certainly embarrassing..." He heard Alice call out."I know." His muffled answer came out, keeping his face firmly planted in his hands. Luka's traveling partner slithered closer, "...If she had even took that a hair bit more seriously, you probably would've lost."
"I know." Luka repeated, not really needing the insight.
Alice slithered closer again, the wooden deck creaking as it shifted beneath her. "But, that's to be expected at this stage. You only got one hit on Granberia after all, so fighting the Heavenly Knight of Wind would naturally be just as troublesome."
The sudden revelation hit Luka like cold water, he raised his head out of his palms and gave Alice the most deadpan look the boy's face could pull off. "Did... Did you just say that she was... The Heavenly Knight of Wind?" The Lamia appraised him with a raised brow, "I didn't stutter, did I?"
Overcome with emotions of heated frustration and acute humiliation, Luka simply let his head fall into his face once again.
Alice watched as the boy let out a low groan, her golden eyes taking in the boy's dismay. The lavender-skinned Monster tried to offer a small bit of encouragement, "Take this as a lesson. Now that you know just how under-powered you are, you should have an easier time focusing on getting better." Alice frowned, her words coming off a bit too harsh even to herself. Surprisingly, however, Luka rose from his seat and nodded in agreement.
"Y-Yeah, you're right. I do need to focus more. If Alma Elma hadn't handicapped herself..." The boy trailed off, gripping his left arm lightly with his right hand, "...Well, either way, I have to do better." He looked over to Alice, the melancholy in his eyes showing for a brief moment before he gave her a tired smile. "But, uh, I think I'm done training for today."
Alice nodded, "I figured that much..." She said, before giving a light sniff. The Lamia twitched, smelling something that was becoming increasingly familiar. She stole a quick glance down at the boy's dark pants, now aware of the significant bulge that had formed after his encounter with Alma Elma. Alice's gaze followed Luka much more intently now as he walked over to the aftmost side of the deck, where he had left his traveling bag.
Luka reached down and began unzipping the bag as Alice deliberately snaked up behind him, "Well, I don't know about you, but I'm just a bit peckish. I'm not supposed to have sweets before bed, but just one cookie shouldn't hurt!" He reached into the bag as Alice froze, remembering how she may have "accidentally" devoured the entire bag of treats after the boy had offered her one a couple of days ago.
"Huh, that's weird. Where's the cookies at-"
"Eep!"
Luka stopped dead, his pale-blue eyes peering down at the bag as he felt his hand touch something unusually soft. He turned over to Alice, who seemed to be just as perturbed, her eyes just as wide. "Um, that wasn't you, was it?" Luka asked somewhat dumbly to his friend, even though the Lamia had obviously not been the culprit. Then, without warning, something shot out of his traveling bag!
The two watched on as a small ball of what appeared to be silver fluff hopped out and onto the ship's deck. Then, before their very eyes, the ball of fluff unfurled, revealing Kitsu, the Two-Tailed Kitsune that Luka had encountered in the Cave of Treasures!
"Wh-Wh-What!? Wh-Why were you in my bag!?" Luka asked, watching the silver-furred fox anxiously smooth down her ruffled fur. But before the fox could even open her mouth, however, a certain furious-looing Alice interjected herself.
"Oh no, this is not happening!" The Lamia declared, quickly wrapping her tail around the fox's legs and dragging her towards the edge of the boat!
"WAAH!" The silver-furred fox yelped in terror as the infuriated Alice lifted her up as if to throw her! Luka stumbled, before dashing over to stop the Lamia. He placed himself between the angered Monster and the boat's railing, raising his hands to stop his traveling partner. "W-Wait, Alice, wh-what are you doing!?"
Alice gave a dark smirk, "Oh, nothing. Just making sure that this ship stays under its weight limit. It's better to be safe than sorry." The Lamia hefted her tail backward, the action eliciting another yell from the fox. Luka jumped and waved his hands in an attempt to stop his friend, "Alice, don't toss her overboard!"
"Oh, I'm not going to toss her, I'm going to fling her! Fling her very, very far away! If she's lucky, she'll hit close to some dry land; if my sense of direction is as good as I believe it is, she won't. Let's find out!" Again, Alice pulled her tail back and this time Luka ran back around and grabbed Kitsu by the arms, managing to wrestle the poor fox from Alice's grip.
"Luka, give me the fox..." Alice hissed, turning around to face the boy. Kitsu hurriedly broke out of Luka's grip, scampering around until she was behind the young Hero. "D-Don't give her the fox, Luka! Don't give her the fox!" Kitsu exclaimed, trying her best to disappear the boy's only slightly larger frame.
Finding himself in quite an awful position, Luka raised his hands to Alice again. "N-Now Alice, I-I'm sure there's a perfectly reasonable way to m-mitigate this without any potential d-drowning?" The Lamia slithered over to the pair, the action causing Kitsu to quake in fear as she held onto the boy for dear life. The fox stuttered out, "Pl-Please don't let her k-kill me! I-I didn't even want to hide in there, T-Tamamo had me do it!"
The claim made both Luka and Alice pause, the Lamia was first to start interrogating. "Tamamo told you to stow away in his bag? What for!?" Alice yelled. The silver-furred fox pressed up closer to the young Hero, much to his discomfort. "Sh-She said that it w-would be funny, it w-was supposed to be a prank!"
Luka looked over his shoulder, his confusion showing. "Er, was that supposed to be funny for us or her?" He asked before Alice quickly, and angrily, butted in. "Oh, I'm sure that Tamamo is getting quite the laugh out of this right now!" Luka glanced back at Alice, wondering what exactly the connection between Alice and the Heavenly Knight was. His traveling partner seemed to be a high-ranking Monster herself, so maybe she had crossed paths with the Kitsune before?
"W-Well either way, you can't just throw Kitsu overboard because of that, that's just going way too far!" Luka proclaimed, to which Alice replied with a scowl. "What, you want her here now?"
The young Hero looked away from the intense look, "I-I wasn't trying to say that, I just think that throwing her into the ocean would be a bit cruel, Alice." He said, before trying to appeal to his traveling partner. "Come on, we'll reach Sentora tomorrow and until then, I'm sure Kitsu won't bother you." Luka looked over his shoulder to look at the fox. "Right?"
"R-Right, I'll do whatever you guys want! Just don't throw me over, I'm not a good swimmer!" Kitsu exclaimed.
"Don't tempt me..." Alice growled, earning a pointed look from Luka. The lavender-skinned Monster relented, though her golden-eyes kept glaring over Luka's shoulder at the silver-furred fox. Luka sighed and shook his head, knowing that a particularly uneasy night was ahead of him now.
End of Act 2:
Molding a Hero
And there you have it, now that we've left the Ilias Continent things will start changing even more. Things have been rickety but still somewhat stable so far. However, once we get to Sentora, the amount of danger that Luka will find himself in will raise exponentially. Not to say that every Monster encounter will be completely horrendous of course but expect for things to start becoming more and more disturbing.
Suffice to say, considering how Luka's disposition is, he'll be having trouble coping with this.
I'm also planning on taking a small break before I start writing for the next Act, as getting these last handful of chapters has been admittedly a bit difficult. I was able to consistently update every about 5 days or so, but it's been taking longer and longer for varying reasons. So I think a small reprieve may be needed, at least for the moment.
Though I will probably be going back over the last chapters periodically to check for any spelling/grammar mistakes in the meantime, so if there's anyone who likes reading through fanfics multiple times while waiting, that's why there'll be little changes here and there.
Deadinside378: Yeah, I couldn't resist integrating her back in so soon.