"Fifteen, kill them all!"
La Croix knew she wouldn't survive past this day after making enemies with the current Monster Lord, but when she saw the 16th furiously attack her little sister she couldn't accept it.
Please run away from here, Chrome. Big sister will do her best and shoulder all the burden. I won't let the sixteen hurt you.
"Begin with that pretender to your throne." La Croix pointed to Alice, who was still too close to Chrome for comfort, even with that Human, her ghosts, and Frederika protecting her.
"As my Lord commands." The 15th flew towards the 16th in a blink, turning her daughter's attention to her profaned undead visage.
"Mother please resis-!"
Slam
"Gah!"
Alice's desperate cry was met with a vicious, bone-breaking tail whip, sending her body spiraling out of control on the ground and away from Cervantes and Chrome who were behind her, shocking both when the girl that was in front of them suddenly wasn't.
"Mo… ther…." Alice was shaking all over, trying and failing to stand up, the pain she was feeling was the worst one she had ever felt, surpassing by a hundred that time Ilias struck her down when she ambushed the Goddess.
When she finally stood up everyone could see the extent of the harm inflicted upon her. Her body was full of bruises and she was bleeding heavily from that one attack, her once silky hair was disheveled from the out-of-control spiraling she went after rolling on the dirt, scrapping her skin all over with the pebbles and debris on the ground, her right horn was shattered, and the parasitic flower was holding by a thread.
It was only from the sheer will she had to try and save or finish the 15th with her own hands that gave her the strength to stand up, but the strength difference between the undead and the tiny Monster Lord visible was unquestionable, Alice only survived that attack because of her constitution as the monster lord even after being sealed.
"I'm impressed that you've survived, that attack was supposed to end you in one strike and spare you from pain, I'm sorry little one…" The undead slowly floated towards the tiny monster lord speaking to her with a regretful tone in her voice.
"Alice!" Luka cried as he began attacking the undead filled with with fury for what happened to his friend. He trusted Micaela's ring wouldn't fail him now, as he released his full angelic heritage to fight the darkness with his light.
"You damn moron! What kind of mother tries to kill her child!" Cervantes followed the hero, not caring that he was the weakest link here, he wouldn't be a man if he didn't move to protect his daughter and put some sense in that giant moron he once loved.
Angel and Human pressured the monster lord, Cervantes's arms trembled horribly at each slash he gave to the reinforced undead flesh but he kept on filled with righteous fury after seeing his words wouldn't reach his beloved anymore.
"I admire your bravery, hero, sadly bravery alone isn't enough to challenge me… At least I'll ensure your death is painless…"
"Big girlie…" see you in the afterlife… Cervantes' life flashed in his eyes when the wall of rotten scales came barreling in his direction.
"Cervantes!" Horn moved to save him but she couldn't interfere, he was too far from her position.
"My mother is the Star of Morning, the child of dawn. The star thrown to the Earth shall obtain victory!" Luka threw himself towards the attack that would kill his father-in-law and activated his mother's skill, repelling the attack to the shock of his mother-in-law.
COUNTER!
A dazzling star of holy energy materialized before slamming against her body with a huge explosion!
"Ahhhhhh!" The late monster lord crashed to the ground, her body sizzling with holy energy preventing her wounds from closing back.
"Huff, huff, you alright, Cervantes?!" Luka was wobbly, his stamina drained a lot after using the Daystar while moving instead of standing still.
"Aye boy, thanks for the save. I-"
"You, how dare you make me worry like that, from now on we will fight as one!" Horn interrupted and scooped the man up to her open faceplate, her expression full of worry.
"Aye, girlie… sorry for worrying you..." The withering glare he got promised he wouldn't be feeling his legs for days if they survived this fight.
"Thank you for saving him, I'll make sure to reward you later." Horn looked at Luka with a grateful smile, her eyes said something else though.
"T-There's no need for that kind of reward!" The threatening gaze the old man gave Luka told him enough and he refused to repeat another Meia situation. What's with married monsters wanting to reward me with sexual acts!?
"Mother, why… Why won't you fight? E-even if you don't remember me, you're the Monster Lord! The Monster Lord should never submit to anyone lower than themselves! Why are you letting that necromancer control you!" Alice cried out to her fallen mother still sizzling from the last attack.
"Alice..." A glimmer of clarity flashed in the 15th's eyes again, giving the 16th hope that was snuffed out just as quickly as her expression went blank again and she attacked her daughter.
"This is painful to watch," Roman punched the 15th away from Alice, the recoil from hitting her reinforced body pulverizing his arm, which now hung uselessly by his side, awaiting healing.
"Seeing my friend fight her mother is too sad, Puru..." Lime enveloped the tiny monster lord, healing her back to the way she was before her own mother's early attempt at filicide.
"If you don't want to be eaten by your mother, either run or eat her instead, there's nothing else to it..." Hime shrugged before charging at the undead, her blades slicing through the 15th's flesh with skin-deep cuts that made the spider frown at how weak her attacks were.
"I-I'll help too! Teyah!" Rami, the ever-brave Bimp, threw a puny fireball, which didn't even reach halfway to the 15th before flickering out.
Do I let Cervantes and Alice find closure, or do I help Rami level up massively from the last blow on the fifteenth? Roman looked at the downtrodden Rami and felt a pang of guilt for bringing her into their battles instead of sending her back to her friends.
"She's my magnum opus, you'll never be able to defeat her," before La Croix could take a single step towards the fight, a huge fist connected with her cheek, sending her tumbling to the ground again.
"The mistakes of the Artistes are to be solved by an Artiste... I won't let you go again, big sister..." Chrome looked at her big sister with a face full of pain before she steeled herself. "Frederika, catch her, and don't let her escape!"
"Chrome... you've grown so much." La Croix whipped the dirt off her cloak before pulling out her saw and crossbow.
The two sisters began their duel anew.
"Once we're done with you, you'll be answering for all the dumb mistakes you made, dumb woman!" Cervante's voice came from Horn's helmet before the giant sea serpent pointed the barrel of her gun toward the 15th and fired blasts of elemental energy at point-blank range.
The XV redirected it by slamming the offensive cannon upwards as the shots passed harmlessly through the clouds above, before striking the sea serpent in the guts, creating a shockwave that ripped through Horn's back with the force of the impact.
"I'm sorry for what you've suffered ma'am, but I won't let you hurt my friends! Ninefold Rakshasa!" The angel halo sword flashed with red afterimages as nine successive cuts linked seamlessly draining more of the magic animating the fifteenth.
XV retaliated, turning her left arm into a bundle of tentacles and wiping them towards Luka, molesting the hero and keeping him in a bind. The most dangerous element of the battle wouldn't be a problem for a while.
"Kufufu, I will take the head of the late monster lord and display it as a trophy in my room, the pride of hunting worthy prey!" Hime climbed onto 15th's tail and began to cut it off, using her past experience of balancing on Horn's body during their sea adventures, the sadistic spider ran towards XV's head with a cruel laugh.
"Your head is mine!"
"Desecrate my mother's body any further and I'll rip off each of your legs before I heal you and rip them off again!"
The tiny monster lord, now somewhat healed, pointed her arm at Hime and unleashed a small blast of dark energy, stunning the spider enough for the flowers on XV's head to sense the danger and whip the spider off her.
"Now, quiet down mother!"
Advancing with her rapier and using Tamamo's teachings on Lamia's weaknesses, Alice pierced her mother's scales with precision, trying to hit her motor nerves and hopefully paralyze her body, this time she was ready for any counter and deftly avoided the retaliation, not wanting to be crushed like before.
"If only La Croix gave us control over her, we would have a great asset for this war, but she's too far gone now…"
Roman glanced at the other battle far away before moving to save a very frightened Rami from being pulled in by the tendrils coming from the lower mouth of the undead Monster Lord who almost devoured her after the imp threw another fireball at the undead.
"Defeat the old Monster Lord and bring glory to the Jiggly pirates!" Lime threw boomerang after boomerang charged with every element at Alice's mother slowly pelting her life away, some of them cutting the tentacles holding Luka, releasing the hero from his bindings.
"Enough of you pests!" The Fifteenth's aura pulsed and darkness covered the clearing, causing everyone present to lose their breath before it exploded outwards, knocking everyone away from her.
"Your efforts are commendable, but I've had enough. Please don't make it harder for me and die in peace..."
XV flew high into the sky, far out of reach, before raising her hand, her dark energy gathering into a familiar orb that filled the Jigglies with dread. Luka was also unnerved, remembering the Monster Lord's Cruelty skill Alice had used against him and he felt in his bones that this attack completely surpassed what she used on him.
"If there's ever a time to use the words of dispel, it's now, Alice!" Roman's scream jolted Alice out of her stupor.
"I ask thee, eternal time… Reveal my body, yoked in twilight… Return my true body to me!"
Alice's dark aura emanated with the reveal of her true body. Flashes of long suppressed memories flickered in the fifteenth eyes and a small smile formed on her lips.
"It seems you were indeed born of my flesh, then show me the power of my successor and whether my people are in good hands under your rule!" The dark orb doubled in size again, swallowing the sun and plunging the entire region into darkness.
"I'll show you, I'll show you that you can be proud of me and that your dream was not mistaken!" Alice only had 1 minute at most to counter her mother's skill, and using her strongest move also used up a lot of the timer on Words of Dispel, but one minute is all she needed, for the 16th to be considered the strongest Monster Lord ever, after the 8th.
If her mother's aura was a shadow that eclipsed the sun, Alice's aura was darkness itself, so much so that she became a black spot in reality, with only the golden sparkle of her eyes visible to anyone as her power condensed around her own body instead of an all-encompassing destructive spell like her mother's.
"Monster Lord's cruelty!" They both shouted as the Orb of Destruction fell on the planet and Alice flew towards it, the small black dot that was Alice a mere speck compared to the power that would destroy everything XV threw at her.
"Please win, girl..." Cervantes prayed as Horn raised her cannon, a silent command to the spirits to power it up in case the monster lord lost the battle.
"Can your Daystar counter it, Luka?" Roman asked the boy, and by Luka's expression, he could only pray for Alice's victory.
"Is this what you mean by protecting me, sister? If that spell lands, there won't be anything left to protect!" Chrome threw a barrage of scalpels at La Croix
"Tch" La Croix jumped back to avoid another bullet burst from Frederika as she dodged between the twin ghost sisters' spells.
"Annoying." In a burst of speed, the necromancer disassembled the zombie's arm that held the weapon aimed at her, leaving Frederika unarmed and much easier to deal with.
"It was their fault for not acknowledging our craft, the Artiste household is one of the oldest yet we were seen with scorn by the late generation."
"Murdering the other Monster Queens and turning them into undead puppets hasn't helped to make us look better!"
"Strong bodies filled with potential are the best ingredients to make strong undead."
"You could've just ransacked the graves of monsters who've already died!"
"AAAAHHH!" Alice's body pushed against her mother's final attack, slowing its descent to a halt before slowly moving upwards, back towards the fifteenth.
"Go, Alice!"
"Show her girlie!"
"Puru, show her the Jiggly way of making friends!"
"Hmm, so you decided to eat the mother who would have eaten you, you're truly fit to be our Monster Lord."
"I'm proud of you my daughter, now defeat me and give me peace…" XV's words were heard only by the current monster lord.
"Mother... AHHHHHHHH!" Alice gathered even more darkness into her body, using the authority inherited from her lineage, she began to absorb the dark energy of XV's attack, and the black dot slowly devoured the giant orb of death.
Then it cut through XV's attack, which became a tail of shadows that followed Alice as she absorbed the last of his power, hitting her mother in full with the unleashed dark energies, obliterating La Croix's hold over the undead, and for the first moment since this battle began, XV had full clarity.
"You've grown so much my little girl…" The undead smiled as the timer of words of dispel ended and her daughter went back to the cute tiny lamia she once knew.
"Mama, mama, mamaaaaaa!" Not caring about keeping face, Alice cried out on her mother's bosom as both fell towards the ground.
"In the end, it wasn't enough…"
La Croix's surprise at Alice's victory gave Chrome enough of an opening to deal her sister a crippling blow, using her knowledge of zombies to do to La Croix what Frederika had suffered in her hands. Chrome dismembered her sister, leaving only her head and torso, Shirome Artiste would be unable to fight again.
"Sister, it's over... Don't destroy the image of the kind sister I used to have anymore..."
"I wish I could've passed on to you my magnum opus in case I ever lost the fight, but the Cirque du Croix has been destroyed and XV will no longer exist after this, sorry for being a failure of a big sister to the very end, Chrome..."
"Sister… sniff…"
"I leave everything up to you now, my sweet little necromancer." Shirome bit down on a device in her mouth and her body burst into flames until only ashes remained and were scattered by the winds.
"Sis, no, sis don't leave me again!" Chrome's mournful cries echoed in the destruction left by their battle.
"Master… why don't you turn her into a ghost like you did with us?" The twins asked but never got an answer.
"Master Chrome…" Frederika stood guard over the small imp and hoped that with La Croix's death, she would be spared from punishment by the Monster Lord.
"Alice!" Luka ran towards his friend who was still being held by the undead, but when he saw the care with which the large undead held her, he stopped.
"Fufu what a cute little boy, the feelings you have for my daughter are palpable, I wish I could've lasted until the marriage ceremony…" XV pulled out Alice from her bosom and gave her to Luka who gently held the passed-out Lamia, her face still wet with tears.
"Big girlie? Are you back with us?" The mature pirate jumped out of his cockpit and looked at his ex with a gaze filled with worry.
"Cervantes…?"
The old lovers reunited at last, still seeing each other through the rose-tinted glasses of their happy days, Horn was jealous of their relationship, and for a moment couldn't help wishing the later monster lord would die quicker.
"Why do you still go on with your suicidal plan after I convinced you not to, you fool!"
"Cervantes, I…" XV moved on to explain.
"I what, Alice Fifteenth? You left our little girl alone in the world, and thanks to that vile fox, she thought she was completely alone this entire time!" But Cervantes was having none of it.
"Tamamo! She wouldn't!" XV was horrified.
"No excuses, you big fool! I-it's good to see you back… sniff"
"Are you crying, old man?" Roman teased.
"Shut it, Roman, it's just some dirt in my eye…"
"I-I wish we could go back to the way things were before..." XV looked at Horn's ugly expression and knew she didn't have it in her to break her cute subordinate's heart even if she had the right as Cervantes' first love.
"But you should seek happiness with the living, not the dead..."
"I-I know... Hey Horn," The sea serpent pulled the man close to her with a jealous grip, "Meet Alice Fifteenth, my first love, and mother of my child..."
"I'm grateful to the old monster lord for having raised such a fine male" Horn bowed her head.
"I'm happy he found someone to heal his broken heart, if my orders still mean anything to the current generation, do take care of him…"
There was a hurt in XV's voice, her instincts told her to take him as her mate and trample on Horn for being a homewrecker, but she knew that her time was long gone and that soon her energy would run out and she would return to the dirt from whence she came.
"After meeting my daughter once again and seeing that a gentle hero is caring for her," XV looked at Luka and the boy blushed seeing how seductive Alice would turn out when older.
"Seeing that my first love is living well and happy," Horn pulled Cervantes into a tighter hug.
"A rare male monster is fighting for us," Roman was curious, being told the world had more male monsters in the world.
"And a cute slime girl even stronger than those at the castle…" Lime puffed up with pride.
"And the spiders never changed…" Hime clicked her teeth at not getting a compliment like the rest.
"And even this cute imp did her best" Rami had a dorky smile being complimented by the motherly Monster Lord.
"I wished I could say goodbye to my daughter," She looked at the fragile-looking tiny lamia still passed out against Luka's shoulder, "but It seems my time is over, good b-"
"We're having none of that!" Roman cried out, sad drama wasn't allowed in his presence anymore, only whimsy tomfoolery.
"What!?"
"Lime, patch her up!" Roman disappeared as Lime devoured the entirety of the Undead with her body before coming back with Chrome under his arms, her red eyes even redder from all the tears she was still spilling even if her face was full of shock.
"Wa wa wa?"
"La Croix was supposed to leave the Cirque du Croix for you, but since we used them to power up Horn's artificial spirits, only XV remains."
"Are you planning to turn her into an unfeeling puppet again Roman!?" Cervantes pointed his weapon at the first mate.
"None of that drivel, Frederika has enough sense of self to prove zombies can have a will, the same goes for the twins… And those zombies who formed a dance group… Chrome will just keep XV with us."
"You want to kill me, Roman?! When the monster lord wakes up and sees I'm in control of her mother I'll have a fate worse than death!" Chrome's grief for her sister was forgotten for the sheer fear of death under Alice's hands she was at risk now.
"Well, it's good the mommy snake over there is a caring woman who would never let an innocent suffer harm isn't she?" Roman turned to the milf still being patched up by Lime before speaking up "You wouldn't miss the chance to punish Tamamo for what she did to both of you now would you? There's also your daughter's marriage"
"No, I wouldn't…" The blink in her eye promised pain, Roman almost wanted to tell her about Tamamo's test of loyalty, but they needed the fox for the final battle.
"And that's that, Chrome if you would…"
"Promise me you'll defend me with your life, promise it now!" The shell-shocked imp still feared for life, her nerves calming only when she saw Frederika running towards her, together with the spirits.
"Chrome is an honorary member of the Jiggly Pirates, and any who would wish to do you harm from now on will be met with the full power of our crew!" Roman declared
"Puru, Captain Lime approves~" Done with the healing of the XV Lime took her female shape and raised her boomerang high at the sky.
"Kufufu, this princess has some… Friends who she would love you to bring back to become mine, sparring partners…"
"Rami approves!" The boob imp raised her hands high in the sky
"I can't go against my captain's orders, but, if you think I'll accept sharing him with XV the same way Roman is a boytoy of captain and the spider, you'll have a nasty surprise coming for her…"
"Big girlie…" Cervantes was hugged harder and sunk into Horn's bosom, as the giant acted like a child who didn't want to part with her favorite teddy bear.
"Oh great… Two lamias fighting for one human and one of them will be under my orders…" Chrome just had to accept this would be her new life now.
"hey…" a tiny voice called out.
"Hmm?" Roman looked around to find no one.
"Heyyy!"
The inside of Roman's clothing began buzzing and kicking him before a very irate fairy finally came out of it.
"What's your problem capturing me and forgetting me inside your admittedly nice-smelling clothes you handsome bandit!" An irate blue-skinned, red-eyed, bandaged fairy began screaming in his face before she donned a pair of boxing gloves and threatened to make his face into a punching bag.
"Ohh, Chrome, take Titania too!"
"Ehhhh?!"
Alice woke up soon after, and with some convincing from everyone involved she relented on Chrome's punishment for keeping her mother hostage to that dark practice of the Artistes, the promise of double teaming and punishing Tamamo absolutely didn't influence her.
"If you want amusing ways to trick a fox you can count on me~" Titania offered then proceeded to explain how she used to make chestnut explosives and other weapons of mass destruction, with the bounties of Fairy Island.
"It makes one guess how La Croix ever got to murder this one…" Everyone shivered at the fairy, as everyone vowed to never make true enemies out of these monsters.
"Luka, what about the spirits, did you collect them back?"
"Oh right! I need to rescue Gnome!"
"Well, we are in the forest of spirits, so, go!"
The battles that followed were surprisingly easy when one had an entire group of queen classes beating down the angels and chimeras into a pulp and Gnome was saved successfully.
"Dammit Luka…" Alice disliked that the spirit needed Luka to make the true contract with her as she was weakened from being sealed away from her element.
Being forced to watch another woman having sex with her chosen mate didn't sit well for the Monster Lord, even if it was needed and even if there wasn't true love between the two as they had for one another, Alice could only bite her lips seeing the many inventive ways Gnome found to please Luka.
"..."
Gnome also looked at Cervantes and offered a contract with him, feeling that he would need the power of the earth to survive the affections the Sea Lamia and the undead Lamia had for him.
"Well, It would help these old bones… hahaha…" Cervantes passed the test with flying colors, Horn jumped at the man to test his newfound durability and XV could only bite her lips, jealous of her man being taken by another woman.
The chair cursed this entire family… Roman thought about Princess Remina who also jumped at Heinrich to give birth to Luka's ancestors even though Black Alice was his partner.
"Miss Gnome, can I try for the test too?" Rami bashfully asked the earth spirit and Gnome shrugged.
"...!?"
To the surprise of everyone else Rami also passed the test, different from everyone else, she just tanked Gnome's attacks, no one would've believed that her boobs provided such perfect cushioning that they softened the browns infused with the power of a mountain.
Gnome gave Rami a thumbs up and the contract was made.
"Yayyy! I did it!" Rami jumped with joy.
"Well, I'm happy we could fulfill part of our promise to her, Rami is stronger today than she was before." Roman rubbed his neck.
"Now to save the rest of the world!"