As the elimination pools match were finally over, the council that was responsible for organizing the festival reunited once again on the matter. Several queen class monsters were in good spirit as they had made their way to the eighth finals, while others were looking slightly ashamed after they got beaten by a monster (or sometimes even a human) whom they thought weaker.
The first subject brought in was the overall result the festival had in mending the relationships between humans and monsters. The results were mostly positive, as the population at large was accepting that their future relied on the monsters that joined them to help them against a common enemy. There still was a certain tension between the two groups, and the damages done by the Monster Lord would likely take years to properly repair. The negative aspects were those foreseen -the Grand Noah queen grimaced-. Several affairs wrecked a few human couples, and the fairies pranks, while not ill natured, were not appreciated by those that had to endure them. Nor by those who were awakened in the middle of the night by the scream of those people.
The second issue at hand was an unexplained string of disappearance: Several men disappeared over the week, with an average of five to six per days, and no traces could be found. Of course, the first suspects considered were the more predatory monsters currently living in the city, as eating the evidence was a good way to make it disappear. Several sighs could be heard, as it could be seen by the population at large that the Ilias fanatics were right and that monsters could never be trusted.
Queen Ant engaged her personal responsibility over the actions of the Spider Princess and her clique, as she found a way to always keep an eye on them. She told everyone that while the monsters took several partners over the course of the week, none of them actually killed or consumed a lover, only leaving them exhausted in a dark street. The attention was turned toward the other predatory monsters, until Alrauna, the plant queen reminded everyone that several people left the city in the middle of the night for a moment of actual tranquility, sometimes by the sky. Mephisto answered that she would personally watch over this inquiry.
Lastly, the subject of the results of the elimination pool of the tournaments was brought in. When the team who organized the pools planned them, they were worried the results would be too predictable, as it was clear several monsters were a league above the others in their pool. Several results were actually surprising:
-Salamander, who was one of the favorite, found herself eliminated in the second pool once and for all by Yugiri, a yoma made of mist. Everyone expressed concern about how weak she appeared then, after having wrecked Eva without breaking a sweat. However, she declared that she had no one to blame but herself for her defeat.
-Victoria, the war angel, had forfeited her fight after being reduced to a moaning mess by the tentacles of Ooma. Everybody expected the valkyrie to win, as her flight abilities would give her the same mobility the Scylla usually had in the ocean, but it was clear she was fighting with too much complacency, and ended up paying the price with her pride.
-The victory of Nabisu, a succubus nurse, also surprised more than one spectator. No one expected to see a monster that focused her skills on supporting others reach the eighth finals. And yet, she somehow managed to win all her matches, even standing to the likes of Zenovia, the undead Scylla queen.
-And, most surprisingly, Alma Elma, also known under the pseudonym "Kyuba" lost to Len, one of the lizard bandits. Everybody anticipated the succubus victory, as she had already beaten stronger opponent, and the lizardkin was extremely weak to pleasure. While the thief managed to remain steady against the succubus queen, it was clear the latter was toying with her during the fight. The succubus somehow lost focus for a moment and proceeded to be knocked out by the assassin who exploited the opportunity with her enchanted weapon. The victory was not even celebrated, and Alma silently went missing as soon as she was healed. She came back several hours later in a bad mood, without further comment. Fortunately, a rematch was organized as they both won two fights in their pool, and only one would be accepted in the finaleighths. Alma Elma beat her opponent easily, and thoroughly ravished her "to make up for last time."
The former incident was soon forgotten by everybody, save for a handful such as Mephisto. She herself had grown concerned during the competition, but fortunately, she still managed to qualify herself in the eighth by beating Succubus, the mayor from the village that shared her name.
Of course, Luka and Heinrich both came out as winners in their own trials, and the possibility to see them facing each other in the semi finals was becoming very real. The initial predictions were that the winner would face Alma Elma in the final, but considering how whimsical the succubus queen could get, all bets were open.
Eventually, the room gradually emptied with only Mephisto and the Grand Noah queen remaining. The former was still cringing, as the memories of her failed plan to catch Alma Elma resurfaced. The queen looked at her advisor.
"Concerning Alma Elma's reaction… do we have a situation to deal with?"
Mephisto answered in a surprised tone. "I do not exactly understand her majesty's question."
The Queen leaned back on her throne, taking an imperious posture in the process.
"We both travelled enough with the succubus queen to know that her loss shouldn't have happened. The reason it happened was because she reacted to something unrelated to the match. And while she is whimsical at her best, she doesn't have the attention span of an hungry puppy, so the incident that attracted her attention must have been something notable. Which makes me think the nature of the threat might be serious… And there are not many threats out there that would warrant that designation."
Mephisto bowed respectfully. "You can see through me as one would see through a crystal glass. I regret to announce that someone broke in the academy. The intruders used both physical and magical means to conceal their signature, making them impossible to identify. However, considering the inhuman speed at which the operation was done and the presence of one of their kin inside, I, of course, suspect the remaining Lilith Sisters."
The queen sighed. "They're actually the ones responsible for the disappearances, aren't they?"
Mephisto started fiddling with her wand once more. "Morrigan proved surprisingly cooperative when I interrogated her. The answer is that they're not responsible for all the disappearances." Mephisto lowered her hat to conceal her ashamed expression. "For all we know, it could be a drunken monster, such as a harpy, who wanted a tranquil spot to do it with her partner, brought him outside the city's limits, and then forgot to bring him back in after having done the deed. It would certainly be something one of those birdbrains would do." The yoma looked at the ceiling, lost in thoughts. "I remember reading about the few laws that were written by the Dark Goddess herself. I found myself surprised when one of those law was explicitly against the consumption of alcohol. I wanted to know why such an oddball would be present, but with today's hindsight, I am not really sure I still want to." Mephisto took a look back at the queen. "I will make sure that the guards comb the area around the city. But I defer to your judgment in how we should deal with those succubi that found a way to infiltrate our city to use it for their own leisure."
The Grand Noah queen crossed her hands in front her as she pondered the decision for a moment. She took her decision.
"Select those who can keep a secret for themselves amongst those who lost and inform them of the possible issue. No inquiry should be started until after the tournament is over and most of the population have been evacuated. Those deaths are tragic, but the panic would create a witch hunt and turn the city into a warzone, and the extra population would worsen the issue."
"Your wish is my order."
Mephisto bowed once more and left the room.
The queen found herself alone, hoping her decision wasn't going to backfire.
