Luka ran through the forest, although he realized he had no idea where the monster girl who attacked Hans was. Seeing how silly it would be to run around like a headless chicken, he instead stopped, looking at his surroundings.
"Where are you, monster?!" Exclaimed the young man, wanting to confront the monster before it would be time for his baptism. He could not afford to miss his coming-of-age ceremony, he was officially 18 and could now fulfill his dream.
He received no answer, which made him feel stupid for even screaming like that in the first place, did he think that the monster would still be here?
Luka continued to walk among the shrubbery and trees until he heard a strange sound from behind him. It was undoubtedly the sound of liquid moving around, it sounded sticky, he turned around to see what was making the unnatural noise.
Suddenly, a monster appears!
More specifically, it was a slime girl who had appeared in front of him, a blue slime girl with an innocent smile. Her face was painted with a light blush, her slimy body jiggling as she walked closer to him. Luka had to admit that her body was attractive, he struggled to avert his gaze from her ample chest and instead focused on Ilias's commandments.
"Hahaha, a delicious-looking boy showed up!" Shouted the slime girl in joy and let out some not-so-innocent giggles. Staring at Luka and assessing his body, her eyes traveling all over his small frame. He noticed her eyes would hover over his crotch region and he felt quite uncomfortable to be checked out in such an obvious way.
"So this... is a monster." Muttered Luka as he realized this was the first time he had ever laid eyes on something that was not human. It was nothing like he had imagined, he didn't expect such a resemblance to humanity. His body was paralyzed as he now thought about his odds. Could he defeat this thing?
"Ararara? Am I the first monster you've seen by any chance?" Asked the curious slime, now even more interested in Luka given his reaction and cute expressions.
Luka steeled himself, even if she was right he could not afford to show weakness. He gripped his sword tight and prepared to negotiate with the monster.
"Um... You're pretty close to a human village, you know? Could you please go away?" Pleaded the hero, hoping that the slime could see reason and leave. He wished to avoid pointless fights.
"Everyone in the village is scared of you... But if you don't mean to harm anyone..." The young hero tried to explain further before he was interrupted by a laugh.
"Hahaha, are you a pacifist or something? I'm too hungry to go away, so there's no point in asking me to leave. Or are you willing to give me some of your semen?" Ascertained the slime girl, suggestively wiggling her slime eyebrows. Luka caught on to what she meant, but no way could it happen.
"Uh... that... I can't do it. One of Ilias's commandments forbids it, so I can't let you have any of my energy." Explained the hero with as much tact as possible, not wanting to escalate the situation if at all possible.
"Well then, guess I'll just have to squeeze it out of you~" Teased the slime girl, now getting ready to take what she came here for.
Luka prepared his blade, and more importantly, his will, he needed to get ready for his first-ever fight with a monster.
The slime girl immediately began forming a puddle on the ground, managing to suck in his foot and restricting his movement.
"Doesn't it feel good to be wrapped in slime? Doesn't the texture feel amazing? Just relax and I'll make you feel even better!" Said the slime girl in a sing-song voice, licking her lips in anticipation of her prize.
"Aww, don't you want to reach heaven? For my slime to wrap around your penis? Giving you the ultimate pleasure?" Laughed the slime girl, taking a step back as Luka reared his arm back to swing at her.
Luka's blade swung and hit her, cutting clean through the slime. At first, he was proud, but that soon turned into horror as the cut was filled back up with slime. His entire attack was negated by some light healing, dampening his confidence.
"Hehehe, I'm a slime you moron! Your sword attacks mean nothing to me." Explained the slime girl, with a smug look on her face.
Luka sent out another swing, and this time it was even bigger with a lot more force behind it, if his small attacks couldn't harm her, then this big one definitely could. The attack completely missed as the slime girl sidestepped his slow swing.
"What a slow attack, how could anyone get hit by that?" Mocked the slime girl, giggling even more at his rather meager combat prowess. This finally shattered his self-image, no one he sparred against in Ilias village could beat him, and now the first monster girl he fought was making him look like a fool.
His body shook rapidly, he couldn't hit her with big attacks since she could dodge. He couldn't hit her with a small attack since she could just recombine and act as if nothing happened. What a troublesome first opponent.
But... What if he could go even further with his small attacks? Attack at a rapid pace to mimic the effects of a big attack but with the speed and unpredictability of a small attack. Something she couldn't dodge and something that would disrupt her healing, if only for a little while.
With this thought, Luka finally took a deep breath and calmed his nerves, releasing his new attack: Flail Wildly. The multiple slashes did more damage than his single attacks, the random slashes seemed to disrupt her slime recombination and made the process of healing that much more complicated.
"Owowowow!" Shrieked the slime girl in pain, focusing her body on recombining, although not being able to do so fully.
"Ahh!" Screamed the slime girl, before tendrils from a puddle of slime wrapped around Luka's arms. Now he was left with no way to defend himself, the slime girl stared at him with a mixture of sadness and anger.
"You... You're gonna pay for that!" Exclaimed the slime girl, pushing him down, about to remove his pants.
"No! Stop it!" Screamed Luka in fear and anguish, he was so close too, but now he had failed, he flopped at the first chance he had to be a hero.
"I'm sorry Betty... I'm sorry Mother..." Luka closed his eyes, not wanting to see what she would do to him. The humiliation from his defeat would be too much to bear.
The slime girl took his belt off, soon about to expose his "little friend" when a sudden fist hit her right in the face, sending her flying into a nearby tree.
"Muda!"
Her slime body splattered on the tree as a small shockwave from the punch caused a gush of air in the area. The slime girl reformed, at a much smaller pace than usual, with tears in her eyes, looking at the person who had just hit her.
"Ow, you meanie!" The slime girl barely said, before she broke into tears and ran away from the scene. Luka turned to see who had just rescued him and was shocked to see it was Giorno.
He had managed to punch that slime girl in the face, quite violently too. And what was that word he said? Muda? That must have been the name of his attack.
"Luka, are you alright?" Asked Giorno as he helped lift his exhausted comrade from the ground.
"Giorno... Thank you. Ten more seconds and I'd have been done for." Thanked the hero, grateful to have been saved by his friend. He was also grateful that the slime girl was only driven away and not killed or hurt that badly. At least physically anyways.
"Don't mention it, I'm sure you would have done the same for me ." Reassured the blonde boy, giving Luka a once over visually, ensuring his comrade had no wounds.
"Should we go back to the village? It's almost time for the baptism." Asked Luka, eliciting a nod from Giorno.
The two males walked along the forest, Luka was ecstatic to finally receive Ilias's blessing and be recognized as a hero. Giorno on the other hand was hoping that Ilias's blessing would dissuade monsters from attacking him like the slime girl did to Luka.
It was a good thing he reached his comrade before he succumbed to the pleasure of a monster girl. The books he read often mentioned "critical ecstasy". The phenomenon a male experiences when they are brought to climax by a monster renders them unable to fight back and often leaves them addicted to the experience a monster provides. They would essentially become slaves to their sick desires at that point.
It was quite reassuring to see a punch could still harm a monster, though with the sheer variety of them in the encyclopedias he read, he did not doubt that his punches would not work on all of them. Slimes were a troublesome category, Giorno lucked out that the slime girl he hit was a weak one, or else they would be in trouble. He barely got away with using his stand within his own body to infuse his striking power, he did not wish to expose his stand to anyone unless the situation was dire.
He summoned his stand exclusively when he was alone in the room so graciously provided by Luka. The disappointment on his face was obvious when Gold Experience appeared before him the first time, he had to come to terms that he no longer had the Requiem arrow on his person, it was likely back in Italy for all he knew. Though it was safer with Polnareff and Mista, it had no business being introduced in this world.
Speaking of which, stands did not seem to exist amongst the people of this world. That would be a foolish thing to say normally, but it's been almost a full year in which he has not been attacked by a stand user. Giorno had to admit, it felt great not having to worry about fighting all the time, he almost felt a bit rusty from the lack of combat. He still decided to keep his life-giving abilities exercise, preferring to grow plants and help around the farming with his "green thumb".
He quickened his pace to match with Luka, who was deep in thought at the moment.
"Beating the monster Lord, eh..." Whispered the aspiring hero, before coming to a stop and staring at the sky. Thinking about his grandeur dreams of coexistence.
Monsters lived in human villages with men in harmony. They still had some quarrels between the races, but it never got too serious. That all changed 30 years ago, in a town near the Monster Lord's castle, Remina. Monsters suddenly attacked the city, quickly destroying the entire city. That incident left the city with no survivors to tell the tale, and monster-human relations have been strained ever since.
But still, there remain places where humans and monsters can remain on friendly terms, despite even the Monster Lord declaring war on humans, despite the hatred on both sides, Luka would not stop until the world could be reunited once more.
'If I'm able to defeat the Monster Lord who's forcing the monsters to do evil, everything will go back to how it was before!' Fantasized the young hero to himself.
"I will defeat the Monster Lord!" Shouted the purple-haired boy.
His blonde partner, on the other hand, was staring at him in concern, he'd just stood there for 5 minutes muttering to himself about coexistence before screaming that last sentence.
"Did you hit your head when you fought that slime?" Asked Giorno, his eyebrow raised.
"Uh...No! Sorry...Hehehe." Quickly responded Luka, blushing a bit as he realized what he had just done.
A sudden crash interrupted the awkward moment between the two males, creating a small earthquake in the area. Luka almost lost his footing completely as a plume of smoke rose from nearby, indicating the source of the sound.
"Wh...What was that?!" Exclaimed Luka in surprise.
"No clue, but it was dangerously close..." Assessed Giorno, glaring over at the direction of the sound, clenching his fists.
'Could this be a stand attack, after all this time?' Thought the gangster, letting Luka run ahead of him as he grabbed a few pebbles and rocks in case of emergency.
Luka was first to arrive at the scene, pushing trees aside as he got to the point of interest. What he had found was...
A beautiful woman, lying on the ground!
Well, technically half a beautiful woman, given that the lower half of her body was that of a snake. Even while unconscious, she seemed to ooze power, she was a powerful monster. How did she fall here?
"Uhm... Ms. Monster? Are you dead?" Inquired the young boy, receiving no answer from the monster below him.
"What should I do? I really can't afford to lose any more time..." Luka said to no one in particular, wanting to stay and help the monster due to his ideals of coexistence, but not wanting to miss the chance to receive Ilias's blessing, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
In the end, he chose to stay and help her, but only just barely. He remained unaware of the blonde boy in one of the tree lines, setting up a clear line of sight on the monster, ready to ambush her if she tried anything.
"If I just left her here, there's no way I could call myself a true hero..." Luka said solemnly, but full of purpose and resolve. He ran over to the monster girl and checked her for signs of life. Just as he finally realized she was still breathing, her eyes and mouth opened.
The monster then got up as if nothing had happened, looking around the forest before staring at the boy in front of her. She crossed her arms underneath her chest, adopting her signature pose.
"Where am I?" Asked the monster rather bluntly.
"Eh?" Luka found himself unable to speak, he was just too nervous.
"I said, where am I?" Said the monster with annoyance, showing some rude manners. Luka finally got a hold of himself and answered with the truth.
"Err... You're close to Ilias Village." Luka told her while trying his best not to set something off. The monster girl closed her eyes, likely going into thought.
"I was blown to such a place...That damn girl, what crazy strength." She softly whispered to herself.
"Girl?" Luka said in confusion, wondering who was being referred to.
"Anyway, who are you?" Asked the monster, not giving him a chance to speak any further.
"I'm the Hero apprentice Luka, from Ilias Village." Responded Luka truthfully, the monster then smiled softly at him with great interest.
"An apprentice... So you haven't been baptized yet? You do smell pretty delicious..." The monster proceeded to lick her lips with a smack, making Luka shiver, before he suddenly remembered something.
"That's right! The baptism! I have to get back before I'm too late." Luka worriedly mentioned, that the monster was unharmed and was in the right state of mind, so it would be fine to leave her now.
"I'll be off then, Ms. Monster." He walked past the monster, exposing his back to her, which in hindsight was a massive mistake.
"Stop." Commanded the monster, coiling her tail around the boy and forcing him to face her.
"I get it now, it's Ilias's birthday, so you want to receive your baptism." Stated the monster with a neutral look on her face.
"That's right, can you please let me go?" Asked the boy, now looking quite desperate.
"Ilias's baptism, how foolish." Chided the monster.
"Foolish?!" Luka screamed in sadness, his entire way of life had just been mocked by this monster.
"Whatever...just...let me go, alright?" He pleaded, having a discouraged look on his face. The monster refused to relent, keeping her tail squeezed around him.
"Why didn't you kill me while I was unconscious?" Questioned the monster.
"A golden opportunity for someone aiming to be a hero, killing a monster like me." Finished the monster, glaring at the hero before her expectantly.
"I didn't know if you were good or bad, there's no way I could just kill you like that." Reasoned Luka to his captor.
"Ho... You don't see monsters as the enemy?" Asked the monster in a bit of surprise, closing her eyes in thought once more.
"There are people who do..." Luka muttered, but he knew he was different, most people were probably afraid of them. Only Giorno was different, he would always repeat the same thing when Luka asked about his opinion on monsters.
'I wouldn't go out of my way to attack one, but I reserve the right to fight back, by any means necessary.' Luka thought about Giorno's threat from a few months back, he seemed quite serious about the 'any means necessary' part too, which made Luka all the more eager to take the lead in fights. Especially after seeing how hard he hit that slime before.
"You... Are you daydreaming? How could you want to be a hero if you don't treat all monsters as an enemy? Is your goal not to kill the Monster Lord? Or is it perhaps fame, ambition, or..." The monster girl continued before Luka interrupted her.
"No... I don't want to be that kind of hero. I don't even hate the Monster Lord. I just want to stop her from doing evil things." Confessed the boy, at his wits end over this situation.
"What?" Exclaimed the monster, her mouth now wide open in confusion, her eyes losing their edge.
"I don't want to kill monsters or even the Monster Lord. I want a world where man and monster can live together peacefully. Coexistence!" Declared the boy, in response the monster regained her composure and put her neutral expression back into place.
"... You're an idiot." Said the monster matter-of-factly after a period of silence.
"Guh. Why am I an idiot? I just want man and monster to..." Luka began before she cut him off.
"Believing in that immature view of world peace, where everyone lives with no issues... Can you call that anything but idiotic? You're just a child with no understanding of how the world works. Monsters living hand in hand with humans? Wake up from that daydream you fool." The monster unleashed a flurry of insults and degrading comments towards his views and ideals, seemingly inconsiderate.
"But..." Luka weakly protested.
"I understand, you're still a child in that mind. Despite coming of age." She smirked after saying that, enjoying putting him down.
"I do believe that will be enough, monster." Came another voice, with footsteps on the forest floor, the monster turned her head to see the owner of the rather mature-sounding voice.
A blonde male with green eyes, wearing a strange two-piece suit, one that showed off his lean chest with what could only be described as a boob window. He had a weird hairstyle, one she had no idea how to describe, though he worked the look with ease. The smell coming off from him was just as intoxicating as that of the boy she had coiled around her tail. Although the blonde interloper had a strange mix of two distinct smells, they meshed well together.
"And who might you be?" Asked the monster, staring deep into his chest.
"None of your business... Let my friend go, it's the least you could do after he checked up on you. Instead, you insult and degrade him over his ideals. Learn some manners." Responded the blonde male with malice, glaring into her eyes with disgust and hostility, yet not taking any aggressive action. The monster noticed he never once looked at her body, only staring her down. He must be very strong-willed, how interesting...
"Fine... Just go, little boy." The monster finally let go, allowing the purple-haired boy to run away.
"What do you know?! You're the idiot!" Screamed the boy as he ran away, obviously hurt by what she said to him.
"Now look what you've done. I hope you're happy. You've genuinely ruined his day." The blonde male took a wide berth around the snake monster, not wanting to be coiled up like Luka, making sure to keep his front-facing her as he left the vicinity in pursuit of Luka.
"Ilias isn't here. She won't celebrate your coming of age or baptize you. Now go away." The priest said bluntly.
His already pale face went grim, and with no other option left, he walked away. Other similarly disappointed adventurers got concerned at his appearance and tried to offer him medicine, he looked like he had just been poisoned. Luka was a bit touched that these people cared enough to help but declined the medicine.
Giorno on the other hand was livid, he had researched this event for the past year, only for it to blow up in his face. Ilias had never abandoned her birthday, what made this year different? All those lies he told the priest about how he too came of age meant nothing now, he'd have to deal with monsters being attracted to his smell and taste when he left this village.
He blamed that snake monster honestly, he had a hunch she was partially responsible for this setback, first, his partner got his spirit crushed and now Ilias abandoned her tradition. Could this day get any worse?
The pair walked back to the inn, however, Giorno noticed something odd in the village, there was an extra person there. Gold Experience gave him the ability of life, an extremely versatile power with many applications. One application is the ability to sense life and to detect the signatures of other beings, animals, or even plants.
Right now, there was a life signature in the inn, standing perfectly still, he recognized it as that of the snake monster. She must have snuck into the village and somehow found their residence. He declined to warn Luka, her intentions were not hostile, at least physically speaking.
As the pair entered the inn, Giorno immediately faced her, not having been surprised by her presence. Luka didn't notice her until she opened her mouth.
"You're slow," Remarked the monster.
"W..What?!" Luka did a double take, almost shouting that response.
"And you realized I was here already, given your lack of reaction." She rightly guessed as she looked over to the blonde male.
"..." Giorno remained silent, his mind racing with battle plans and strategies in this tight space.
"How did you find my house?" Questioned Luka.
"By scent, it was easy to keep track of your smells, they're both quite... special." Clarified the monster, licking her lips once again. Luka blanched and Giorno narrowed his eyes, wondering if she had changed her mind about not being hostile.
"Who are you?" Giorno all but demanded, his tone being interrogative.
"None of your business." The monster said with a smug smile, throwing Giorno's earlier words against him.
"Tch..." Giorno's face remained neutral, despite the dislike he had for this monster.
"But... I'm just a traveling monster, let's leave it at that." Acquiesed the intruder.
"Why did you come here?" Luka jumped in with another question.
"I was interested... And I needed to confirm something." Admitted the monster, acting completely different than how she did in the forest.
Luka was confused and terrified, not at the monster who showed herself to be peaceful, but at the fact a monster was in the village. That would cause a massive commotion in the village, and he'd be run out of the place for harboring an enemy of humanity.
"Why are you here? I hope it isn't to make fun of me. I already couldn't get my baptism, so I think I'm depressed enough." Complained the purple-haired boy, having quite a pitiful look on his face.
"Hearing that is part of the reason I came here. So you couldn't receive your baptism..." Commented the monster, with a satisfied grin on her face.
"I owed her for giving me so many wounds. Goddess that created the world eh? How stupid..." Her grin expanded into a full-on smile, relishing in her gloating.
Giorno knew it, this monster had ruined his plans, at least now he had a reason to dislike her. But to go against Ilias, one had to display great strength, this monster was powerful and likely closely connected to the Monster Lord or her heavenly knights. Giorno had to tread lightly, he could not act without the proper information or situation which guaranteed his triumph.
"You did what? What exactly did you-" Luka began with an accusatory look before being interrupted.
"Food." Was all she had said, instantly shutting down Luka's question.
"Huh?" Was Luka's response, dumbfounded by her request?
"Get me some food. Make yourself useful." Said request quickly turned into a demand from the monster.
"I... I guess I have no choice." Relented the purple-haired boy, going off to the kitchen, not wishing to anger the monster with disobedience.
However, when he arrived at the kitchen, he realized his pantry was empty, there wasn't any food left as he planned to leave after today. He just stood there like a dunce when he realized he had his emergency rations, it was quite painful to give up his backup plan, but it was all he had at that point. He walked into the living room, coming into the strange scene of the monster staring into Giorno's exposed chest.
"Dried meat." Said Luka, depositing the meats in her hand. The monster sighed in disappointment, looking at the meat with a judgmental gaze.
"You make me sick. Oh well, guess I can have this as the appetizer." Groaned the monster as she took a bite. Giorno instantly put himself between the monster and Luka, keeping his shorter friend behind his arm. The monster ate the meat, now adopting a smile as she made some noise while she chewed. Once finished she let out a sigh of satisfaction.
"Not too bad after all... The seasonings and spices compliment the meat well." The monster uncharacteristically praised the meal, making Luka smile a bit.
"I practiced how to cook in preparation for my journey. I need to know how to cook when I set up camp. Not that I was able to become a hero."` Said the discouraged boy, allowing his shoulders to drop.
"Oh..well... Guess I'm fine with the appetizer. The main dish won't be necessary." The monster compromised, although one could tell she still looked hungry.
"Main dish?" Luka asked, he didn't have any other food to give her. He finally caught on to her words, after the dried meat, it would be human meat. Luka shivered and hid himself even further behind Giorno, who remained still.
"Why else did you come here? To make fun of me for not being a hero?" Accused Luka, barely poking his head out from behind Giorno.
"I said too much earlier. You just sounded so childish, I couldn't help myself. But that's why I wanted to clear the air now. I've traveled the world and seen some idiotic things, but your childishness is a good thing." Admitted the monster, doing her best to comfort Luka.
"..."
"What's with that face? I'm trying to comfort you." The monster said with annoyance.
"You don't seem too good at that." Remarked Giorno, not impressed with whatever that speech was.
"What are you going to do after this? You wouldn't just give up on your journey, right?" Inquired the monster.
"Just as I planned, I'm going to defeat the Monster Lord." Replied Luka, not exactly comfortable with leaving to go on his journey without the blessing.
The monster then looked straight into Giorno's eyes, raising her eyebrows in anticipation.
"I will be joining him, although it is regrettable to not have been baptized." Confirmed the blonde male.
"Hahaha... That's good. You two are very interesting." Laughed the monster, expressing her intentions.
"We are?" Queried Luka, wondering what she meant by that.
"You're able to say such ridiculous things about coexistence and your friend seems quite eccentric." The monster explained her reasonings, smirking again.
"It's not ridiculous! Just you see! I'll beat the Monster Lord and establish coexistence!" Luka threw an almost childlike tantrum over her last remark.
"I wonder how long you'll be able to keep those ideals. I'll have to follow you until that delusion wears off." The monster stated, already planning on doing it regardless.
"I was going to travel the world, might as well do it with you two." Confessed the monster, seemingly happier with this arrangement.
"Fine, do what you want. It's not like I could force you away anyway." Luka gave up on trying to convince her otherwise despite the glare from Giorno.
"By the way, what's your name?" Questioned Luka, wanting to stop referring to her as Ms. Monster.
"Alipheese Fateburn, but I will allow you to call me Alice." The lamia stated with pride, eliciting a suspicious look from Giorno. The name sounded regal and almost demanded respect from whoever spoke it.
"Alice? That doesn't fit." Luka off-handedly commented, unaware of what he had just implied.
"Do you want me to strangle you?" Alice threateningly said, her tail rising to attack.
"Ack! No, I'm sorry!" Luka quickly apologized, not wanting to suffer his new companion's wrath.
"I have a business to attend to before we leave, I will meet you at the road out of the village. Try not to cause a scene." Giorno calmly said, quickly leaving the home.
"What a gloomy person, he reminds me of that slime." Alice said as she got caught up in nostalgia.
"That's just how Giorno is, but his suggestion makes sense, could you please keep hidden and leave? I don't want the villagers to freak out." Luka practically pleaded, getting his bags and equipment ready.
"Hmph... Fine, I'll be at the entrance to the village, hidden away. Don't take too long, or else I'll get hungry." Alice half joked as she slithered out the back door.
'Giorno huh? What a bizarre man' Alice thought to herself, wanting to learn more about the unique male she would be traveling with.
He had a wonderful poker face, but even that couldn't hide the distrust and hostility he had for her. It was quite strange, a naive hero and a strange man who was street-smart. How did these two become friends? This she had to see...
Luka finished packing his bags and ensured his equipment was up to snuff, taking one last look at his home.
"I'll be heading off, Mother..." Those were the last words he spoke as he closed the door behind him, preparing himself for the future.
After some heartfelt goodbyes, even a respectful goodbye from that priest, Luka left his entire life behind. He desperately wanted to stay and live his life in comfort, but his resolve to change the world pushed him forward.
For the last time, he walked out the gates of the village, heading up the path northbound. It wasn't long before he met up with Alice, waiting for him while fidgeting with her hands.
"Finally... Wait, where's the other one?" Alice groaned as she would have to wait even longer. A few minutes later, Giorno's figure was visible, though there was a difference one could take note of.
He was wearing a different suit, instead of black with green highlights, it was a dark navy blue with golden highlights. On his hands were bright green gloves which matched his similarly colored shoes.
The green ladybug broaches were replaced with red ones. Even his hair seemed a lot messier than before, his top locks of hair being less restricted, his braided portion in the back now tied with a red hair tie.
"Apologies for being late. I needed to readjust my clothing." Giorno casually said, moving some hair out of his face.
"Where did this come from?" Asked Alice, wondering about the change in clothing.
"I had these clothing items commissioned a few months back. I got tired of wearing the same old suit all the time." Giorno explained.
"I see..." Luka said, noticing his friend had makeup on. He thought it strange but who was he to judge someone else's taste in fashion?
After a few hours of walking...
"Oh Ilias... Did you abandon me? I waited for today for so long... and I wasn't able to be baptized in the end." Complained Luka.
"Isn't it better to not have been baptized? I don't understand why humans want to be slaves to Ilias." Alice practically scoffed, not bothering to hide her disdain for monsters.
"Being a hero has a lot of perks you know. You can get the respect of the people, cheap rates at Inns, and you can even walk into people's houses and take stuff." Luka explained as if what he just said wasn't completely weird.
"I'm sorry, what did you say?" Giorno looked over at his friend, questioning his character now. Not with disappointment, but with renewed interest, was he interested in thievery too?
"Walk into people's houses and take things?" Giorno repeated, making Luka squirm a bit. The blonde boy couldn't help but imagine being sanctioned by a higher power to take whatever he wanted.
"Are you a thief or something?" Alice jumped in when she smelled blood in the water.
"Er no... it's not quite like that. Most importantly, you get Ilias's divine protection. If you come across any monsters, she will protect you." Luka concluded.
"It's actually because the semen of a baptized human tastes awful. So monsters aren't as likely to attack them." Alice cleared up, not wanting Luka to get the wrong idea.
"That... makes sense, considering how monsters operate. How bad do they taste?" Giorno asked, his curiosity now peaked.
"Baptized people taste like angel liver," Alice informed.
"I should have kept quiet. " Giorno muttered, checking out of the conversation after that horrifying statement, and the implications of it.
"Thank goodness you two smell delicious." Alice complimented, although she looked hungry yet again as she licked her lips.
"By the way, where are you headed? Going directly to the Monster Lord's castle?" Queried Alice.
"Well... We'll end up there eventually. Right now, we're a little bit north of Ilias Village. We'll be staying on this continent for a bit longer. Our current destination is Iliasburg. If we keep our current pace we'll be there by this time tomorrow." Luka blurted out.
"Oh come on, Iliasburg, Iliasport, Ilias Village, IliasIliasIlias. What's with the cheesy names?" Growled out the annoyed Alice.
"Are you going to throw a tantrum every time Ilias is mentioned?" Giorno asked, his patience for her antics wearing thin.
"Don't use that tone with me. More importantly, I'm hungry again." Threatened the monster.
"Again? Do monsters have a higher metabolism than humans? Or are you a special case?" Questioned the blonde male, wanting to know his potential enemy more.
"The more powerful a monster, the more energy they require." Alice proudly stated, unaware of the tip-off she gave Giorno.
"We can set up camp once the sun goes down, I'll cook for us all there, okay?" Luka offered, seeing that the situation was getting out of hand.
"Hmph... You better do your best then." Came the ominous warning from the monster.
Giorno quickened his pace, not wanting to communicate any further with the monster. He walked ahead out of earshot, surveying the flowers and trees as he ventured forward.
"How did you befriend that man? He seems too old-fashioned to be with someone as young and idiotic as you." Alice asked, curious about how the two met.
"Giorno isn't that old," Luka admitted as the trio walked along the path.
"He's at least 18 years old like you, you were both supposed to get baptized. I'd even bet he was older than he admitted, looks around 25 years old. Don't tell me a grown man lied about his age in desperation to receive a baptism." Alice mocked.
"Well... we kind of agreed to go on this journey together a while back. He lied about his age, just a bit." Luka sheepishly confessed, rubbing the back of his head.
"Ha! I knew it..." Alice had a wide and annoying grin on her face.
"But...he isn't 25 years old, he just turned 16 last month. He doesn't look his age though. Ah... Some people get all the good luck..." Luka lamented, very envious of his blonde friend's height. He always got confused for a kid back then, some people even jokingly treated him like one, was it too much to ask for just an extra 5 inches?
"He's 16?!" Alice exclaimed in shock, the first time she raised her voice to such a degree.
"Is that an issue?" Giorno inquired, revealing to have been listening in on their conversation.
"I can't believe this, you're the youngest of us all? Your genes are absurd, were your parents like this when they were younger?" Alice further questioned, sparking a conversation with the blonde boy.
"Not my mother, she was described as beautiful but from what I've seen it most likely came from my father." Giorno elaborated.
"Most likely? Why say that?" Alice pressed further.
"I never met my biological father, it was just me and my mother for some time." Giorno finished, unintentionally gaining some empathy from Alice.
"Me too, I never met my father... it was just my mother and I." Alice softly mentioned before going silent.
"Alice?" Luka said as he glanced around, noticing that she disappeared.
It was then that something entered Giorno's range, an entity gradually walked towards them. It looked like a human woman, but the skin color and clothing looked strange, and what solidified his perception of friend or foe was the trail of mucus left behind as she walked. She was a slug monster, something that became obvious by her slimy and pale skin.
"What is that?" Asked Luka, confusing the monster for a woman.
"Travellers, unbaptized too. You look..." The slug girl trailed off as her eyes glanced over to Giorno, one could see her pupils dilate as her stomach growled.
"Hello there, handsome~" The slug girl flirted, a deep blush on her face.
Giorno had dealt with women before, but they only wanted his attention in the form of dates or getting to know them. He had no clue how to handle one that wanted to get into his pants, so he did the only reasonable thing and backed up, getting to a safe distance from the slug.
"Luka... we need to deal with her." Giorno got into a battle stance and Luka drew his blade.
This was his second fight with a monster, the first time almost turned into a loss. Only through Giorno intervening had he been saved. Luka did not want to let this monster get punched by Giorno, the slime could reform without much damage but this slug would suffer a nasty injury
"I can handle this Giorno! Don't worry about me." Luka stepped closer to the monster, getting into a battle stance of his own. Giorno stood near a tree as he watched the upcoming fight.
The monster lifted her 'skirt', revealing the inner flesh that made both males sick to their stomachs.
"While tasting my sticky mucus, I'll make you come over and over~," The slug girl said, winking at Giorno, who now frowned and looked away from the spectacle.
Luka immediately struck the slug girl with a heavy blow, the blade slamming into the monster at full force. The blade made contact with her skin and stopped with no real effect, shocking Luka.
"Not again..." Luka said grimly, first the slime and now the slug girl. How bad was his luck?
"Hahaha, that weak attack won't hurt me." Mocked the slug girl before she sprayed some mucus at Luka, hitting him over his body and making moving that much more difficult.
"Guh... If slashing won't hurt you, I'll just have to stab you!" Luka shouted as he stabbed the monster in the stomach. The point of his blade bounced off her mucus-covered skin.
"Damnit!" Luka cursed in frustration.
"I'll get on top of you...with this slug body." The slime girl said as she knocked Luka down and placed her lower half over him. The sticky flesh almost bonded to his skin and clothing.
Luka struggled as the flesh began to rub on his body, particularly near his sensitive regions. The flesh also kept secreting mucus over him, making the experience sticky.
He managed to pull himself out, trying to think of a plan to drive away the monster. If she was a slug girl, then maybe she inherited the weakness of slugs...
He pulled out a bag of salt, threatening the slug girl with it.
"Salt?!" Shrieked the slug girl, backing up a bit. Luka was about to dig into the bag and throw it at her when something else set off the slug girl.
It was a singular hedgehog, scurrying into the fray with a strange sense of purpose. Then from another angle came some ground beetles, followed by a snake.
For Luka, this was a strange sight, for the slug girl, it was a hellish experience. These were a few of the known predators of slugs and she had an irrational fear of them.
The slug girl ran off before Luka had the chance to throw the salt at her, ending the encounter. The animals then went off on their way, disappearing into the bushes, their hidden purpose complete.
"How lucky, it seems that slug has a phobia of slug predators and salt." Giorno explained to the confused hero, playing off the situation as normal.
"What a pathetic-looking fight... You almost threw away our seasoning salt. " Alice commented.
"That slug girl needs to get over her idiotic fears too." Alice berated.
"And where did you go?" Inquired Giorno.
"I didn't go anywhere, I just don't want other monsters to see me." Alice established.
"Why? What possible reason do you have for that?" Giorno demanded.
"Personal reasons..." Alice simply said, avoiding the question entirely.
"If you were watching, you could have helped..." Luka pointed out meekly.
"Don't get hasty, I'm not your ally, I'm just observing." Alice made clear.
"If you become a monster's food, I'll just abandon you." Alice bluntly said.
"You're deadweight to us then." Giorno pointed out.
Giorno walked ahead and ignored her. Leaving the fake hero and the monster behind. Luka let out a sigh of relief as the situation de-escalated, Giorno seemed to have a short fuse for annoying or 'useless people' but he never let himself blow up on others.
"What are having for dinner?" Asked Alice, still hungry and impatient.
Luka agreed with Giorno's assessment, but he lacked the courage to say it out loud.
"Ah... I'm stuffed." Luka sighed as he put his plate down on the log. He was glad he didn't have to resort to throwing the salt at that slug girl, though he felt no less guilty about the alternative she received.
Giorno remained silent for most of the dinner, irked by Alice, only thanking him for the meal. He just wanted to ignore her presence at this point, but that was difficult considering that she had been making noises of satisfaction and delight as she ate.
"Very good... you were able to make something amazing." Alice complimented uncharacteristically, Luka smiled and practically glowed in joy.
"If only you were as good with your sword." Alice mocked, leaving Luka with a frown once more.
"Where did you learn that technique anyway? It's so horrible, it pains me to watch." Questioned the lamia.
"What are you saying? I've been training for five years." Luka disclosed, very hurt by her comment.
"I thought it was your first time." Another offhand comment from Alice followed up.
"That was 5 years of training?" Giorno too was concerned, questioning his comrade's competence.
"I learned it from pilgrims who came to visit the temple," Luka claimed.
"Luka... I don't think old men who haven't fought monsters are in any position to teach you anything about fighting one for real. This must be where the 'Luka attack' originated from." Giorno concluded.
"Crappy skills learned from crappy people will be crappy even if combined," Alice added.
"Here, let me teach you a little..." Alice offered, after an awkward silence.
"You don't need to... It would be weird to learn swordplay from a monster." Luka replied.
"Is that discrimination? I thought you wanted coexistence, yet you refuse to learn from a monster..." Alice retorted.
"Alright... Please teach me." Luka acquiesced.
"Good, it would be boring to see you eaten this quickly. I'll teach you to fight monsters." Alice said with a smile on her face.
The pair practiced for a few hours, the evening sky becoming dark and filled with countless stars. Alice put Luka through the proper basics of swordsmanship. Now he could actively use his blade correctly, passively benefitting his normal attacks.
"Use your legs, not just arm strength." Alice pointed out.
"Like this?" Luka demonstrated.
"Good." Alice complimented with a proud smile.
By the end of the lesson, Luka was even taught a new skill: Demon Decapitation.
"Demon Decapitation... Perfect for someone small like you. A small body is good when you charge in and cut at the enemy's neck. It is said that the Dark Elf Zack was able to cut the heads off 100 humans using that skill." Alice explained, horrifying Luka.
"I er... was hoping you'd teach me a more heroic technique." Luka lamented.
"Beggars can't be choosers." Alice shrugged her shoulders.
"What about Giorno? Aren't you gonna teach him something?" Luka asked.
"Why should I? He's not a swordsman, nor do I want to teach him anything. I doubt he'd even entertain the thought. From what you've told me about him, his fists are how he fights anyway." Alice joked, unaware of how close to home she just hit.
The two returned to camp. spotting Giorno keeping guard at the fire. Things looked normal until the pair noticed him petting a rather dangerous snake, the same one that ambushed the slug girl.
"Why were you petting that snake?! Why isn't it biting you?!" Luka yelled out, in fear for his comrade's safety.
"I'm good with animals, this one won't hurt us. I can guarantee it." Giorno said, letting the snake slither off into the dark forest.
"Hmph..." Alice wasn't as convinced, thinking something bizarre was afoot. Was this boy an animal whisperer?
"Alice, are you not going to use a sleeping bag?" Luka asked the lamia.
"I don't want to sleep in something so restrictive. I'll just sleep here." The lamia said before she coiled around a tree.
"By the way, idiot. Where did you get that ring?" Alice queried, staring at the object in question.
"You can't eat this, Alice," Luka said in a tired tone, amusing Giorno slightly.
"Moron, what the hell do you think goes on in my mind?" Alice spat back, genuinely offended by his remark.
"It's just that you're always talking about how hungry you are..." Luka began but soon trailed off.
"Idiot. I feel something faint from that ring." Alice explained her reasoning for the initial question.
"Something faint? I don't know what you're talking about. This is my mother's keepsake. Ten years ago, she died of an illness" Luka stated, with pain still etched onto his face. This was a major sore spot for him, even a decade later.
"I see, I'm sorry to hear about that." Alice faintly said, closing her eyes in understanding.
"Ah... thank you," Luka said, not used to Alice being that respectful.
"What's with the surprised look on your face? We're the same as humans in that respect. We both are sad when a parent dies." Remarked Alice, alerting Giorno to the meaning of her words.
"I suppose you'd be right. My condolences... to both of you." Giorno respectfully said, knowing what it's like to lose someone who meant so much, not exactly a mother though. He made sure that the last part was only audible to Alice, keeping her affairs private.
"You had to have cared a lot about your mother and I'm certain she loved you unconditionally. Your grief is like the ocean, sometimes it is calm and other times it rages, all that can be done is to learn how to swim in it." Giorno advised, elevating the mood just a little bit.
"Giorno..." Luka said, touched by his friend's words.
"What's with you saying something like that? Do you think it's going to put you in our good graces or something? You're still just a kid. " The monster said, crossing her arms and looking away, finding the moment sweet. She also appreciated how he kept quiet about the implications of her secret, his personality confused her. One moment, he's all serious, the next moment he can say something heartwarming. It was like two personalities fighting for control of his actions.
"Um... And your father, Luka?" Alice quickly followed up, trying to change the subject.
"He died before my mother did..." Luka replied, his face blank.
"Oh... I see now. Your father went out to defeat the Monster Lord, and he never returned. Now you took up his dream and will do anything to achieve it." Alice deduced although the answer she got was unexpected.
"Sorry, but you're wrong. That guy died of his own stupid mistakes." Luka harshly answered, his resentment for his father clearly showing.
"Hmm... That is unusual, for someone who's head is filled with sugar and rainbows to say something like that..." Alice pondered out loud, curious about his father now.
"Enough about me, what about you? Why are you here?" Luka asked quickly, wanting to stop opening old wounds.
"I'm..." Alice struggled, trying to find the words.
"I believe she established she was the only daughter of the Fateburn family, and she wanted to explore the world." Giorno finished, giving her the perfect cover story. Alice was now smiling, hiding a bit of pain behind it.
"She did?" Luka asked.
"Yes... Maybe you were being too much of an idiot to listen." Alice expertly deflected.
"You couldn't possibly... be scouting human settlements for an invasion, could you?" Luka queried with an expression of fear, making the monster laugh.
"Hahaha... What an interesting thought." The monster chuckled, before pulling out a thick book.
"Look at this book! This forbidden book contains everything about the human world. Geography, environment, food... it has it all!" Declared the monster as she laughed once more.
"The Traveling Guild's World Traveler Guide! This book is marked 867, it's 500 years old!" Luka exclaimed in wonder.
"Oh...I thought it looked odd." muttered the lamia.
"That's amazing, it's like a piece of history! Imagine how much we could sell it for!" Luka continued, getting right up to the book.
"I'm not selling it, idiot." Alice refused, shattering Luka's dreams of a boost in money.
"Ahem... I'd like to propose a deal..." Giorno interjected.
"I told you, I'm not selling it," Alice repeated.
"I'm not asking for that; I would like to read it. That is all." Giorno clarified the terms.
"Read it? I... don't know. It's a family heirloom." Alice hesitated to hand the book over.
"If you let me read the book, I'll give you my portion of the breakfast Luka will make." Giorno offered, immediately hooking Alice into giving the book.
"Deal." Came out of her mouth immediately after hearing Giorno's offer.
"I'm glad you saw reason, pleasure doing business. Go ahead and sleep, I'll be up for a while longer." Giorno said, walking to the campfire and sitting down beside it, cracking open the book.
Luka got into his sleeping bag, allowing sleep to overtake his exhausted body.
"Luka... Oh, brave Luka..." That sweet voice whispered.
"Hmmmm...?" Luka opened his eyes, once again in the clouds, Ilias was in front of him again.
"Ilias!?" He exclaimed.
"Luka... You aren't baptized and remain unblessed. However, never lose faith in yourself." Encouraged the goddess.
"Ilias...Just what do you mean?" Luka asked in confusion.
"Luka...unblessed Hero Luka... I'll always be watching you..." Ilias declared.
"Ilias!" Luka awoke by screaming that name, jumping out of his sleeping bag.
"Alright! I can do it!" Luka said with renewed courage after seeing his Goddess directly root for him.
Giorno was wide awake, reading the book Alice lent him while fixing his awful bed hair. The lamia in question was still wrapped around a tree, only waking up after his loud yelling. The kitchen was prepped by Giorno, and all the ingredients needed for the breakfast were laid out.
"Thanks, Giorno..." Luka gratefully said, happy that at least one person took the time to help him out.
"No problem. Remember, give her my portion." Giorno aptly reminded.
"Ugh... What's with all the noise so early in the morning?" Alice groggily said, her eyes slightly red.
"Whatever, just make me something to eat." Demanded the monster.
Luka got around to making their breakfast of fried eggs, bread, and salad, an extra person's portion allocated to Alice. She was happy to see that Giorno kept up his side of the deal, devouring the food all the same. Right after breakfast, Luka said his traditional prayer.
"Oh, great Ilias... Please give me your blessing today, as well." Luka prayed, staying dutiful to his goddess.
"Already saying stupid things so early in the day?" Admonished Alice.
"I'm just giving thanks to Ilias. One of Ilias's five commandments is to be dutiful in your prayers." Luka explained.
"Five commandments? Ilias likes to force people to do stupid things, huh? And to do those stupid things happily... Do you like being her slave?" Alice retorted, a hateful expression on her face.
"Similar to how monsters force humans to give them semen. But we don't speak about that, do we?" Giorno mentioned, still reading the book.
"That's not the point. Doesn't Ilias hate monsters? Doesn't that go against what you believe in?" Alice rightly asked.
"Even if that's the case..." Luka started, not having anything to retort with.
"What's with her prohibition on relations with monsters? Most monsters can't breed if they don't mate with humans. So for as many monsters as there are in the world, there are just that many humans who have broken the law." Alice pointed out.
"How many of those humans did so willingly?" Countered Giorno, destroying her argument.
"Tch... But still, even if they were forced, some humans did so willingly." Alice backtracked, caught in a bind.
"Ah! That's true..." Luka realized.
"Did you just realize that now? Idiot." Alice characteristically mocked.
"There's that many people who've broken that commandment. But...if it was followed, that would effectively exterminate the monsters by not allowing offspring." Luka finally said.
"If everyone followed that law, the world you dream of will collapse. Do you still think it's something good?" Alice argued.
"I'm sure Ilias has some sort of plan." Luka shrugged, believing in his Goddess.
"Geez, can't think for yourself, huh? Must be convenient to blindly follow a god." Alice insulted.
"You don't need to say it like that. Let's just head out." Luka advised, before helping Giorno pack up the camp.
The trio headed off to Iliasburg, walking at a good pace, Luka found himself feeling nostalgic. He remembered the time he had been at Iliasburg, once a few years back.
"It's a huge city, the main street was filled with adventurers, merchants, and all sorts of people. Tons of different things in the shops too." Luka excitedly said, gushing with anticipation.
"Hahaha, I'm also looking forward to it." Came the cheery reply from Alice.
"You are?" Luka inquired, nervous about her motives.
"The famous Sutherland Inn, at Iliasburg is known for their Happiness Honey Filled Ama-ama Dango. Any gourmet would salivate at the thought of tasting it." Squealed Alice in delight, her mouth watering already.
"It's been 500 years, who knows if that hotel will still be there." Luka rationally said.
"And? It's just 500 years." Alice bit back, not at all understanding the point.
She gradually went silent, prompting Luka to turn his head, finding out that she left once more. All he could see was Giorno following closely behind, too busy reading to pay attention to anything. Luka stumbled upon a strange plant in the middle of the path, confusing him.
"What's this?" Luka wondered aloud as he pulled the plant up with all his strength.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Came to the screech of a female voice, both Luka and Giorno collapsed.
"Luka? What did you do?" Giorno asked, stuck lying face down.
"What the hell are you doing? I was finally asleep too!" The mandragora shouted in anger.
"I'm sorry... Eh? I can't move my body... what is this?" Luka struggled as he spoke, not moving an inch at all.
"That's because you heard my scream. It can even kill people with weak hearts." Bragged the mandragora girl.
"Well, I'll go back to sleep now... But I'll be able to sleep longer if I have some nourishment." The mandragora girl said with a sinister smile.
"Oh...that's just wonderful..." Giorno didn't have to be a mind reader to know how this was going to play out.
"That's right, it'll be wonderful to have your semen as my nourishment...I'll suck plenty out, so get ready boys~" The mandragora teased, moving close to Luka first. What followed was the most sickening moment of Giorno's life.
The sounds of his comrade's belt and pants falling were bad enough, but the slurping and moans that followed nearly made him vomit. It was only through good luck that his head had fallen in the ground, away from friend being molested. Both males desperately fought against their bodies, to no avail. Luka was getting close to giving in, something had to be done, something drastic.
Giorno could feel his hands again, so he reached for an exposed tree root, grazing it with his fingers and flooding it with life energy. The root grew and burrowed underground, twisting around the mandragora and pulling her away from Luka just as he was about to lose his composure. At that moment, he too snapped out of the paralysis and attacked the plant monster, landing a hit over her head.
"Kyaa! You don't know when to give up, do you?!" Screamed the monster, rubbing her head.
"Fine! I'll go sleep somewhere else!" The monster angrily dove underground and tunneled away.
Luka focused all his efforts on pulling his pants up, while Giorno got up and picked up the Travellers Guide. Giorno shot Luka a disappointed gaze, who in turn looked down with a bright blush, feeling intense embarrassment over his actions.
"You drove it away, how absurd..." Alice commented, appearing back in sight.
"Where did you go?" Luka asked between deep breaths.
"If there's even a chance of combat, I'm going to hide. I told you before that I'm not going to help you, didn't I?" Alice brought up, reminding him that she had no intentions of helping him.
"But how horrible, you attacked that mandragora who was minding her business sleeping. Your barbarian methods are spreading Giorno." Alice teased.
"What? She attacked us first..." Luka tried to communicate.
"That entire encounter would never have happened if you just left her alone. Why bother doing such useless things?" Giorno scolded.
"Erk..." Luka blanched, finally admitting that he screwed up.
"Hahaha, looks like you have a violent side. That's good. With barbarism like that, you won't be able to fulfill your dream." Alice mocked, a grin appearing on her face.
"It was just a mistake, okay?" Luka tried to salvage the situation.
"Then make sure to show me your true character..." Alice concluded.
"Giorno, I'm sorry. This won't happen again." Luka promised although the blonde boy didn't seem that convinced.
It was around sundown as the trio walked, the town of Iliasburg was in clear sight. But before they entered, Luka stopped and turned to the lamia.
"Alice... are you able to disguise yourself as a human?" Luka asked, concerned about the intense hatred for monsters this continent had. He wondered what the reaction would be if a lamia just slithered in, probably mass panic.
"Taking the form of a human is unpleasant. Why should I have to pretend to be human?" Alice questioned with indignance.
"If you can't enter as a monster, how will you try those Ama-ama Dangos?" Giorno quickly said, putting the book away for now, just wanting to go rest at an inn tonight.
"Crap... That's true. How does this look?" Alice asked as the shapeshifting took effect. Her pale blue skin turned into a healthy shade for humans, and her tail became two human legs, though her revealing clothing remained the same.
Luka glanced at both of his strangely dressed companions; this party looked strange. People would no doubt get the wrong idea about the three of them, but that was better than getting run out of town for traveling with a monster.
"That works..." He said, moving onwards, flanked on both sides by Giorno and Alice.
"Why is this town empty?" Giorno asked. The description of the town in the book and Luka's eyewitness accounts made this place out to be crowded with a variety of people. All around, he felt the life signatures of people cowering in their homes, the aura in this town was one of dread and fear.
"What's going on?" Luka yelled, running down the main street of Iliasburg. Passing by many abandoned stalls and stores until he reached the plaza.
There he saw a lone figure, standing near the fountain in the center. He quickly hid behind a nearby building and peeked out to analyze the person's appearance.
The person in question was female, wearing some metallic armor over her body which only seemed to target her modesty. The rest of her exposed body was covered with thick green scales, natural armor stronger than steel.
Her hands had sharp claws at the tips of her fingers, her ears were pointed and long. The monster's eyes were bright yellow, shining with the experience of a veteran swordsman.
Her blade in question was long and looked deadly, anyone cut with it was promised with a quick death. However, the countless bodies strewn about the plaza had no visible cuts, some even still moving as the armored men breathed faintly in their unconscious state.
Only three men were left standing among the carnage, breathing heavily as they confronted the monster who had dispatched their allies with ease.
"You three. Are you going to fight?" The scaled monster asked.
The soldiers only backed away at the sudden question, fear taking over them. At the last moment, they held their weapons tighter, newfound courage in the face of certain defeat being born.
Only you three are left... Are you going to watch while I take control of this city? Or are you going to be a Hero and try to face me?! Well... Hurry up and decide!" The monster challenged, her blood boiling and her urge to fight at an all-time high.
"Grr... Damn you! I won't let a monster like you do whatever you want!" One of the soldiers said, another one joining him as they approached her.
"That's the spirit. But even if you have spirit, it's meaningless!" The monster yelled, infusing her blade with flames, terrifying the soldier who did not approach her.
"Take this!" The first soldier screamed, striking at her body. His attack had no chance of hitting, meeting nothing but air. In the next split second, he was already unconscious. The now-identified Dragon-kin watched his body crumple from behind him.
The other soldier who approached saw an opportunity and charged at the now-defenseless monster's back.
"Damn you!" Yelled the soldier, charging at her back. The Dragon-kin merely activated her aura once more, covering her blade in flames. The soldier collapsed onto the ground from the sudden strike he received not long after.
"Too slow..." Admonished the Dragon, glaring at the last standing soldier.
"Well then? Now what will you do?" Interrogated the monster.
The man shrieked and dropped his blade, running out of the plaza. His courage and resolve had been shattered once he saw how useless it was to challenge the invader.
The Dragon-kin had a disappointed look on her face as he ran. It finally dawned on Luka as to who this person was, Granberia, the Heavenly Knight of Fire. It was said that she could destroy entire armies by herself, those stories seemed true, given that she attacked Iliasburg alone with little difficulty.
"A wise choice. But in the future, you can't call yourself a Soldier, or a hero." Granberia declared.
Luka looked around for Giorno, failing to spot him anywhere. He surely ran away, not that Luka blamed him, he was considering it too.
Granberia surveyed the plaza, finding no other challengers to fight. She was expecting more, but these humans were no match after all. It was time to end this farce.
"Is that it?! Having your city taken over by a monster... there's no complaints!?" Granberia roared, her voice booming throughout the city.
None dared to confront her, their will to fight was broken. Everyone else remained barricaded in their homes or wisely decided to stay hidden among the alleyways or stores.
"Well then, I've taken control of this city. Next, I'll..." Granberia started before seeing something odd.
Against his better judgment, Luka ventured forth and revealed his presence to the Heavenly Knight. He refused to let her conquer this town, at least not without a fight.
"A boy..." Granberia muttered, slightly impressed with his courage.
Luka was a mess under her scrutinizing gaze. His heart throbbed, his mouth dried up and his blood ran cold. He felt he made an awful mistake by confronting her.
"You're carrying a sword? Then I'll treat you as a warrior, not a boy." Granberia coldly stated.
"You have no problem with that, do you?" Inquired the Dragon-kin.
"Of... of course not!" Luka replied, stuttering his words.
"Then I, Granberia the fire swordsman will be your opponent!" She yelled out, infusing her blade with flames.
Both drew their swords, initiating their battle, one he was certain to lose. He felt his legs shake as he dreaded the coming defeat.
"Give me your best shot!" The Heavenly Knight challenged.
"Take this!" Luka screamed in a mixture of desperation and fear, striking with all his might. His attack met nothing but air, just like the previous soldier who tried it.
The monster then tripped the hero, sending him tumbling to the ground. She followed up by stepping on his body, pinning him to the ground.
"You're too green. You challenged me when the adults were hiding in cowardice. I can respect that. Ah... You're young, so a mistake like that is to be expected. But there won't be a second time." Warned the stern monster.
"It's not over yet!" Luka roared, getting on his feet again and pointing his blade at her.
"Going to ignore my advice? I won't overlook it again." Granberia ominously said.
"Prepare yourself!" the aspiring hero shouted, about to risk it all.
"Fine, you won't regret this, will you boy?" Granberia inquired.
"No way I will!" Luka confirmed his resolve, beginning his second and only chance to fight back.
He got into his stance, imagining the feeling of cutting through her neck. He jumped ahead at incredible speed and brought the tip of his blade to her neck, finally using that skill, Demon Decapitation.
"What?! That technique..." Granberia panicked, being caught off guard before reacting to the threat.
The attack missed, but now Luka had her interest. Though it wasn't in a good way.
"Why do you know a monster's technique?" Granberia asked the purple-haired boy.
"Eh...?" Was all that was said by Luka, feeling horrible that even his best attack missed completely.
"Your swordplay is sloppy, and you're still immature. There's no way you thought that up by yourself. I want to know where you learned that move. Who taught it to you?" The monster demanded, already having an inkling as to who did it.
"Why should I tell someone like you?!" Luka defiantly screamed.
"I think I already know who it is. In fact, I would like to have a match with that person. Is that person your master or something?" Granberia deduced.
"That's... I won't say." The would-be hero declared.
"Is that so? Then..." The monster went silent, drawing her blade and striking Luka multiple times. The concurrent strikes nearly killed him outright, some blood leaking out of his mouth as his body ached.
"Aguh..." Coughed Luka, his entire world spinning, his vision growing darker.
"I held back my attack to make sure you didn't die. Well, are we going to talk now?" Granberia interrogated, wanting to hear a positive answer.
"Even with that, I won't say..." Luka weakly said, his body not wanting to move at his will.
"Is that so? I don't like using my sword on the weak. But..." Granberia spoke, lifting her sword for a final strike. That was before a hand grabbed her wrist.
The grip itself was oppressive and strong, ceasing her swing dead in its tracks. She turned her head around to see who had just sneaked up on her.
A blonde male wearing a revealing two-piece suit. Navy blue along with bright green shoes and gloves, his bright green eyes matching along with them. She kept her eyes off his exposed chest and into his green orbs, which radiated hostility and anger at the monster.
Without a word, the man threw her across the plaza with strength she did not expect from a human. Granberia landed on her feet unharmed but was perturbed by the new arrival.
The human kneeled, checking on the purple boy she knocked down earlier.
"Luka, are you alright?" Asked the concerned man.
"Giorno... You came back. I thought you left me..." Said the purple-haired child she swiftly defeated.
"I wished to ambush her, I apologize for allowing you to be injured for my error..." Giorno replied, seeing some open wounds on his friend's body.
A golden glow surrounded the downed boy, with Giorno placing some rocks over the injuries.
"This may hurt, but trust me," Giorno advised, beginning his work. Luka felt his pain shoot up in an instant before dissipating to a much more manageable level. His vision and body returned to normal, now under his complete control again.
His wounds had all disappeared. He was somehow fine again?
"What? How did you..." Luka winced, still feeling some pain, but not as much as before.
"Your body will need time to accept the new additions, but the pain will fade away," Giorno explained, helping him back up.
"You... you can heal people? What was that? That was... incredible, Giorno. Thank you." Luka gratefully stated.
Granberia was now flabbergasted, first a human who could use a cursed sword skill and now a second human who had a healing ability. These two were threats that needed to be dealt with.
"You... how can a human like you do that? Who taught you that?!" Granberia demanded, infusing her blade with flames.
She received no answer, and the blonde male walked up to her with a perfectly neutral expression. His body language betrayed no fear or hesitation as he stopped, roughly 2 meters away from her.
The young boy who challenged her also approached; his nerves seemingly calmed with his comrade here to help.
"Luka, your next attack will hit." Giorno declared, with complete confidence.
"Huh?" Said boy exclaimed, stunned at the confidence his blonde friend had.
"You're confident for someone who doesn't have a sword." Granberia pointed out.
Giorno picked up a sword from one of the fallen soldiers, pointing it at the monster.
"Righteous actions undertaken by those with good intentions will never be subjugated. Even though these soldiers have fallen in battle, their resolve has not been destroyed. Their wills have only inspired me to continue their fight." Giorno began.
"Can the same be said for you? Once you are defeated here, will your actions be continued... or will they be erased? Can you survive destruction, Heavenly Knight of Fire?" Giorno concluded, a menacing aura surrounding him.
"Your arrogance will be your undoing!" Granberia blitzed forward, a wave of flames obscuring the ensuing battle.
She swung her blade at the blonde man, realizing too late that he no longer had a sword in his hand. He instead opened his palm to expose a rose, holding it to his chest as her blade cut through swiftly. The cut was deep and almost lethal, ripping off most of his upper clothing.
In the next moment, Granberia was flung back. Her chest was sliced open the moment her blade made contact with the rose. The blonde man took this opportunity to punch her in the stomach, caving her amor in and knocking the wind out of her. She almost missed the golden glow that his fist was surrounded by.
"What...?" Granberia looked at her body, finding no cuts or injuries. Even her armor looked fine, she felt incredible.
All around her, things played around in slow motion as she looked at the two males. The purple-haired one was preparing another Demon Decapitation, and the blonde one was walking towards her with a grim expression.
She was initially confused until she understood the blonde man's power. He could heal and strengthen people, which meant that when he struck her, he healed her wounds and empowered her. What a fool, using a supporting ability as an offensive tool.
"You've made a mistake! Your defeat is inevitable!" Granberia declared, moving forward at a pace she hadn't ever experienced before. She felt as if she could take on the Monster Lord now, the blonde interloper's power could be of use to monster kind. She'd be bringing him to the Monster Lord's castle, along with his delicious-smelling friend.
She swung the flat portion of her blade to his head, intending to knock him out. He still hadn't reacted to her speedy attack; this was it for him...
!
Until her sword passed through his head as if she were a ghost. Granberia was now bewildered, what just happened to her?
She stopped and looked behind her, seeing herself back in the position she was when she got punched. That version of her had the large gash, the crumpled armor, that was her...
That was her real body! The blonde man hadn't healed her in that instant, he'd somehow distorted her senses and perception of time!
She ran back to her body, but it was too late. The purple-haired boy landed a Demon Decapitation on her neck, creating a small cut on her neck and drawing blood.
Granberia had taken hits before, but none of them had ever hurt as much as that insignificant cut. She was sent back to her own body, reeling from the sharp pain.
Still caught up in the slowed time, she was unable to put up any resistance to the fist that slammed into her face. The pain spread around her jaw and filled her entire being with agony, if this kind of thing happened over and over, she was sure to die from the shock of the wound.
The invading monster fell to the ground some meters away, before the effects of her ailment disappeared. She got up after some hesitation, with a busted lip and wounded pride.
"Giorno! You got slashed! You're bleeding!" Luka shouted in horror, the cut seemed deep, how was Giorno so calm?
"This is nothing, I can heal myself after I'm done." Giorno assured.
"I landed a hit... You were right..." Luka said in astonishment and concern at his bleeding friend.
"If we work together, we can wear her down and end this invasion. But only as a unit, Luka." Giorno stated with resolve.
"I'm with you Giorno!" Luka yelled, preparing to fight a battle he previously thought impossible.
"No more holding back... You're too dangerous to keep around." Granberia declared, not willing to experience that ever again.
But before this all went badly, she was interrupted...
"How long are you going to keep being an idiot? And by that, I mean all of you..." A feminine voice called out.
"A...Alice?!" Luka exclaimed in surprise, not expecting her to intervene.
"You!" Granberia stammered, with apprehension and slight fear. Giorno didn't miss that reaction, already putting the pieces of the puzzle together. She even got down to one knee, making this even easier to figure out.
"Eh?" Luka looked back and forth between the two monsters.
"Granberia... What are you doing? Who ordered you to do such a thing?" Alice asked, tapping her foot in impatience. The entire spectacle seemed like a mother scolding a guilty child.
"I decided myself. To get rid of those annoying heroes. I..." Granberia started to defend herself.
"Go away, you annoyance." Alice ordered.
"B...But if I leave now, even more heroes will show up..." Granberia argued back.
"I told you to go away. If you go on like this, how am I going to eat the Ama-ama Dango?" Alice reiterated.
"If you want something like that, just let me take control of the city first... So..." Granberia practically begged.
"How can I sightsee with such an unsightly event like that going out? Idiot. Having to repeat myself three times. Is that the way you show me your loyalty? I told you to go away." Alice demanded, not taking no for an answer.
"...At once. If it's your will. Then, if you will excuse me." The Dragon-kin despondently replied. She gave Giorno one last dirty look and vanished from the plaza.
"I... I did it!" Luka cried out in victory before collapsing to the ground in exhaustion. He looked up towards both of his companions.
"Alice... Giorno... You..." He started, and the blonde boy turned his attention to him, Alice looked away and avoided eye contact.
"You were pretty awesome back there." He simply said.
"That's it?! That's all you have to say after that happened?! Are you really that stupid?" She yelled out.
"What do you mean?" The short boy replied in confusion.
"Grr...And you! What the hell was that?! Since when could you heal others?!" She questioned the blonde boy who was checking up on the downed soldiers.
"I've had this power for a while, and I plan on using it to my advantage. Sorry for not disclosing it beforehand Luka." Giorno apologized, fixing up the serious wounds the soldiers had.
"I can't believe either of you two... An idiot and a liar." Alice deadpanned.
"Is she gone? That monster... did she run away?" Asked a man.
"Those three over there! I don't get it, but it looks like that group drove her away!" Yelled a woman as the trio got surrounded by the city's inhabitants.
"Err...we..." Luka nervously mumbled, overwhelmed by the number of people.
"Thank you! A little longer and this would have been a monster city!" a different man gratefully said.
"Even though you're so young, that was amazing! How did you all drive away such a strong monster?" Questioned a young woman, blushing as she looked at the two men in particular.
It didn't help that at that moment, Giorno had a wardrobe malfunction. The top of the suit was slashed through, leaving it partially hanging onto his chest. The suit finally gave up and broke, leaving his lean body.
"What a bother..." Giorno said as he picked up his torn-up suit, lamenting the loss of a day-old piece of clothing.
"Ahhhh!" The various girls squealed, swarming the blonde boy who shooed them off.
The hype around them quickly died out as people went on with their daily lives. Luka spotted a strange star mark on Giorno, wondering what it was.
"What's that mark on your shoulder?" Luka curiously asked.
"Supposedly a birthmark. I've had it as for long as I was alive." Giorno replied, covering his chest with the scraps of his suit.
"By the way, Citizen A over there, I want to ask you something." Alice requested.
"Citizen A...? Me? How can I be called Citizen A when I have a wonderful name such as Cervantes!" The man indignantly said, offended to be called something like that.
"I don't care. Where is the Sutherland Inn?" She inquired rudely.
"Ah... Just head to the west from here and you'll see it. It's such an old inn, it will stick out." Cervantes helpfully said, a little sad that he was treated so badly.
"Hah. Did you hear that, Luka? It still exists, like I said." Alice smugly laughed.
"Incredibly old inn..." Luka muttered, worried about their finances.
"Alright! Off to the West! We know where we're staying tonight." She declared, dragging Luka along.
"Grazie... Cervantes..." Giorno said, before leaving. The citizen in question did not understand what he meant by that. But considering the context, it must have been a strange way of saying 'thank you'. Hmm... Maybe he could use it himself?
Along the way, Giorno was interrogated by the other two members of the party regarding his ability to heal others.
"So... Can you heal me if I get sick?" Luka asked.
"No." Giorno swiftly responded.
"Alright, so only for really bad battle wounds?" Luka inquired.
"Yes, severe cuts or penetrative wounds. Even amputations if it gets that bad." Giorno clarified.
"There's something you're not telling us." Alice deduced.
"You kept this hidden away from Luka for a year. How can he trust what you say now? How do you have these powers?" Alice interrogated.
"This isn't something a human can just learn! You're hiding something..." Alice finished, her eyes beginning to glow as she prepared to hypnotize him.
"Fine... I'll tell you..." Giorno surrendered.
"Alright..." Alice waited to hear his answer, with Luka anticipating it too.
"The truth is... I'm part monster." Giorno lied, not wanting to reveal the existence of stands.
"What...? Really?" Luka was astonished, his friend was born of a human breaking one of Ilias's commandments.
"That explains it... How you never met your father. Your strange smell, your genetics being high quality. Your mother was a monster who targeted your father for his genes, you're the result of that." Alice concluded.
"Yes... That's true, my mother was a monster." Giorno half lied, his mother was a monster for her horrible parenting.
"Explains the smell of monster in your blood too, I bet you were descended from an Alraune or something like that. They have good healing skills." Alice said.
"You can smell my monster blood?" Giorno was now slightly muddled, how was there any non-human blood in him? His parents were human... Not of this world.
"Yes, it smells of cruelty, your mother must have been a piece of work. Quite powerful too, if I say so myself." Alice added in.
Giorno was flabbergasted, his mother was no monster. That only left him with a single possibility, that his biological father was a non-human. Maybe once he got out of here, Polnareff could help him with this conundrum.
"Ah! There it is..." Luka exclaimed, all three members of the party looked on at the old-looking building.
There was a sign on the road to the Inn, detailing the pricing to stay.
"Let's see... One day... 2,400,000 gold per person?!" He yelled in terror, their reserves were not that high, most of which came from his savings or when Giorno happened to 'find' gold coins.
"24 hours... 2.4 million gold... We can stay here about 9 seconds." He said, demoralized by his lack of funds.
"Alice... there's no way we can stay here. At best, we could all go in for 3 seconds." Luka pointed out.
"You're quite gifted in mathematics." Giorno complimented, putting a small smile on Luka's face.
"What... If I knew this was going to happen, I would have let Granberia take over." Alice grumbled.
"Oi oi... Don't say that." Luka chastised.
"Excuse me, can you step aside?" asked an unknown soldier, Luka and Giorno obliged and allowed him to move past the group.
Giorno looked over to that soldier, he was one of the men at the plaza. One of the men who got knocked out rather easily.
"Hey, owner. I'm a Hero. Give me the hero rate to stay here." He practically demanded.
"What stupidity is that!? What kind of hero gets knocked out instantly by a monster like that!" The owner of the inn chased him out of the establishment, in a fit of anger.
"But... but I've been baptized as a hero!" He exclaimed as he ran.
"Someone like you calling themselves a hero... Get out!" She yelled as the soldier's figure disappeared into the mass of people going about their business.
The owner turned to the party of three, her expression of anger softening into a soft smile.
"Oh, you three! The ones who saved the city! Please, won't you stay the night?" She offered.
"Err... We don't have enough money..." Luka shamefully admitted.
"I'll give you the special hero rate, two gold per person, I'll bill the other fees to Ilias Temple." She stated.
"Thank you... But I'm not a baptized hero." He admitted, visibly shrinking.
"That doesn't matter. The baptism doesn't make you a hero Luka. You alone chose to confront her. Your righteous actions proved your heroism." Giorno disclaimed.
"Couldn't have said better if I tried." The owner of the inn agreed.
"Haha... Thank you...I guess we can stay then." Luka rubbed his head and blushed, with a silly smile on his face due to the praise.
"That being said, didn't you just get your ass beat?" Alice commented, bringing his mood down.
"Come in!" The owner welcomed, escorting the trio to the luxurious grounds.
"Looks like you were useful for something." Alice sort of complimented as she dragged the short hero inside.
The group was escorted to a beautiful dining room and treated to the VIP experience. Being offered food and desserts which Alice seemed to enjoy to the fullest.
"How did you like the Ama-ama Dango?" Asked the owner with a knowing smile.
"Even though it's incredibly sweet, it doesn't overpower the flavor of the dango. Absolutely delicious. If I were a monster, I'd make you a duchess." Alice said half seriously, giving Giorno another thing to be suspicious of.
"Hahaha! What a strange remark, young lady. Hahahaha!" The owner fell into a laughing fit.
"Unfortunately, we haven't been getting enough Happiness Honey. So I can't make anymore Ama-ama Dango..." She trailed off, looking at the trio expectantly. Giorno quickly realized that she wanted them to deal with the problem.
"Why is that?" Giorno asked while savoring a chocolate pudding he had ordered.
"Oh... Happiness Village doesn't have enough men anymore. But if it's you three... Maybe you can help them?" The innkeeper asked hopefully.
"Ye...Yeah..." Luka agreed, not wanting to dash her expectations.
"Well then, have a nice rest." The innkeeper wished, but before she could leave, Giorno grabbed the rest of the dishes and helped her carry them away. Leaving the fake hero and monster to go back to their assigned room.
"Oh, you're such a sweet young man. Thank you, dear..." The innkeeper said as they walked to the kitchen area.
"Oh, it's no issue. Thank you for taking care of us. That chocolate pudding was delightful." Giorno smiled as he expressed his gratitude.
"You're making me blush... Are you sure you've had enough food? Maybe you'll take a bath to clear your mind?" The owner asked.
"Mmm... I could go for a pizza..." Giorno admitted, unintentionally screwing up.
"A pizza? What is that?" The owner was now confused.
"Y-You see, it was something my family used to make... Dough, cheese, olive oil, tomatoes..." Giorno covered up with a lie.
"Hmm... If you show me maybe I can make this pizza... And if it's good, I can provide it in my menu, does that sound fair?" The owner offered, wanting to find out about this pizza.
"Ah, perfect. I think that works out perfectly." Giorno agreed as they moved to the kitchen.
"And I know a wonderful sewing shop in town that could fix up that suit of yours. It would probably be a few days till they finish it though." She advised.
"Oh... that won't be an issue either, I have spare clothing in the meantime." Giorno assured.
"Good, then just give the damaged suit over to me when you use the baths. Let's make some pizza!" She declared, entering the kitchen door.
As Giorno was about to enter, he heard a bone-chilling noise.
"Hooora~" Came the voice of Alice, from somewhere upstairs.
The owner of the inn seemed to laugh silently whenever more noises were heard in the inn. Especially those dreaded 'Hora Hora's'.
Giorno activated his life sense, finding two life signatures in one of the rooms they were provided. The life signatures were in a compromising position, with the smaller ones having their pants removed and their genit-
Giorno stopped his life sense, already knowing what was going on and ignoring whatever noises came about that night.
He was going to have pizza and take a bath, that was it. He had no time for something as useless as sexual relations. Especially if said sexual relations were with the Monster Lord, something he picked up on, given her careless comments.
"I Giorno Giovanna, want to eat some pizza." He declared, entering the kitchen.
