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Year 16 AL, The Sealed Seraph's Lament
The Sealed Sinner's Prison was a truly dreadful place.
Not dreadful as in decrepit, like one would expect from a run-down home or abandoned warehouse. No, the barrier between life and death was a much more grievous realm, a sizeable chunk of Ilias's personal Hellscape was a seemingly endless expanse of desert. It wasn't of the same design as deserts of the outside World, though. These wide and tall dunes were made up of black sand. For as far as one could see, this desert made up most of the Sealed Sinner's Prison.
If the desert of dark sand was not inhospitable enough, then all one needed to do was lift their gaze to the dark gray sky. Up above the black desert was a similarly endless expanse of dark, swirling storm clouds. From time to time, a loud roar of thunder would sound out from the sky as it was lit up by blindingly bright lightning strikes.
All in all, there was perhaps no place more depressing, more soul-crushing. This is why it served Ilias so well, as there is no place fuller of suffering and misery than the Sealed Sinner's Prison. This is also why there have only ever been three prisoners relegated to being imprisoned in this realm. Somewhere in the vastness of the deadlands of the realm, three large iron crosses were designating these past and present occupants.
These giant crosses all measured six meters tall each, looming over the dunes not only as monuments decrying the traitors whom they represented but also served to physically imprison their bodies as well.
However, only one person was currently hung up from any of these crosses. On the cross furthest to the right, the person in question was strung up by large rusty chains that came down from the arms of the cross to tightly wrap around her wrists. The rest of the woman's body was limply suspended in midair, swaying gently from the cross.
Hanging down to the woman's feet was what used to be a pearl-white nightgown, having been stained with the blood of Assassinroid alongside her own blood for years now. In some places the nightgown had become tattered and ripped, making it lose any and all cleanliness it once had.
From her head fell long tattered locks of golden-brown hair. The strands of dirty and knotted hair came down past her shoulders, with some also falling in front of her face. A face that seemed to be the personification of tiredness as her tightly closed eyes had black circles beneath them, making her otherwise soft Angelic face seem worn and drained of life.
This woman was the former Second Seraph, the Fallen Angel, Lucifina.
Silently, the Fallen Angel kept her eyes closed as she hung from the chains. An empty breeze cascaded through the dunes, billowing her hair and gown around her body. The Seraph's eyes closed a bit tighter, the cold wind chilling her body some. A loud rumble of thunder overhead caused Lucifina to actually open her eyes, the pools of pale blue looking up to the sky in worry.
The dark clouds of Sealed Sinner's Prison did not bring rain often, but when it did, it was merciless. In the past four years Lucifina had been locked away in this Hellscape, there had been about two dozen or so days out of each year where it would rain.
The rain in this realm was some of the harshest and chilling one could endure. The droplets of water were like icicles, seeming to stab and cut into the skin as they fell. Lucifina began to shake at the thought, her movements beginning to cause her to sway significantly more.
The thundering grew louder as the wind picked up, tossing the Fallen Angel's clothing and hair around more wildly. Lucifina herself sighed, having no other choice but to resign herself to her fate.
Slowly, her head lowered back down as she closed her eyes once more. Eventually, she would simply fall back into a dark and dreamless sleep. For, in the Sealed Sinner's Prison, no matter how much pain or torture one befell, one could never die. Not from starvation, not from drought, not even self-inflicted injury could cause one to pass.
This was ensured by Ilias herself, as her punishment for betrayal was an eternity of mental and physical hardship of the utmost severity.
Lucifina had almost managed to fall into exhaustion once more until something prodded at her. "H-Huh?" She muttered softly, feeling a presence reach out to her. The former Seraph's pale eyes opened quickly, glancing around frantically. She glanced over to the other two crosses, seeing that they were still empty. Idily, she noted how the chains on the leftmost cross had been pried open, while the ones on the cross right next to her had not been.
However, they were covered in dried blood.
Lucifina looked up at her own chains, wondering for probably the millionth time how she could free herself from her own bindings. Before she could think much longer on this, she felt the prodding once more but stronger now.
"What, what is this?" She mumbled, confused eyes looking around before realizing something. What she was feeling was Holy Magic.
Lucifina's own powers were sealed off, naturally, so she had a hard time deciphering exactly what it was at first. But now, it was clear as day to her. But the realization only made her more confused. Who would be using Holy Magic to reach out to her? The only being that would be able to do so, in her mind, was Ilias herself. However, the Goddess of Light should have no reason to do so, and even if she did, it would not be so weak.
A third, strong prodding happened, causing Lucifina to gasp loudly in remembrance. This feeling was familiar, she knew better than anyone else whose power this was.
It felt exactly like how Luka's did, the day she first sensed and then sealed his own power away years ago.
"Lu-Luka?" Lucifina choked out, barely able to speak due to sheer exhaustion and because of a wave of emotion that began to hit her. Hot tears began to stream down from her eyes, the first smile in nearly a decade coming to her face as she cried out at the sensation. It had been so long since she last had seen him that she had nearly forgotten how much she missed him.
The Fallen Angel didn't know how she was feeling his presence, but it didn't matter to her. Knowing that he was out there was enough for the Mother in her to come back to life, making Lucifina's heart swell with joy. Just as the wave of happiness hit her, another loud burst of thunder came, this time accompanied by a violent and visible strike of lightning.
The bolt fired down, striking the ground a couple hundred meters away. Lucifina cringed, knowing all too well what would happen if the lightning got too close to the iron crosses and chains.
Lucifina pulled at her wrist bindings, renewed strength coming to her as thoughts of her son flowed in her mind. Expectantly, simply yanking at the chains surrounding her wrists wasn't going to accomplish much. She hissed upon feeling the cold metal cut and squeeze her skin, but Lucifina didn't waver as the storm above her intensified.
The Fallen Angel grunted in pain, feeling blood start to flow from the cuts as she yanked even harder. The Seraph began to swing from the cross, the metal chains jangling loudly above her head. Lucifina's pale blue eyes were desperately fixated on her hands, pulling with all of her might at the cold bindings. She disregarded the burning pain in her hands as she was slowly able to cram her petite hands into the even smaller wrist locks.
Lucifina felt the bones in her hands start to bend and pop unnaturally as more tears fell from her eyes. The Seraph really began to worry, however, when she felt the cold sting of raindrops start to fall. "Come on, come on!" Lucifina hissed, really wrenching away at the metal until...
Snap
The golden-brown-haired Angel cried out as her left hand popped on its way out of the chains. She swung violently to the right; the shoulder of the still chained arm being pulled hard during the descent. The harsh drop at the end of the fall was able to successfully snap the remaining chain completely, allowing Lucifina to be flung to the dark sand below.
With a thud and a loud groan, the Fallen Angel crashed into the ground, rolling down the incline below until she came to a stop in the small valley of the sand dune. Lucifina lay there for a long period, clutching her broken left hand tightly as she wept in her agony.
The Seraph couldn't rest long, though. She felt even through her dirtied nightgown as more rain began to fall. Struggling to push herself off the ground, Lucifina opted to crawl up the hill of sand until she reached the top. Finally, once getting onto more stable sand, the golden-brown haired Mother was able to lift herself up to stand for the first time in four years.
Her legs shook, but Lucifina forced herself to stay upright as she surveyed the landscape ahead of her. Unsurprisingly, nothing but a huge stretch of rolling black sand stood before her. Lucifina felt somewhat disheartened at the sight, not knowing where to start or if there would even be an end if she searched for it. Her gaze went upwards, looking at the far-off point in the sky in which the dark clouds overhead seemed to swirl around.
This movement had been the same since Lucifina had first gotten there, the clouds always seeming to revolve around this specific part of the sky. If there was any way out of the Sealed Sinner's Prison, then this phenomenon had to be it.
'It doesn't matter...' Lucifina thought as she slowly began taking shaky steps forward. The black sand below her bare feet felt bizarrely cold as she walked towards the massive swirl in the sky. '...Even if there's only a small chance, I have to try.'
Lucifina hurried her steps as the rain began to pick up, the Fallen Angel nearly tripping over herself as she gained speed. If nothing else, she would scour the entire Sealed Sinner's Prison if it meant that she could see Luka again, and she would be damned if anyone could stop her from doing so...
...Because she could not stand having the last memory of her son being him up in Heaven, cradled in the arms of Ilias.
And so, the scorned Mother trudged on, not knowing that her destination would be bringing her to a face from a long and distant past...
En route to the bandit's hideout, the young Prophet Luka was unaware of his Mother's sensing of his energy through Angel Halo. Ahead of the purple-haired boy was the large Irina Mountain range, which towered above the mostly flat grasslands around it. He marched on the path, his walking aided by...
...A walking stick.
"I still can't believe you found that out here. There aren't even any trees around, how could there be any sticks?" Alice asked, annoyed that somehow the purple-haired boy had been able to procure himself a second stick. Luka shrugged in reply, "I'm not complaining, at least now the trek won't be so bad for me."
Alice shook her head at his response but offered no further comment about the stick. Instead, she went to question the boy on his upcoming confrontation with the "Bandits" of Iliasburg.
"So, do you actually have a plan on how to take on these Monsters? Again, there's a Vampire and a Dragon at least if what that thing said is true. Don't you realize that means you have next to no chance at winning?" Luka trudged on, a troubled look slowly growing on his face. Alice's words weren't unfounded, he knew that even with his recent success with using Angel Halo he still needed work in fighting.
Even still, he couldn't allow these Monsters to run rough-shot unchallenged. "I'll figure something out, I have to. It's my duty as a Hero, not like I have much choice." He answered simply.
"Have it your way," Alice started. "It's your sloppy funeral." Luka said nothing in response as they reached the base of the Irina Mountains. The young Hero scanned the giant rocky inclines and jutting cliffsides, looking for some indication as to where the Monsters may be. Looking about the area, though, he found that there seemed to be no obvious hiding spots around. 'Darn, this might actually take a while. Who knows where they could be holed up at? It could take days just to search...'
From behind him, Luka heard Alice agree to his unspoken sentiments. "Are you really still wanting to do this? It's going to take forever for you to find them at this rate. If they're even here still." The purple-haired boy frowned as they walked along a tall cliff running along the mountains. He stepped around a small shrub, "You can't talk me out of this, I'm going to find them and try to reason with them."
Alice scoffed, "Reason with them? I gave you Angel Halo so you could fight more, not talk more. Given what Monsters these are, you'll have your work cut out just trying to get a word in."
Luka kept his gaze downward, eyes hardened. "Doesn't mean I-I can't try." He replied. "Just because they're hostile, doesn't mean I can't at least attempt a peachful solution." Alice slithered close to him, her voice challenging him. "Not everyone can be reasoned with, Luka. That Worm, for instance, couldn't be reasoned with. You had to seal her, or she'd rape you."
Luka nodded, "Yes, I know that. But I'm willing to give anyone I meet the benefit of the doubt." Alice shook her head at his words, "That sort of thinking will only set you up for failure, you know. Eventually, someone will take advantage of that ignorance and it'll be your downfall." Luka kept quiet as he scanned the mountain's cliffside, trying to ignore Alice's pessimistic words.
Just then, a loud yell from above cut through the air, catching the two off guard.
"YAAIII!"
Luka snapped his eyes up at the battle yell, catching a glimpse of a small figure jumping from one of the lower cliffs. With the sun beaming behind them, the form of the ambusher was darkened. The purple-haired boy took a dive, rolling away from the unknown assailant as they crashed right where he had been standing moments ago.
A low thud reverberated off the Mountain's walls, echoing in his ears. The boy stood to his feet, taking Angel Halo off of his back in a hurry. A huge dust cloud had formed at the impact zone, kicking up a couple meters in the air as a result.
He heard the voice call out through the cloud. "Damn it, damn it! O-Okay, Give me - oh come on, you stupid thing - Give me your m-money!" Luka noticed that the voice seemed to sound strained, a couple groans being made here and there. The dust slowly began to settle, revealing who this ambusher was.
The young Hero noticed with some confusion that the Monster actually seemed to be someone younger and smaller than he was. If he had to guess, he'd say that the girl had to only be about twelve by the looks of it.
The dust eventually fell away completely, allowing Luka to peer at the Monster who had attacked him. The currently bent-over Monster appeared humanoid, having no discernable Monster traits aside from a couple small white horns jutting from beneath her dirty-blonde hair. On top of her head was a large brown helmet that had similarly white curved horns coming from either side.
Her small body was adorned with a white vest adorned with golden trim. Around the waist were a black belt and rope, leading down to the Monster's brown pants. Her arms were sleeveless, showing her tanned skin down to the light-brown gloves she was wearing on both hands. Currently, these hands were wrapped around a long silver handle that was jutting out of the ground.
Luka glanced down, now seeing that the handle belonged to a hammer. The head of which is over halfway stuck inside the ground. Puzzled, the boy watched as the Monster heaved in an unsuccessful attempt to pull her weapon from the ground. Luka took a small step forward, "Um, do you need help with that?"
The Monster shook her head madly and said, "No! N-Not at all! J-Just give me - Ugh - A second!" The Monster grew red in the face from her efforts, budging the weapon somewhat from its place in the ground.
With a confused frown, Luka glanced behind him to see that Alice was gone yet again. 'I don't know if she'd really have to worry about being seen with me here.' He thought, turning back to the small girl in front of him. Luka took a couple more steps forward, "Are you sure?" He pressed, causing the Monster to look back at him. Her large blue eyes looked at him, a bit of bashfulness in them.
"Ye-Yes please." She muttered. Luka obliged, walking over to stand a bit behind the girl. He noticed with some satisfaction that this Monster was actually a head shorter than him.
'That'd be a first.' Luka thought as he reached around the smaller Monster, grabbing a hold of the handle alongside her, "Okay, now pull!" He said, and they began to tug at the handle. The hammer began to move a bit more than it had before, the ground unearthing just a bit more. They stopped after a moment, both having to take a moment to catch their breath.
"Come on, we almost have it!" Luka said, gripping the handle tightly. The Monster joined him, the two planting their heels tightly into the ground. Both of their bodies tensed as they yanked at the handle, the ground starting to split. "It's c-coming out!" The Monster yelled, "Pull harder!"
Luka glanced at the Monster, face red in exertion. "I'm pulling... as hard... as I can!" He yelled back.
They had to stop once more, the odd pair panting at the effort. Luka adjusted himself, letting go of the handle to move to where he was standing right behind the Monster. He wrapped his arms around her to hold the hammer's handle. "Okay, lean back into me as much as you need to, and we should be able to get it out." The Monster nodded, shaking her hands quickly before gripping the weapon once more. She called out, "I'm ready!" Then, for the final time, they pulled back.
Per Luka's suggestion, the Goblin girl leaned back into him, pressing hard into his hips. Luka flinched at the contact, not having fully thought out that particular detail when suggesting the move. Trying to ignore it, he focused on retrieving the hammer from the ground.
Unseen by him was the fact that the girl had become quite suddenly aware of the contact, her face become beet-red. As they pulled back in unison, the hammer was becoming very close to leaving the ground, the dry dirt and plant roots splitting away as it came within centimeters of becoming unstuck.
"H-Harder, harder!" The Goblin gasped out, a bead of sweat falling down her face.
Luka grimaced at the wording; teeth gritted as he heaved with all of his might. The smaller Monster leaned into him even more, causing the boy to internally panic as he could feel her butt being pushed up against his lap. Just as the boy's face began to heat up, the hammer broke through the ground and flew up into the sky. With a yelp, the Goblin flew back into him, and the two lost grip with the hammer as it flew through the air behind them.
"AHH!"
"Gah!"
The Monster fell back-first into Luka, who himself fell into the dirt below with a hiss as Angel Halo prodded uncomfortably into his back. Somewhere behind them, the hammer thudding loudly against the ground. Luka panted as he lay there, the small Monster doing the same to catch her breath. Then, the Goblin whipped around, straddling him as he lay there.
"Ha-ha!" She laughed despite her face appearing tired and flushed from what had just happened. "I've got you now!" She declared, putting her hands on his shoulders. "Now, surrender yourself to the Goblin Bandit!"
Luka stared up at the Goblin girl in confusion. "Wait, you're one of the bandits?" He asked. She let go of his shoulders to fold her a satisfied smirk coming into her face. She replied, "Ah, so you know of us? Then you truly now realize how much danger you are in!" The boy looked up and down her small form incredulously, not quite believing that this was the threat he had been sent to deal with.
Though, if he was honest, he was somewhat glad that she was more cute and less harmful than what he expected.
The Goblin girl looked down at him, "Now that you understand, give me your - Gah!" Swiftly, Luka grabbed the Goblin by her waist, tossing her backward over him with a quick movement of his arms. He heard her tumble as he spun around to stand, watching as the Monster rolled across the ground, stopping short of her hammer.
"Y-You shouldn't do something so mean, you know!" The Monster yelled, heaving up her hammer as she stood. Surprisingly, the Goblin was able to perform a decent spin of her weapon with both arms, planting the bottom of it into the ground with some authority as she faced him.
Luka furrowed his eyebrows at the smaller girl and said, "You're the one who tried to attack me first, though." She clenched a fist in front of her with threatening intentions and snapped back. "Well, duuuuh. I'm a bandit who wants money and you're a boy who probably has money. Put two and two together, and that means I'm gonna rob ya!"
Luka huffed and put his hands on his hips. "I'm not just a boy, I'm a Hero. Now," He took his hands off his hips, raising his right in front of him while his left went to grip the handle of Angel Halo. "I'll give you a chance to-" To the boy's chagrin, the Goblin cut off his proclamation with a loud chuckle. She gave him a condescending look, "You, a Hero? You don't look strong enough for that."
Luka pursed his lips, frustration rising in him at having someone like this Goblin mock him so easily.
"A-Alright! If you don't wish to back down then I have no choice." He drew Angel Halo, holding it in place in front of him with both hands. The Goblin's large blue eyes locked onto the blade with a look of shock. "Ew! What the Hell is that!? Even I wouldn't steal that thing!"
Luka glanced down at the sword, having to agree to the sentiment. He muttered, "I don't blame you there..." Raising his gaze to the Goblin, steeling his eyes. "Well, this is your last last chance then. If you don't want to take on me and my sword, then give up and no harm will come to you!"
The Goblin girl looked between Luka and Angel Halo, a mental battle of probably epic proportions being waged in her mind. He heard the Goblin girl whisper to herself, "Hmmm. Ugly sword, cute boy. Uuuugly sword, cuuute boy. I hate the sword, but I kinda like the boy..." She bounced lightly on both feet, gripping her hammer's handle as she weighed her options.
The Goblin girl hefted up the hammer, leaning it against her shoulder as she narrowed her now determined eyes. "Have it your way, Hero! Prepare yourself to face Gob the Goblin, Bandit of Earth, of the Four Bandits!"
Luka blanked at the unnecessarily long title the Monster had given herself. 'Wait, of Earth? Are they just ripping off the Heavenly Knights, or can they actually use the elements in battle? If they can, this Monster might actually be stronger than I thought.' Just as he was mulling this over. the Goblin Girl went on the attack!
"Prepare yourself for one of my most devastating attacks!" She yelled, digging into a satchel hanging from her belt. Her hand came from the satchel, clutching something tightly in her small palm.
"Pocket Sand!"
Gob yelled out, throwing a small cloud of sand at Luka! However, during mid-flight, the sand's course was altered by a light breeze that caused it to fly back at Gob's face. "AH!" She cried out, dropping her hammer as her hands went to her face to scrub away the self-afflicted injury.
Luka stared open-mouthed at the display, feeling somewhat sorry at the sad sight. He looked around the landscape, wondering if this was really happening or not. Gob eventually was able to clear her sight, her face glaring harshly as a strong blush of shame appeared on her face.
"Y-You may be stronger than I thought, having been able to reflect my attack is impressive! However, Hero, you won't be so lucky with my next attack!" Luka stared in confusion, knowing that he hadn't done anything at all to divert her attack despite what the Goblin had claimed.
Gob bent down and raised her hammer in the air with some grunting, her gloved hands clamped tightly around the handle. "P-Prepare your b-body for the wrath of Earth!" She took a step forward, proclaiming her next "attack".
"Earth Crashing Goblin!"
Luka measured his opponent, getting ready for whatever this next attack may be...
...Gob stepped forward, hammer shakily reaching towards the sun and clouds above...
...She stepped closer...
...And again...
...And once more.
Luka noted with despair that there were at least twenty or so steps before Gob would be close enough to actually attack him. The purple-haired boy coughed into his right hand, Angel Halo held now by his side instead of upright and ready. 'Should I just finish this now? This is getting a bit sad now.' Luka moved a couple steps forward to close the distance between himself and the Goblin.
"Ha-Ha! So now you a-approach me, how easily you accept your fate now that you see my true p-power!" Gob yelled, swaying a bit as she fought to steady the large hammer over her head. "Take this!" She yelled, bringing the hammer down quickly, aiming it right at Luka's head! To which the boy easily sidestepped in response, the hammer impacted with a loud thud as it now became lodged into the ground for a second time.
Gob looked at her hammer in horror before she turned her eyes to Luka. "Ehehehe... I don't suppose you'd-"
"-No." Luka cut off her question before she could finish, not wanting to help the Goblin a second time for fear that he'd end up inadvertently getting too close and personal once more. Gob gave a loud huff in frustration, "Fine! I-I don't want your help anyways!" The Goblin strained, gritting her teeth harshly as she began pulling at the hammer like before. However, in a feat that surprised Luka a bit, Gob was able to get her hammer out with a loud growl.
The Goblin girl leaned to the right, aiming to swing the hammer at Luka. The purple-haired boy jumped back as Gob flailed the hammer wildly, "H-Hey, watch how you swing that thing!" Luka called out, watching as the Goblin swung around the hammer...
...Or rather, the hammer seemed to swing her around as Gob spun around and stumbled while "attacking" Luka.
The Goblin girl yelped, losing her footing until she tripped. In mid-fall, Gob lost grip of the hammer, and the weapon flew into the air as the Monster fell. She landed face-first with a groan as Luka watched the hammer fly high into the sky, gasping as he realized that the Monster was potentially about to be hit by her own weapon!
Luka dropped his sword, dashing over to the downed Goblin girl before diving towards her. The young Hero kicked up a cloud of dust as he snatched her by the waist, rolling against the ground as he pulled the Monster close. He saw the loud crash as the hammer landed right in front of them, impacting right where the back of Gob's head would've been if Luka hadn't intervened. The two breathed heavily as they lay there, the boy from the adrenaline pumping in his body and the Monster from her very near-death experience.
"Y-You saved me?" Gob stuttered out, confused at Luka's actions. He let go of the smaller girl's waist, pushing off the ground with his hands to stand. The Monster sat up, watching the purple-haired boy dust his clothes off with his gloved hands. "Why?" She asked, lost as to what his intentions were.
Instead of replying, Luka reached down, extending a hand to the smaller girl. Her bright blue eyes looked up to his pale blue ones, finding no hidden intent in his gaze. She took his hand carefully, and Luka pulled her up to her feet.
Luka gloved hands wiped down her vest, removing the dirt and dust that had covered it moments prior. Gob unsurely watched him do this, face contorted into a small frown as he backed away and nodded. He opened his mouth, "There you go, all better now?"
Gob scanned Luka's gentle face, not understanding why he was being so kind to her after the way she had treated him moments ago. "You..." She began, "...Why are you being so nice to me, why did you s-save me?"
Luka shrugged, "I'm a Hero, it's my job to be nice to everyone I meet. And I don't only save Humans, I'm going to save Monsters, too." The Goblin's eyebrows fell, her face becoming upset in her confusion. "No, Heroes are nice to Humans, not Monsters. Everyone knows that."
The young Hero shook his head while replying, "Well, I'm not that type of Hero. I want to be a Hero for people and Monsters, I want us to be able to live together without conflict." Gob looked at him owlishly, the statement sounding far too alien to her.
"I-I don't understand..." She muttered, her stance swaying a bit as she thought over the boy's words. Suddenly, the Goblin girl turned away and sprinted off towards the mountains. "Hey, wait!" Luka called out, a gloved hand outstretched to the girl as she ran. He watched her hop up a small incline, disappearing behind a rock wall.
Luka frowned, slowly turning around to go retrieve Angel Halo. He picked the sword up, trying to ignore the scandalous moan that erupted from the sword upon being touched. 'I'm never going to get used to that...' The boy thought, grimacing at the sound. He turned to where the Goblin Girl had run away to, nearly jumping at the sight of Alice standing before him. She had a perturbed look on her face as she gazed upon the Hero.
"Why didn't you fight back?" The Lamia asked bluntly. "What do you mean?" He asked, puzzled by Alice's question. The lavender-skinned Monster slithered up to the boy. "That whole time you did absolutely no attacks, not even one. In fact, you did more to aid your opponent than you did to beat her. Hell, you practically got busy with her there at the start."
Luka blushed, looking away from Alice as he tugged on some of his hair. "O-Oh, you saw that?" Luka asked. Alice crossed her arms, a disbelieving tone in her voice. "I think I saw too much of... whatever that was..." She looked up to the sky with a pensive gleam in her golden eyes. "I'm not sure if there's ever been a time when a Human dry-humped a Monster while in battle before. You might've just set a precedent, I think."
The young Hero's blush grew darker at Alice's mocking words, "It-It wasn't like that! I was just trying to h-help her pull out the h-hammer!" Alice nodded slowly, amusement dancing in her eyes. "Oh, that wasn't the only "hammer" I saw getting pulled out. A couple more minutes of that, and you might still be on the ground right now, "wrestling" with that Goblin."
Luka covered his ears, walking away from Alice towards the mountain. "Okay, okay, okay! I-I get it, y-you don't have to say a-anything else!" Alice quickly slithered up to the boy's side to follow him, a questioning gaze in her eyes as he began to climb the mountainside.
"Are you really still going up there? Now you know that there's four Monsters up there, including that Goblin. Two you know in the Vampire and Dragon, and one more that hasn't even been identified. Regardless of the Monster we don't know, you have two chances at beating them all together: Slim and None."
Luka shook his head at Alice's words climbing the rocky incline as she stood at the bottom. "I still have to face them, Alice. It's my duty as a Hero to bring them to justice for their evil acts." Luka turned back to face the Lamia, meeting her look of disappointment with a face of determination. "If I-I don't stop them, who will?"
Alice rolled her golden eyes, "You care too much, this isn't your problem. Your problem is the Monster Lord, remember? It's pointless to go off facing down these Monsters for people," She raised a hand back in the general direction of Iliasburg, "That you don't even know."
Luka looked away momentarily, sighing at his traveling partner's words. "Yeah, I don't know them. B-But that's not the point. I don't have to know them to care for them, to not want to see them get hurt. That's all I care about." Again, Alice seemed dismissive of his words, simply closing her eyes shut in frustration as she realized that the boy simply wouldn't listen to her reasoning.
"Risking your life for strangers..." She muttered, "...Completely idiotic." Nevertheless, the Monster Lord slowly slithered up the mountainside after him, as Luka bit his lip in thought.
'She might still think it stupid, but I'll prove her wrong. One step at a time...'
"I'm telling you, he's really strong! I-I don't think we can beat him!" The scruffy voice of Gob the Goblin echoed through the cave as she raised her voice to the other three bandits.
One of the three other voices, the high-pitched chatter of the group's Vampire, chuckled in the darkness. "Kukukuuu, just because he beat you doesn't mean he is strong. You are the weakess one of us, after all." The Goblin girl took offense to the statement. "H-Hey, I'm not weak! Just listen to me, I'm serious!"
Another voice, the low and raspy voice of the Dragon, called out next. "Whahahaaa! She's right, Gob. Him beating you is expected. It's a wonder that you're even a part of the Four Bandits with how weak you are compared to us!" The Goblin girl pouted at the Dragon's words. "Hey, I-I'm not that much weaker than you guys!" Gob whined, stomping her foot on the ground.
A third voice, the one belonging to the unidentified Monster, "Fufufuuu, you were really only brought on because we needed four members to be the Four Bandits, and there was no one else available."
Gob was about to fiercely return the put down with an insult herself, but the entire group froze as shuffling and voices could be heard from the cave's entrance.
"It seems that the Hero has arrived..." The Dragon growled, her bright yellow eyes glaring towards the start of the cave. The Vampire's light red eyes glowed mischievously as she snickered, "Kukukuuu, waltzing straight to his doom! How foolish!"
The Goblin girl stomped over to face the other three, her face full of anxiety. "I-I'm telling you, he's really-" The third Monster's emerald eyes gleamed with confidence as she slithered forward.
"He's this, he's that, have you forgotten who we are? Ha!" The Monster passed by Gob, a long snake-like tail following her. "If he's so strong, then let's see how he matches up against a Lamia!" The now-identified snake monster slid across the stone floor towards the approaching Luka as the others laughed amongst themselves.
All except the Goblin Girl, Gob. Whose large blue eyes watched on in worry.
"Is this really the right cave? It looks the same as the last three caves I've looked in!" Luka exclaimed, having found other caves that looked exactly like this one.
Alice shrugged, "I don't know, but it better be. I'm getting tired of hiking this lame mountain range." Alice drew close to the cave's entrance, giving a hum. "Hmmm, I don't sense any Dragons here..." She sniffed at the air for a moment, her golden eyes widening at what she smelled. "Oh for..." She muttered, stopping her own ranting to simply groan. "...Seriously?"
Luka looked at her curiously. "Wh-What is it, Alice?" The Lamia slithered up to the rock wall beside the cave's entrance, leaning against it while closing her eyes. "Just go in there and finish this quickly. I'm going to take a nap." Luka tilted his head at Alice's remark, confused at what she meant.
"Finish it quickly?" Luka parroted. The purple-haired boy was under the impression that he was heavily under-prepared for this fight, but Alice seemed to have no argument against him going to fight these Monsters now. Alice just sighed, "You'll see, it should be no issue. The fourth Monster is a Lamia, though."
'A Lamia!? So the fourth Monster is like Alice!? How am I supposed to beat that!?' Luka thought as he looked deep into the cave.
Alice shooed him in with a nudge of her long red tail, "Go on, go defeat these big scary Monster Bandits, Hero. The story of your victory here is sure to be one told for generations to come, or something..." Luka stared back in confusion at his traveling partner's sarcasm but went ahead and placed down his bag and walking stick with a touch of apprehension anyway.
'Okay, Luka. Just keep a level-head and it should be fine. This is what a Hero is meant to do, right? Face danger head-on with a fearless heart!' Luka marched inside, fists clenching and unclenching as he ventured inside the cave. The dark brown rock walls were covered in patches of moss here and there, giving the place a surprisingly lush visage despite it being an empty cave.
A very empty cave.
'Where are the Monsters at? Certainly I would've seen at least one of them by now. In fact, shouldn't there be a stash of stuff here in general? They're bandits, after all, they should have stolen good lying around. Heck, one of them is a Dragon, so shouldn't there be a huge stack of gold around here, too?' Luka pondered to himself as he went further into the cave.
However, as the young Hero came to a large open space in the cave, he found much the same: nothing.
There were some pillars of rock jutting up like columns here and there that a Monster could, perhaps, be hiding behind but it seemed unlikely. A thought quickly struck him, 'One of them is a Vampire, right? Maybe she's on the ceiling, hanging upside down like a bat!' His pale blue eyes snapped to the ceiling. However, the rocky roof was devoid of anything, Vampire or otherwise.
"Fufufuuu..." A small giggle resounded through the cave, putting the boy on alert. Luka tentatively lifted his left hand behind his head, placing a hand on Angel Halo. He preferred not to go straight to fighting, but with Monsters like the ones he is supposed to face, he may have no choice. "...So, you came. Be on guard, for I am your first opponent!"
Out from one of the stone columns slithered out, perhaps one of the most adorably anti-climactic sights the boy could have seen.
The Monster was indeed a Lamia, a very short green snake tail with brown stripes coming from her torso. Like Gob, this Monster was a head shorter than himself. Unlike Gob - and much to Luka's distress - this Monster had much less clothing on. Only a thin black piece of cloth covered the small Lamia's chest, leaving the rest of her upper body bare. Around her waist, thankfully, was a longer black skirt that hung loosely off her body. Her arms were mostly bare, with a couple gold gauntlets being latched on her arms.
The small Monster had very long purple hair, the longest of its length running down her back in a ponytail while the rest of it fell in front of her face in neat bangs. Her emerald eyes were ridiculously huge, staring up at the boy with superiority. "I am Teeny the Lamia, Bandit of Water, of the Four Bandits! Now, face your doom, Hero!" Luka stared silently at the yelling snake girl, now beginning to understand what he was dealing with.
'They're all just kids, aren't they?' Luka thought, lifting a hand to cover his grimace. Teeny laughed, mistaking the young Hero's movement for fear. "Ha! Stricken by terror now, aren't you? Now, take this!" The small Lamia's tail slithered over to him, beginning to wrap around the boy. However, due to its short length, it only managed to wrap around his right leg. "Hiya!" She called, her tail squeezing around Luka's leg!
Luka hummed while looking down at the lightly flexing tail, its "squeeze" lightly massaging his limb. 'That actually doesn't feel all that bad, honestly.' Luka thought off-handedly. Teeny laughed again, causing him to look up. "Fufufuuu! Now, I want to hear you scream, Hero!" Luka was half-tempted to fake a scream as a joke but cut himself short, he didn't want to embarrass her.
"Alrighty," Luka said, grabbing the small Lamia's tail. "I think I've had enough of this." He pulled, dragging Teeny over to him. The action gained a squeal from the Monster, her tail unraveling off of his leg. The pruple-haired boy lifted up Teeny, her emerald eyes locking with his pale blue ones in horror.
"Wh-Why didn't it work!? Just how strong are you!?" The tiny Lamia stuttered, tears building in her emerald eyes. Luka shrugged, "Strong enough, I suppose."
He then gently flipped the girl over, placing her tail-first on the ground so that she didn't get hurt. The purple-haired Lamia looked up at him, tears openly flowing now. "Y-You, you big meanie! I won't forget this!" She cried, her tail wriggling behind her wildly.
Luka bent over a bit while taking off a glove. He ran a finger under one of her eyes, catching one of the girl's tears. He looked down at the wetness before raising his gaze to Teeny, "Um, I suppose this isn't a part of your "water manipulation", is it? If you give me a moment, I have some tissues in my bag-"
"WAAAAAH!" the Lamia wailed, slithering away in a hurry as a trail of tears followed her. Luka frowned at the retreating snake girl. The purple-haired boy shook his head before continuing further down the cave, awaiting the next two bandits to come.
'That was even easier than Gob, somehow. Is every one of these bandits going to be this easy?' Luka wondered to himself before another chuckle echoed through the cave. Unlike before, Luka stood still, unaffected by the intimidation attempt.
"Kukukuuu, you beat Gob and Teeny so quickly, but rest assured that I won't fall so easily to your blade!" Luka scratched at his head in confusion, knowing that he hadn't even used his sword yet. From behind another column of rock stalked out yet another girl who was a head shorter than him.
Her body was enshrouded in a black cloak that was much too large for her short stature, the article trailing behind her in a tail of cloth about half a meter long. 'At least she's more properly clothed than the last one.' Luka thought to himself.
The girl's long blonde hair was parted in two twin tails, keeping the hair out of the way of her light red eyes. Two precious-looking fangs came out of her smiling mouth, the adolescent fangs only being a couple centimeters long at best. The little girl spoke lavishly, her tone probably meant to ensure the idea that she was regal. However, it failed to inspire much from Luka.
"I am the terror that flaps in the night..." She said, slowly stepping towards the purple-haired Hero. "...The one who's beauty can enchant even the strongest of wills..." She took another step, not noticing the large crack in the ground she was about to pass over. "...Tremble in fear at Vanilla the Vampire, Bandit of Wind, of the Four - GAAAHH!"
The small Vampire tripped over the crack, falling face-first onto the cave's stone ground with a thunk. "Owww..." The Vampire moaned, slowly pulling herself off of the ground. In doing so, the blonde Vampire's cloak came open some, revealing the fact that she was only wearing a small pair of white underwear underneath the cloak.
"He-He-Hey! Wh-Why are you n-naked for!?" Luka asked, covering his eyes with his hand. Vanilla rose from the ground with a huff, still embarrassed from her fall. "Well d-duh, it makes it easier for me to s-suck your energy out!" Luka shook his head vehemently, lowering his hand while keeping his eyes pointed above her head, only seeing as much as was necessary of the Vampire.
"Aren't you a little young to be doing that!?" The young Hero questioned, his tone conveying his horror.
Vanilla smirked as she proclaimed, "Age is but a number for us Vampires! Now feel the wrath of this creature of the night!" Suddenly, the girl's form dissipated as she changed into a swarm of small bats! They surrounded him quickly, swirling like a small tornado around him. Some dived at him, nipping at his exposed skin.
Truly, it was probably the only attack thrown at him so far that actually hurt some, but not by much. Nevertheless, he removed his sword from his back in preparation to swipe at the cloud of bats but as he did, they disappeared. Soon after, he felt something very light latch onto his back.
"Haha! I've got you now!" Luka recoiled as he felt the small girl's bare chest pressed against the back of his head and neck! The purple-haired boy grabbed at Vanilla, his gloved hand gripping her by the arm and flipping her over his head with a quick wrench of his shoulder.
Luka recoiled a bit at the small girl's rough landing, the Vampire hitting the ground with a grunt. Luka watched as the girl got to her knees, her light red eyes tearing up some as she rubbed her arm. "O-Oh, I'm sorry! I-I didn't mean to throw you that hard." Luka apologized, now feeling a bit worried. The Vampire girl pouted as she glared at him, rubbing the tears away.
"Y-You'll pay for that, Hero! Now, I will unleash my ultimate technique." She took a low stance, holding up her hands to her eyes. "J-Just give me a moment, it takes a while to build up my magic. B-But when I do, you'll be through!" Luka stood there, patiently awaiting this "ultimate technique" the girl spoke of.
After a half-minute of waiting, the girl grinned victoriously. "Kukukuuu, I have won this!" Vanilla's eyes turned blood red as she called out her most powerful spell.
"Eyes of Obedience!"
Luka met her gaze, not knowing that the spell was actually quite strong for such a young Monster. However, as it had previously, Holy Magic leaked from his ring in response to the attack and created an unseeable barrier in front of the boy. To Vanilla, however, it looked as if she had just taken control of the boy. She jumped up and down in celebration, cackling while Luka blinked in confusion.
"Kukukuuu, silly Hero! Your mind and body are mine! Now..." She squinted at him devilishly, pointing a finger towards him. "...Take off your pants for me!" Luka immediately flinched at the girl's words, waving his hands in front of him. "E-Eh!? N-N-No way, I'm not doing that!"
Vanilla's smile practically fell off her face, not believing that the boy had just disregarded her spell. "H-...-How? Yo-You can't just deny my will! You're supposed to do what I say! Now take off your freakin' pants!" She ran over to him, grabbing for said pants with both hands. However, Luka just put a single hand on her blonde head, keeping the Vampire at arm's length. She swiped feebly at him, her tears now flowing freely down her face.
Eventually, Vanilla stopped her flailing to let her arms fall down limply at her side. Luka removed his hand from her head, giving a stern look down at the humiliated Vampire. Tentatively, she drummed her fingers together while looking up at him with wide pleading eyes. "C-Can I... at least s-see your peni-"
"Absolute not!" Luka exclaimed as he waved the girl away, the act causing her to cry out again. "WAAH, NO FAIR!" The Vampire girl scurried away deep into the cave, her black cloak flapping behind her as she disappeared down the passage. Luka sighed, settling into the pattern that these young Monsters had unknowingly set up for him.
"I'm guessing that there's only one more Monster left, then." Luka said out loud to himself, starting to walk even deeper into the cave as he began pondering to himself. "I'm not really sure what's up with these girls. They all seem too young to be doing this stuff. Why are they out here in the middle of nowhere anyway? They all seem to be around twelve or thirteen, and that's no age to be living by yourself!"
Luka stopped in his tracks, not liking how the comment tasted on his tongue. After all, that type of situation wasn't alien to him, being someone who hadn't had any family since he was twelve himself. Frowning, Luka looked to the ground in thought, reflecting on the situation. However, he didn't get much time to think about the whole thing, as the last of the Monsters let her presence be known.
"Whahahaaa! It's impressive for you to have made it this far, but this is your end, Hero!" Luka couldn't even pretend to be surprised as a cute little Dragon girl bounded out from behind a wall of rock.
The Dragon girl had purple hair like the Lamia before her, but it was paler, much like Luka's own hair. That and it was held back into a large ponytail, revealing a small golden crown on the top of the Dragon girl's head. It seemed as if small blue spines came out from the base of her head, more likely than not being some sort of adolescent horns. The young girl's eyes were a bright yellow, which was accentuated by probably some of the thickest eyebrows the boy had ever seen before.
Luka was relieved to find that the Dragon girl at least had something covering her chest, the white cloth being more modest than the Lamia's at least, along with the white cloth wrapped around her waist. The boy also noted that the young girl seemed to be a bit more dangerous-looking than her fellows, actually having grown claws on her hands and toes, as well as dark blue armor plating on her lower-half and tail. Although her wings were still very small and, more likely than not, did not allow for flight.
The Dragon girl stood proud; her silver claws extended towards Luka. "You now face the mightiest of all! It is I! Papi the Dragon Pup, Bandit of Fire, of the Four Bandits!" Her raspy voice called out through the cave, echoing with semi-ferocity. "To defeat my comrades so decisively, you must be a true Hero! Know that I will not hold back!" Papi then reeled back, immediately starting the fight on the offense as she shouted her first attack!
"Intense Flame!"
From her mouth spewed a decently sized stream of flame! Being fast enough to dodge it, Luka rolled out of harm's way. He watched the fire shoot back towards the entrance of the cave with weary eyes, 'Wow, I definitely need to be careful with this one.' He quickly stood, refocusing on the smirking Dragon girl whilst grabbing at Angel Halo with his left hand. She looked at the sword with curiosity.
"Ah, so that is the gnarly sword that Gob had spoken of! It will make a fine addition to my collection!" Papi charged forward, jumping at Luka with claws raised high as she slashed at the boy. Luka side-stepped the attack, stomping down hard as he readied himself to counter. He threw a side-swipe at the Dragon, who was able to raise an armored arm to meet his attack!
Their clash gave a loud clunk as Angel Halo scraped against the hard scales on Papi's arm, eliciting a small yelp from the girl. Luka backpedaled some; his boots scratching against the stone floor as he tried to stabilize himself from the exchange, the Dragon girl having to do as well as she slid back. 'Even when young, a Dragon is a Dragon.' Luka thought to himself as he held up his sword with both hands.
Papi growled, a few tears building in her eyes, but she charged him on all fours either way. Luka flinched as the Monster dove into him, grabbing and biting onto his right arm.
"AHH!" Luka yelled, feeling as her small teeth and claws puncturing the arm a bit. Quickly, after some struggling, he was able to push her off with a shove from his foot. Papi tumbled backward, colliding with a stone pillar. He grimaced at the loudly echoing thud that came as her back hit the wall, but the Dragon Pup was able to shake it off. Her yellow eyes squinted in a somewhat teary glare as he hardened his own gaze.
Neither Luka nor Papi moved for a moment, sizing each other up. The purple-haired boy looked down to his right arm, seeing the very small cut in the sleeve. However, due to the undershirt he was wearing, Papi's attack didn't break any skin. 'Huh, Alice was definitely right about this stuff. Even a young Dragon like her would definitely have caused me to bleed if that wasn't there.'
Luka met the gaze of Papi once more, the Dragon girl snarling as he slid his right foot forward, the boot scuffing against the ground. Lula held Angel Halo in front of him, calling forth the familiar feeling of his sole magical attack. It was about time to end this, and the boy could tell this Monster would require just a bit more effort. Catching the Dragon Pup off guard, Luka called out:
"Demon Decapitation!"
Papi's eyes widened as Luka dashed forward, his sword turned to the left as he approached. She stumbled backward as he swung, causing the attack to cut at the edge of her chin. A small scar quickly formed as the girl tumbled and rolled a couple meters away, leaving Luka to stand where the Dragon girl had been moments prior.
Papi pushed herself up to her knees, and for a moment, Luka thought that the Dragon Pup may not actually be completely down for the count yet until she started to cry openly like the others had. Luka frowned at the display, placing Angel Halo onto his back as he stood up straight.
"Finally done? It took you a while." Alice remarked from out of nowhere.
Luka turned around at the familiar voice to find the amusing sight of his traveling partner holding the other three bandits in her coiled tail, the collective Monsters in various states of sniffling distress. Alice raised them up slightly, "These ones woke me up trying to run away, I figured you wouldn't want them getting away after we wasted all this time chasing them."
Luka looked back at the Dragon Pup, figuring that since she was the strongest, she was probably the leader. "There's only you four, right?" He asked. Papi nodded her head as she stuttered out, "Y-Yeah, that's right."
He then heard Vanilla call out to him from behind, "We could only get four in the group. Nobody else would join." Luka looked amongst the group, feeling bad for the group. They were just a bunch of children, more like hooligans than criminal bandits. He looked to Alice now, "So, what should we do with them?" The lavender-skinned Lamia shrugged, placing down the remaining lot by Papi. They trembled, all eyes averted from Alice and him.
Alice shrugged, "Well, you're the Hero, so technically, they're your responsibility to punish how you see fit." She raised a hand, lifting a finger as she listed his options. "You can sell them, eat them, skin them and wear them as coats, stuff them in a bag and throw them into a river..." Each suggestion Alice gave sent the four girls into a frenzy of tears and crying as they pleaded with Luka.
"D-Don't eat me, I d-don't taste good!" Papi cried, the Dragon Pup trembling where she stood.
"Don't sell me!" Vanilla wailed, "I-I can't be worth that much anyway!" The Vampire girl hid in her black cloak.
"Don't throw m-m-me in a river, I can't sw-swim!" Teeny said, confusing Luka as to why her element was water if she couldn't even swim.
"Don't skin me, please! I'm just a small little goblin girl, I wouldn't look good as a coooooat!" Gob screamed, hiding her face in her helmet.
"Wow," Alice said, bringing Luka's gaze to her. "How awful, why'd you make them cry like that? That's not very Heroic."
Luka drew back in indignation, pointing a finger at Alice. "H-Hey, I didn't make them cry. You did that!" The Lamia smirked, shrugging at his annoyance. He shook his head and regarded the girls with a gentle tone. "I'm not going to do any of that. What I am going to do is bring you four back to Iliasburg with me so you can apologize for your misdeeds." The four former bandits nodded their heads, quietly trying to contain their tears.
That is, until Alice butted in once more to ask, "And how exactly is that going to work? Are you going to drag them across the town and apologize to everyone one-by-one? What if the people want them lynched for their crimes?"
"L-Lynched!?" They all cried out in unison, fresh tears falling down their faces. Quickly, Luka held out his hands to calm them down. "No, no! There won't be any lynching, I'll see to that personally! Nobody's getting hurt in any form as long as I have something to say about it!" The girls looked at him with thankful faces while Luka turned to Alice with an accusing look.
The Lamia was unaffected, simply stating, "I'm just being realistic. Do you think that the townsfolk will just welcome them back with open arms?" The question was justified. After all, even if they were just kids, they were still Monsters. Monsters that, according to Amira, had been causing some grief around Iliasburg. There very well could be some resentment.
Thinking back to the reverse-Lamia's words made the boy realize something. He looked at Alice with optimistic eyes.
"Well, the way I see it, if they let someone like Amira run around the way she does, then they shouldn't have an issue with these four." Alice scrunched up her mouth at the mention of the bizarre Monster from Iliasburg, finding the boy's line of thought not exactly incorrect. However, it was still a bit of a stretch. The Lamia nodded at Luka, "If you really think so, I just wouldn't get my hopes up."
Despite her negative words, Alice followed as Luka shepherded the four little Monsters along, interested to see how he would handle this self-given task of his.
Finally I've allowed a small peak at Lucifina. It's a bit out of nowhere but expect that we will drop in on her every now and then. Not much to sat with her, yet. Other than I hope that my description of the Sealed Sinner's Prison is an interesting one.
Also, the wicked Four Bandits have been defeated! Had a bit of fun writing those parts. Expect a tad bit more from them next chapter as well, I have a little nugget of extra story-ing to do with them.
espioll: To put it simply, I will be writing Alma's fights as more mental battles than physical. Which means there will be elements of hypnosis/mind manipulation, stuff like that. Physical fighting will end up being light, as for her, physical fighting would be a last resort for if all else fails basically. Hope that clears that up.
Guest: Do expect to see Heinrich for sure, that's all I will say. He will become more prevalent as the sub-plot with Lucifina continues as he is the only other person living in the Sealed Sinner's Prison.
Guest: Indeed, and there will be more interesting happenings with Angel Halo as things continue on.
chronotimeguard: I couldn't help it; I had gotten the idea for Luka to write down his own Encyclopedia of sorts and then I basically had to make a joke about it. The connections won't get much farther than that, I just found the idea of something like that existing in the MGQ world amusing.
His weakness to women will be a reoccurring theme, definitely. Not out of perversion, though, it's more so because he simply is a lot shyer and gentler. This makes him a pretty easy target for most at first, but as he matures it will fade some. Not completely go away, but he will learn to overcome some of that behavior.