Chapter 23: What happen to the moon!?

The conversation was awkward on both ends.

With one side being him trying his best to explained the situation as best as possible without making it seems as though he's making it up, and the other side being the King of the Sabasa Kingdom trying to wrapped his mind around her daughter being monsterfied by a group of oppressed monster races who wanted to take back their region and the Heavenly Knight of Wind showing up.

This is all then followed up by the forest dweller beating the Succubus in a fight and having her help the Princess by transporting her to the Monster Lord's Castle to be thought by their magic tutors on how to controlled her overabundant amount of magic.

He left out the deal they had for the sake of not overloading his already shocked mind.

"And so, after Sara was safely teleported over there by Alma Elma, I flew back here to inform you of what has happen..."

"I see..." Said the father worriedly. Considering how her daughter is literally kidnapped on her birthday, and what he had just told him, he has every right to.

"What of the halo you now have...?"

"I have no idea myself, Your Majesty."

The King went quiet for a moment, contemplating the situation with a grave expression.

"...Tell me, Luka."

"Yes, Your Majesty?"

The King's eyes stare ahead, looking pass him as he asks.

"You have met the Monster Lord have you not?"

He must've remembered that fact when the purplette told them of his journey...

"Yes, I have."

"The Monster Lord... would you say she's to be trusted with my daughter's safety...?"

...

Alice... She is...

Luka gathers his thought about the troubled Echidna.

"You've probably realized how unfocused she looks sometimes... like she was lost in thought."

...

"You see, right now that dear Monster Lord of mine is in a confusing moment in her life... a responsibility she had chosen to carry by herself."

...

"Hell, even now, I bet her mind is still troubled by it..."

...

"Which is why I appreciate you for giving her a friend~"

...

After thinking back to it all, he decided to be honest to the King.

"Your Majesty... if all I've seen from her is true, then I can tell you with certainty that no harm would come to your daughter."

It was only slightly, but Luka saw the King smile at what he said.

"Then, I suppose that I can entrust the duty of bringing her back here to you when you eventually travel there?"

He smiles back at the father. "Of course, Your Majesty..."

===0===

'So~ That makes it the eighth times you have taken a request from royalties. Eh, buddy~?'

He pauses at that, almost landing headfirst into an inn before coming back and stomping the air below him.

BOOM!

'Why did you have to mention that Sylph...' She's making him realized how far he's deviated from his original plan of staying low.

'That's nothing to be ashamed of, Young man!'

'Your progress has been commendable... be proud of yourself...'

'...' He felt a wave of reassurance from Gnome.

Oh boy... his view is getting misty...

"...I wouldn't have done it without you girls. Thank you, all of you..."

With happy laughter filling his mind, the forest dweller made his way to his next destination.

Speaking of which, he should probably decide where that is first.

"Hmm..." Let see, there's Lady's Village somewhere Northeast from here...

There's also this mysterious shrine straight ahead from where he's flying and Gold Port, a town similar to Port Natalia even further ahead...

If he had to choose between them, then he would first like to go-

"Let's go to Succubus Village, Luka-boy~!" Said Alma Elma as she teleported right next to him.

"No."

His mouth said that automatically before he could even register her presence.

"Aww~ Why not~?"

"Becau-Alma Elma!?" He did a double take, finally processing the Succubus he's sharing the airstream spell with.

"That's me~!" She giggles seductively.

Calming himself down, the forest dweller decided to question her intention. "...Is there, any particular reason you wanted us to go there?"

She took a moment to answer his question, humming to herself as she idly plays with her tail.

"Well... there is two very good reason why~"

"...?" He waited for her to continues.

"Firstly," She raises one finger. "I think you could help them out with their little problems~"

"How so? Are they under attack?"

"No, no... it's much more boring than that~" She sighs.

"They have been suffering from a lack of males~" His face went red, knowing the preferred source of food for Succubus... "And if there even is a man who happen to stumbles to them, the lucky guy wouldn't be enough for all of them. You see, this has been going on for the past couple of years now."

The forest dweller tilts his head at this in confusion.

"Please don't get me wrong, Alma Elma, starvation is horrible. And it's not like I'm saying I don't care about your race... but what can I even do to help here...?"

"Anything really~" She simply said.

"Hmm?" The wind around them started picking up, it gave a warning to the Heavenly Knight if she ever tries to abuse the forest dweller's goodwill.

The Succubus stare into his eyes, her previous hunger still there but it was pushed back by her curiosity for the moment.

"I'm not asking you of anything here, Luka-boy~!"

Alma Elma laughs. "Look around for a bit, talk to them. If you decided you wanted to help, then do it... if not, then we can just go somewhere else~"

"That's it...?"

"Hmm~"

Luka couldn't sense any lies from her words... maybe she just wanted to help her people without directly asking him for it?

Speaking of...

The purplette asked the Heavenly Knight about her second reason.

"My race has been moving around without any permanent place of living. In the end, they wanted the Succubus Village to be their true resident, it'd would be a real shame if all of their effort goes to waste, wouldn't you agree, Luka-boy~?"

So it's not just about the lack of male, but also a matter of preserving their home...

"...I can't promise anything, but I'll see if I can help..."

Her eyes light up in excitements. "Care to share~?"

"I..." Luka hesitated, before remembering that he promises to be her friend.

"Not having a place to call home... I remember what it feels like."

"..."

"I would never wish that upon anyone..."

"Not even your enemies~?"

At this, he simply shook his head.

"I don't have enemies..."

===0===

Alma Elma approaches him as they were having their lunch break.

Luka isn't as worried as he was back then due to her lack of ominous intent, but the pages would still send dangerous glare towards the Succubus.

"Luka-boy~!" She greeted him with a joyful expression.

"Hmm?" He raises an eyebrow.

"Turn around and close your eyes~"

'RED FLAG.' He thought.

"RED FLAG!" Yells Annie.

"I'll burry you!" Threatens Yoko as her giant hand forms a fist.

"I suggest you don't try something so obvious right in front of us..." Cogita leveled the Succubus with a hard look.

Not at all bothers by this, the Heavenly Knight simply waves her hand and laughs.

"Now, now, you don't have to be so jumpy-"

"It's perfectly warranted!"

"-with me~ I'm just trying to give my friend here a present!"

Finishing her words, Alma Elma reached into her... pocket(?) and pulls something out of his view.

"Come now, it's a surprise~! You can't see it yet~"

"Um..."

"Hmm~?"

Oh boy...

Trusting his gut feeling, the purplette turns around and closes his eyes like she said, although hesitantly.

He could feel three disappointed eyes boring into him from behind.

"Alright~! Here we go..." Flying closer and closer, the Succubus got close enough for him to feel her breath on his neck.

Four more disappointed eyes were aimed at him inside his head.

Just as he was about to tell her to back away, something familiar was draped around his body.

"...?" It gave him a pause.

What is she...

Wait-This is!?

Opening his eyes, the forest dweller saw his old green cloak placed around his neck by the Heavenly Knight as she gave him her most mischievous smile.

"Surprise~!"

Feeling the fabric to be sure, he's washed by a wave of relief to see that it's still in good condition after being taken from him.

"My cloak..."

"It sure is~" Alma Elma smugly confirms. "Everyone has a gimmick these days... and Luka-boy has his iconic cloak~ Would be weird if he's flying around without one hmm~?"

Is that her only reason?

"Not to mention, we wind user have to keep our appearance you know~?" Flourishing her own cape to him, she structs a dramatic pose with a laugh.

As always, she continues to befuddles him...

...

"...Can it be count as a present if you took this from me?"

===0===

By the time they made it there, it was already night time.

And the forest dweller only has one thing to say.

"What happen to the moon!?"

It might seem like a strange question at first, but as they both witness the familiar celestial body above the village now in a different color all entirely, it makes perfect sense why he would question it so.

Next to the purplette, his Succubus friend merrily laugh at his gobsmacked expression.

"Oh my~! Did they start already~?"

Down below, they could see the settlement being trapped in a dome of concentrated pleasure magic. It was so thick to the point Luka could see the atmosphere changing color and feel the air getting... fuzzy?

"What is that...? I can feel something big happening somewhere inside the village..."

"If I had to guess, those girls are probably trying to revive them..." Said his companion as she took on a thinking pose.

"Revive?" His mind mulled over the situation and what she said. "You mean to say... some powerful Succubus back then died and now they're trying to get their leader back...?"

"That's right! Good job, sweetheart~!" She praises his correct guess.

Trying not to preened at that, he then asks her about the method they used.

"Is it possible to revive someone from the dead like this?"

If it was possible, then wouldn't it be rendering death, one of the few undisputed constants in life irrelevant?

"Yes, but only for my race." She states matter-of-factly.

"How does that work?"

"Tricky question, tricky situation, so forgive me for giving you a tricky answer, Luka-boy~"

She then playfully taps his nose.

"I suggest you found the detailed answers yourself to make it easier~"

The forest dweller sigh at that, he somewhat understood her, but it was still confusing.

After deciding to enter the village and making sure it doesn't get out of hand, they made their way down to the ground and saw the village to be mostly quiet. Except, it wasn't, with enhance hearing the two was able to locate the sounds of debauchery all around the settlement.

"So that's what they were up to..." He said in embarrassment.

"How exciting~ too bad I'm in the middle of something so I can't join in..."

Before he could even comment anything, two shadowy figures leaped from the dark and tried to grapple him to the ground.

Unfortunately for them, at the point he is now, Luka basically saw them coming in slow-motion.

Easily sidestepping the two unexperienced Succubus, he saw their faces went from crazed excitement to one of pure confusion.

"Eh? What happen to the cute guy?"

"Sis! Our next prey disappears!?"

"Excuse me...?" He calls out next to them.

Even if he knew it was probably useless, he had to try asking them some questions.

===0===

After a bit of one-sided fighting, the purplette had only manages to have them answer some of his inquires. The phenomena happening around them is an incredibly powerful area of effect spell called 'The Purple Sabbath' and it have the ability to both turns human females in it into a Succubus and heavily aroused any males inside of it.

The mayor of this town has initiates it to both increases their Succubus population and reviving 'The Legendary Succubus Sister' from the dead. Resorting to desperate solution to solve a desperate situation.

It made sense why Alma Elma is hiding her presence now that he knows this.

If any males here saw her under the effect of the Purple Sabbath...

'Haha! The whole street is turning white~!' Sylph laughs.

Luka shudders at the horrifying thought.

Realizing the danger of the situation, the forest dweller flew high into the purple sky above and activated an equally powerful spell in hopes of countering the Purple Sabbath.

[SYLPH'S LULLABY!]

It was bright enough to resemble daytime as the giant verdant circle covers the sky and his spell begins to takes effect.

Slowly, as times passes more and more Succubus started falling into a deep sleep. He could feel something fighting back against his spell, but due to his superior amount of magic, he was able to overpowered the opposing force into submission.

Soon enough, every Succubus inside the village is asleep.

Almost everyone, he corrected himself.

Inside the mayor's house, he could feel the present of a powerful monsters who's till conscious.

That... does not bode well with him...

Alma Elma landed next to him in style.

"It's them isn't it..." He asks her, already dreading the answer.

"Oh, most definitely~" She pointed towards the house. "In fact, I can feel them in there right now!"

"Right..." Not only is Succubus one of his most problematic matchups, but now he has to fight an empowered ancient version of one...

Oh wait, not one, but two.

'How lovely...' He thought tiredly.

The door was kicked opened by a pair of ticked off sister.

"Whom is it who dares to interrupts our lovely tea party!?" Said the shorter one.

"Ufufu... be prepaid to be-!?" The taller of the two was about to follow with another threats before her eyes landed on him and she immediately panic.

"By the First! It's him!"

"W-What!? I know the possibility is there, but he's here already!"

Any and all bravado they have were gone in an instance as they frantically backed away from him, confusing the two other Succubus behind them.

...

"...Hello...?" Luka unsurely gave a wave.

They hissed at him like wild cats.

"..."

"I don't think they like you very much, Luka-boy~"

"Yeah... I can see that, Alma Elma..."

Before she could tease him again, the Succubus wearing a big hat gasp in shock and relief.

"Hold on! That's the current Queen of Succubus, Alma Elma!"

"Wait, really?" The green-haired Succubus next to her responds.

"That's right! It's her!" The hat wearing Succubus confirms. "Now that's she's here, we have a higher chance of taking on this hero!"

"Hmm~?" The Heavenly Knight simply tilts her head at this.

Taking note of her presence, Lilith and Lilim calls out to his companion.

"The current Succubus Queen? An unexpected encounter..."

"But helpful nonetheless, sister!"

"Indeed... with all five of us, we should be able to take down the disgusting hero..."

"Ufufu~ Victory is upon our race once more!"

Hearing all of this, Alma Elma gained another mischievous gleam in her eyes.

"Please don't..." He already knew what she's going to do.

"Well~ I could help my race out once in a while..."

The green-haired Succubus then smirk in confident. "Then let us-"

"However~" The Heavenly Knight cuts her off, appearing behind him and lifting the forest dweller up with a bear hug. "How could I possibly do that to my dear friend~!"

If anything, Luka was glad his face was covered by the shadow of his cloak.

===0===

All things consider, she thought it could have gone way worse.

The green-haired Succubus quietly pours a moderate amount of tea in each of their cups. The living room feels somewhat cramp with too many people, but everyone can agree that it was the least concerning issue at the moment.

The Hero won. There was no denying that the sisters could have won instead, but the odds are much lower than the purplette. If that wasn't bad enough, when the mayor and her friend tried to assist their leader, the Heavenly Knight simply place her hands on their shoulders and told them to wait their turns.

Imagine her surprise and utter relief when the Hero walked up to them and proposed for a civil talk instead of a reenactment of their race's previous encounter with someone similar to him.

It was immediately denied by her defeated seniors but after some imploring from the hooded young man, they reluctantly accepted his proposal.

"This is lovely, miss..."

"My name is Succubus." She waited for the usual confuse look and question.

"Miss Succubus, thank you." He politely said after taking a sip, surprising her.

"O-Oh my, there's no need to be so polite..." She curved the praise with the paranoia of a Succubus who had to lead her people through a hostile world for the pass hundred years.

"May I ask for your recipe after this? I'm sure my friends would enjoy this too..."

The mayor had to bite her tongue to stop herself from making any inappropriate comments.

Damn him! Damn him and his soft innocent eyes! And his adorably hopeful smile! How is she supposed to be professional when he's looking at her like that!

'Deep breath Succubus! Deep breath! Remember everything you've been through... this is nothing compare to that.'

Struggling to keep the polite smile on her face, the mayor simply nodded and went back to her seat. Her friend looking at her in concern.

"Are you alright...?" She asked.

"Must not... fall for the shota..."

"S-Succubus?"

"...For the sake of our race..." She mumbles.

Now the magician looks even more concern.

===0===

Balancing a diplomatic talk with very angry and lustful group of Succubus is already difficult enough for him to do. Now, add Alma Elma on top of that and you got yourself an impossible challenge.

She would always know how to push the correct number of buttons to makes everyone tense enough for it to be awkward, but not to the point where a fight is about to breaks out. Smiling smugly to herself as she continues to leans on his shoulder and plays with his braided hair.

It's distracting enough for him to struggle in focusing, but also harmless enough that he can't really get mad at her.

'This has to be talent... no one is this efficient at ruffling other people's feathers...'

'To be fair, there's also Sylph.'

'...' Gnome agrees.

'Hey~! I'm not like that at all!'

Back in the physical world, the forest dweller nodded to the witch Succubus as she explains their situation to him. It was basically what he had come to expect but a bit more detailed.

The Succubus sister then told them of their story and how 500 years ago, a Hero with the power of four Spirits defeated them in a fight. Condemning them to be sealed off for the next couple centuries before being brought back by the mayor's plan to use the Purple Sabbath.

They also said the Hero looks just like him...

'Heinrich...' Sylph said in a melancholic tone.

"...Well, as you can see, I'm not the Hero who defeated you all those years ago..."

Lilith narrowed her eyes, noting his heterochromia and his longer hair that's braided.

And the fact he has a halo. That's also worth noting.

"...It's true. You must be someone else..." Lilim said next.

He was happy to hear that. "My name is Luka, just Luka. I'm a traveler on a journey of self-improvement..."

"I can vouch for that~"

The forest dweller gave her an exasperated look.

"...It's nice to meet all of you... despite the unpleasant start."

"Likewise, I'm glad to have met such an understanding human after all this time." The mayor replies, now out of her previous state.

Things are looking up, now they understand it was simply a misunderstanding, they could-

"Although..." Lilith pipes up, "You do look similar to him... are you a descendant of him perhaps?"

A small buzz started appearing in his head at that.

"..." He blankly stare ahead.

His companion quickly took notice, pausing her teasing and examining his condition.

"Luka-boy?" Her soft inquiry brought him back.

"I'm... not sure if I can give a definitive answer to that since we never have a documented family tree... but if it's a possibility..." He stops talking.

Sensing his clear discomfort of the topic, everyone in the room agrees to moves the conversation somewhere else.

...

...

...

'I'd rather not be in a family of murderers...'

The thought stays with him as they all came to an agreement over the way things are going to be in the village. As they left the mayor's house to spoke with the rest of the Succubus outside and manages to convince them that there exists a more peaceful solution to their problems...

===0===

"Who would have guess that a group of degenerates ended up saving my race in the end~" She said as her hands continues to play with his long violet hair.

"...I'm happy for them?" Even the ever-optimistic forest dweller is a bit weirded out by the situations.

As they were discussing the importance of not treating the men they have as livestock, a bunch of males stepped up and furiously denied the notions. They then proceed to explain how they are all pro Succubus and that they wish to be treated as slaves by them as much as possible.

"Don't stop! Please feel free to treat us like livestock!"

"That's right! I've never been happier in my life!"

"STEP ON ME MORE!"

It was such a shamelessly perverted declaration, Alma Elma ended up bursting out in laughter at it.

"I knew some humans could be very... enthusiastic towards our kind, but never to this extent." The mayor put it to words how everyone feels perfectly.

And as everyone celebrated their new permanent resident, the sisters approach the current Queen of Succubus. She Sat next to her shy friend with a glass of wine she's holding with her tail. She somehow manages acquired one despite not leaving his sight for the pass couple hours.

"Well, well, hello there both of you~" She raises her glass in greetings.

"Alma Elma... You're the Queen of this era, aren't you? But from what we've seen, you're..."

Her smile no longer reached her eyes. "...I've heard that from my mother so many times that I'm sick of it."

Realizing the bitter taste in their junior's mouth, Lilith asked. "Would you like us to teach you some leadership techniques...?"

"There's even some ancient pleasure magic we could offer..." Lilim finishes.

The Heavenly Knight simply shook her head at this, she had no need for more power as of now.

"No thanks, I'm good. Fufufu..."

===0===

The Heavenly Knight decided to give him some personal space as they left the Succubus Village. Now that he's no longer surrounded by her race, she doesn't have to mark him with her scent anymore.

'It was adorable how oblivious he was to all of the advances they were throwing at him~' She thought to herself.

Now... what isn't adorable is the hollowed look she saw in his eyes from time to times.

"What do you think, Luka-boy~?"

His eyes snap back at her in a mild panic.

"Uh... sorry, Alma Elma, I got spaced out there... what were we talking about...?"

"Nothing, Luka-boy~ I started the conversation like that~"

He winced at being caught.

"Oh..."

...

...

...

The forest dweller was waiting for her to question him about it, but she never did.

Slowly, he turns to find her looking back at him. With the light of the campfire illuminating her features and the stars above them decorating the night sky, she patiently waited for him to continue. Seeing that he doesn't, she simply shrugs and...

Is that... a painting equipment?

"Well now, what's for dinner, Sweetheart~?" Said the Succubus as she brought the brush in her hand to her palette and dip it in a bright red paint.

"...They gave us some potatoes so I was thinking we could-"

"Oh..." She looks depressed.

"Pretzel! We're having pretzel!" He immediately changes it.

"Oh~ That's much better!" Smirking to herself, she went back to her painting as he brings out some of the sweet bread he had made after teleporting back to the Forest of Spirits.

'I didn't know she was into painting...'

The fact she has such a normal hobby is... frankly more bizarre than if she has a strange one.

Not to mention...

'She didn't even ask me about it... she just moves on...'

Luka doesn't know if he should feel grateful or confuse.

...

...

...

===0===

By the time Luka woke up, he saw the surrounding area near their campfire brightening, the sun rising in the horizon signaling the coming of another day.

"Morning..." He let out softly, getting up from his tent as four spirits gave their replies in his mind.

Stretching himself in a light morning exercise, the forest dweller was about to summon the power of Undine to clean himself as usual before his heterochromatic eyes saw something that caught his attention.

"Hmm...?"

It was a canvas, placed against the Succubus' tent as he hears her soft breathing inside.

But that's not all, there's a painting on the canvas. One he couldn't help but curiously moves closer to observes. Quietly making his way over the artwork, he begins to see the details clearer, it allcoming together to create a beautiful piece of art.

It's her, the Heavenly Knight struct a sensual pose, illuminated by the light of their campfire with the stary night sky above filling the upper portion of the a smug grin on her face, the Succubus playfully wink to the person viewing the art.

'She drew herself as a hobby...?' He thought in befuddlement.

'Talk about being self-absorb~!'

'There is such thing as too much self-love...'

'Was it vain? Maybe. But to be honest, I don't see a problem with her painting herself. As long as she doesn't start harming our contractor.'

'...' Gnome nodded to Salamander, she seems to like the painting at least.

"Wait..." He pauses, paying extra close attention to the art as he saw something else.

...There...behind the Succubus' seductive figure is a young man eating a pretzel. He's wearing a green cloak with long violet hair tied into a braid...

It's him.

She put him in the background of her painting.

Luka continues not knowing how to feel about it...

END OF CHAPTER


Author's note: It's been a bit longer than expected for me to post this. Life happens, y'know how it is. So, here's the continuation of last chapter and the proper start of one of this fic's main selling points; The unique relationship between this version of Luka and Alma Elma...

I understand for some of you, the suspension of disbelief is wavering because of this decision I've made in this story. Not that I blame you of course, it's pretty hard to belief she wouldn't just selfishly took advantage of Luka and treats him as nothing more than a toy after everything she have done previously.

But I need you guys to bear with me, okay?

I'll try my best to make the transition as smooth as possible.