April 10th, 1566 ME
"Anti-Mamono Zone" of Floria
Elise Maxwell
I stared at myself in the mirror of my bathroom and took a deep breath. Today would be a good day. I would start drinking less. It sounded manageable, if I could find a way to distract myself from the symptoms of withdrawal. Maybe I'd even go out and look for a new job. The fact that a monster had caused all of this was surprising. Thoughts that would put me in serious trouble with the Order if it still had power in Floria ran through my mind. Maybe not all monsters are bad. Maybe some of them actually care about humans beyond their dicks. Roseann had been an example of that. Norah, too. Both of them had respected my opinions and boundaries.
I recalled how I lashed out at Norah almost two weeks ago now. I shook my head, disappointed in myself. She certainly didn't deserve that. She didn't even know what I had lashed out at her for. I decided to set a goal for myself. Today, I would go and apologize to Norah, if I could find her.
My family came first, however. I'd need to make up for neglecting Eryn and mistreating Amias. I marched out of my room and downstairs, where Eryn and Amias were sitting down, seemingly waiting for me.
"Good morning, Elise. Nice to see you finally woke up before noon." Eryn greeted me. Amias nodded in agreement.
"I was beginning to think I would have to go up to your room and drag you out of bed every morning like a lazy teenager." Amias said in a strict tone. "Keep this up and maybe I won't have to do that."
Ignoring their comments, I gave them the widest smile I could muster. "Good morning to you too! Can I get you anything?!" I asked in the most cheery voice I could make. Both Amias and Eryn seemed offput by my sudden change in demeanor. They stared at me wide-eyed for a moment.
"Uh… Do you mind getting me some more wa-" Eryn started. Before he could finish I had done what he had asked. He took a sip of water slowly. "You're acting awfully cheerful. Just a day ago you looked depressed. No one recovers that fast." He said with a small amount of suspicion.
My smile faded as I realized that he was right. Addiction was easy to start, hard to stop. It would be months, maybe even years before I would recover from my alcoholism. "...You're right. I haven't recovered." As if on cue, I became aware of how I was sweating. And it wasn't because of the room's heat. "I was just happy that I had found a professional willing to help me."
"You'd better be following their advice. They're not even being paid anything to do this for you. They're doing this out of the kindness of their own heart." Amias criticized me.
"I'll try my hardest." I finished my breakfast, and then headed towards the door.
"Where are you going?"
"I'm meeting with one of my friends." I said, looking back at Eryn for a moment.
"Didn't you say Nikolas and Suvina mean nothing to you? And Kenton is dead." I looked back at Amias, with a look of annoyance mixed with sadness on my face.
"You don't need to mention that, Amias. I know he's dead. Do you remember that Lizardman that I yelled at last month?"
"Oh, her. What about her?"
"Eryn didn't tell you? She saved me from captivity. She went against Amaya and Delilah's orders and broke me out of that cavern they were holding me in. I owe a lot to her and I lashed out at her for no real reason when I learned Kenton was dead." I explained. "I want to apologize to her."
"Interesting." Amias said, then went back to eating her breakfast. I grabbed my eyepatch off the table near the entrance and put it on, then headed outside, shutting the door behind me. As I looked in the direction of the pro-mamono zone of Floria, I realized I had no idea where to find Norah. Even worse, I had no idea who to ask for help.
"Great… Better get asking around then."
I noticed that the anti-mamono zone of Floria seemed to have more monsters than usual. A group of Ocelomehs and Jinkos stood in an alleyway, staring at the doors of houses, likely waiting for a man to come out. Surprisingly, as I was about to round a corner, I caught sight of a hooded man leaving their house. The group of feline mamono were on him in an instant. To my surprise, from what I could tell there was no rape. Just incredibly aggressive flirting and seduction efforts. I didn't stick around to see what happened next, but it reminded me that I needed to be armed. And I wasn't.
I mumbled a curse under my breath and turned around, going back home. "Forgot something." I said to Eryn and Amias as I passed by the kitchen. I quickly ran upstairs and rummaged around my closet, finding the gloves that Norah had given me when we had first met. Cautiously, I then grabbed my corrupted sword and quickly put it in its sheath. Looking at it still made me uncomfortable. I made a note to avoid getting into any major conflict so I wouldn't have to use it.
Waving goodbye to Eryn and Amias once again, I left my house and entered the neighborhood once again. In place of the Jinkos and Ocelomehs, the Dullahan from a few days ago was standing near a worn-down statue of the Chief God, glaring at a Manticore across the street. The Manticore glared right back at the Dullahan, then slunk away around a corner. The purple haired Dullahan shook her head in annoyance, before going over to a nearby Ochimusha. The two of them sat down at the statue together, talking about something. The two of them then turned towards me and noticed that I was staring at them. I quickly nodded to show my appreciation for their work, and then left.
I decided that the old armory would be a good place to start searching for Norah. She was a Lizardman, Lizardmen love fighting. Maybe she would be there. After a short walk, I arrived at the front of the building. I saw a few Salamanders and Kunoichis milling about the armory, but only a few Lizardmen. A quick scan of the Lizardmen showed that none of them matched Norah's appearance. Annoyed, I left the armory and sat down to think about where to search next. Then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw something. A man in a wolf mask wearing a tan coat, standing in a dark alleyway. His coat was covered in several dried blood stains. In his hand, he held a bloody cleaver.
"What the hell…" I muttered out loud, stunned at the man's appearance. He looked like a serial killer, luring in his next victim.
"I know where your friend is." His voice called out to me from the alleyway. I kept my gloved hand on my sword and cautiously approached the man. I stopped several feet in front of him, keeping my distance.
"Who are you?" I inquired as I gripped the hilt of my sword tighter. My hands began getting sweaty with how hard I was holding the blade. My anxiety didn't seem to go unnoticed by the man.
"Someone who can help you find what you're looking for. At a small price, of course. Does that sound good, partner?"
"Don't call me that." I hissed at the stranger. "I don't know who you are, but we certainly aren't friends."
The man let out a muffled laugh. "Oh, but we can be. You're in need of company, I can tell." He circled around me, observing me intently. "I think the two of us would make a great team. I wouldn't leave you behind, partner." He continued, blatantly ignoring my request for him to stop acting like he knew me.
Another giggle came from underneath the man's mask. "You shuddered, partner. I can see right through you. You wear your emotions like a cheap wig."
That was the last straw. I took my sword out of my sheath and pointed it at his neck in one fluid motion. It wouldn't kill him, but it would certainly attract monsters to him. Men cut by realm silver weaponry were, as some of the more aggressive monsters called it, "Easy food". The man however seemed completely undeterred by my gesture, drawing his two cleavers in response and pointing them at my throat, mimicking my position.
"You get angry too easily."
"Shut up. You said you could help me so help me." The man nodded, lowering his cleavers, despite being in danger. I kept my sword trained on his throat. "If you even think of double crossing me, this is going into your throat. You won't die but your life won't be the same."
The man chuckled. "How terrifying. Threaten me all you want, but just be aware that I'm above you. Far above you." He gloated vaguely. I inched the sword closer, stopping a hair's breadth from his exposed neck. He didn't seem to care. "Anyways, your friend. Norah. She came to me a few days ago, thinking she could make me into her husband." He laughed once again. "Didn't work out like she expected."
"Where is she?"
The man took out a scrap of paper and a piece of charcoal out of his pocket, and began scribbling something on the paper. He then threw the piece of paper at me, forcing me to pick it up off the ground. "The hell's your problem?" I angrily barked at him.
"Read it, partner."
I looked down at the paper. The man had scribbled an address on it, leading directly into the pro-mamono zone of Floria. Norah's name was scribbled on top of it. "Thanks." I muttered. That was all I needed from this creep. I turned around and began to walk off, but the man seemed to have other ideas. He grabbed me and forcefully turned me around.
"I didn't say you could leave yet. Now that I've helped you, it's only fair that you return the favor. That's what friends do, right?"
"I'm not doing shit for you-" I began to raise my sword but the man was faster.
He slammed me against a wall with insane strength and held his cleaver to my neck. "Like I said. It's only fair that you return the favor. I want you to drop twenty-five gold coins into that bin behind me," He gestured to the trash can. "And in return, I help you pick up the pieces of your pathetic, broken life. Does that sound fair, partner?" He let go of me.
"I'm already getting therapy, you bastard." I snarled at him. "I don't need your help."
The man's eyes narrowed as if he was grinning underneath the mask. "Oh, but you do. You don't have a choice." He held up his cleaver. "I've been observing you. I know where you live. You and your brother. You care about him. You wouldn't want to put Eryn in danger, would you?"
I stood there, wide-eyed and stunned at the amount of threats this man was making. In my fifteen years of being a hero, no monster had ever claimed to have this much power over me. The last time I had felt this vulnerable was when I had gotten my eye clawed out by a Hellhound. The man laughed cruelly, putting his cleavers away. He then violently shoved me out of the alleyway. "To make things easier in the future for you, my name is Gabriel. Have the money here by tomorrow night, or else." He gave me a wave and vanished into the alleyway.
I cursed myself for ever thinking someone with his appearance could be trusted. I had put my only family remaining in danger. I thought about reporting him to the mamono guards, but I knew that he wouldn't take kindly to that, and considering the threats he had made, I didn't want to take the risk. I could get one of the mamono to guard Eryn, but that was practically asking for him to be claimed, plus there was no guarantee that he would be safe. Therefore, I settled on doing what he wanted. For now.
It's not like I don't have the money to give him.
I got to my feet and dusted off my clothing. Looking around, nobody appeared to have noticed my encounter with Gabriel. A new feeling of paranoia washed over me as I realized that he had been watching me for Chief God knows how long. My mind immediately resorted to the method I had used to drown out any negative feelings in the past few weeks. I began speed walking to the bar, getting ready to order my first drink of the day. Me and Roseann had agreed on only having one or two drinks a day. It had seemed manageable but now it seemed impossible.
Breath. Calm down. You're stressed. You'll find a way to stop this psycho. I told myself as I inhaled and exhaled slowly, despite the fact that I didn't really believe myself. I'd get some alcohol into my system. That would calm me down for sure. I began sprinting as the bar came into view. The usual Satyros that managed the bar looked up at me as if she was expecting me.
"Right on cue. You know, as much as I like repeat customers, it's not healthy to be drinking this much every day-" The goat monster began to say.
"I've had a hard day. Just get me my usual, please." I interrupted her, impatient. I looked through the windows facing the street, paranoid that I was being followed.
The Satyros looked at me worriedly. "You've said that every single time you've come here. Besides, it's barely noon." She pointed outside at the sun. "Also… The way you drink, you're clearly stressed over something."
"None of your damn business! Get me my drink." I angrily snapped at her. The Satyros opened her mouth for a response but didn't say anything, instead slowly getting the bottle that contained my favorite drink off the shelf and pouring some into a glass. I snatched it from her and was about to gulp it down, before I realized this would be the last or second to last drink of the day. I instead took my time, drinking slowly. The Satyros watched curiously at my change in behavior.
"...You're taking an usually long time." She remarked.
"Therapist suggested I stop drinking so much. I need to savor this." I blurted out.
"Glad there's at least someone pushing you in the right direction." The Satyros said as she watched me nursing my drink. "Just because you said that, I'm going to cut you off after two drinks." I shot her a glare, silently telling her to stop talking to me. She seemed to understand, busying herself with cleaning the dishes. After a few minutes, I had finished my first drink. The Stayros poured another one without asking. I was happy, but it made things feel awkward.
Another few minutes of awkward silence later, I had finished. I resisted the urge to ask the bartender for another drink, putting my payment down in front of her and leaving without a word. I took a deep breath. It had worked, at least for now. I definitely felt calmer, but I knew it wouldn't last. Looking down at the address that my new tormentor had given me, I began sprinting my way there.
Entering the pro-mamono zone of Floria gave me severe whiplash. Gone were the drab and near empty streets of the anti-mamono zone, replaced with colorful purple and red decorations on every house and business. Two words were repeated everywhere I looked. Ascension Day. From the Order's documents on Mamono behavior, it was apparently the day that the Mamono Lord and her husband took the throne and made her change to all of monsterkind. There was some sort of huge festival taking place tomorrow, apparently.
I couldn't care any less about this, however. I continued sprinting down the streets, closing in on my destination. I eventually arrived at a quaint looking house surrounded by a few trees and a small pond. I double checked the address. The house I was standing in front of was Norah's house.
I knocked on the door and waited. The door opened, revealing a Salamander. "Uh…" I began, "Do you know Norah? I need to talk to her."
The Salamander nodded cautiously. "I'm her friend… Mind telling me who you are and why you need to talk to Norah?"
"Norah rescued me from Amaya's base a few weeks ago. I… ended up getting a bit angry at her for no real reason, and yelled at her to get out of my house. I'm here to apologize."
The Salamander looked at me confused for a moment, then her eyes lit up. "Oh! I recognize you! You're that Order hero that Amaya was imprisoning! Nice to meet you." She held out her clawed hand. "My name is Dayna. Do try and be quiet while you are talking to Norah, my husband is resting right now."
"Elise." I said quickly. I didn't return the handshake. Entering the house, it seemed fairly quaint for two monsters who enjoyed fighting so much. A small kitchen and a living room sat between two doors leading to what I assumed were Norah and Dayna's own rooms. As I passed Dayna's room, I could hear someone snoring peacefully inside. Suddenly, a thought came over me.
"Is Norah married?" I turned around and asked Dayna.
Dayna shook her head no. "She doesn't. And she's been struggling to find someone for the past few days. When we first came here, she set her sights on some guy that looked like a serial killer. I tried to convince her to join me and my husband, but she seemed pretty passionate about Mr. Psychopath." The Salamander's expression darkened as her cheerful smile faded. "One day, she went out looking for him and came back with half of her arm missing. She passed out on the front door."
"Holy shit. Did you find whoever did that to her?" I couldn't help but worry over Norah's safety. It felt so strange to be concerned for a monster.
"She said it was some guy in a wolf mask. I reported him to the authorities but I haven't heard anything from them yet."
My eye widened. During my first conversation with Norah, I had recalled her talking about some guy in a wolf mask. The poor monster must have crossed paths with him and angered him somehow, and she had lost her arm because of it. It was Gabriel, the same person that was threatening me and my brother. Nodding to Dayna, I knocked on Norah's door.
"Come in, Dayna." Norah's voice came from the other side, sounding tired and unmotivated. I entered the room, seeing Norah laying down on the bed, still in her clothing. She looked up at me. "What do you need-" She began, before realizing it wasn't Dayna that had entered her room. She quickly covered her left arm.
"Elise? What are you doing here?"
"I came here to apologize." I sat down on the edge of her bed. "The last time we talked, I lashed out at you, and never explained to you why. You saved me and I treated you like that. For that… I'm sorry."
"It's alright." Norah's apathetic expression brightened slightly. "But why did you get so angry all of a sudden?"
I took a deep breath, preparing to recount some painful memories. "When I entered my room, I found a suicide note from one of my close allies. The two of us had worked together for nearly a decade at that point. He had committed suicide because of how nobody was there to help him against the impeding mamono invasion. He blamed monsters as well as my other friends for abandoning him. That's why I got mad at you."
Norah looked conflicted listening to my story. "I… Oh, wow. First off, I'm sorry for your loss. I understand why you were so angry at me now."
Looking back, I felt stupid. It was childish of me to blame someone who didn't even know who Kenton was for his suicide, even if she was part of the army that caused it. "Yeah… Don't worry about it. I was acting irrationally. There's someone I wanted to talk to you about as well."
"...Who?" Norah asked.
"Do you know who Gabriel is?"
Norah froze up, her eyes widening. Goosebumps formed on her skin. "I do. He used to be my number one candidate for a husband. Until he did this to me." Norah lifted the bed sheets covering her left arm. Everything from her left elbow downward was replaced with a prosthetic that looked like it was made of mamono realm silver. The Lizardman flexed her metallic hand some more, showing it off to me. "Tried challenging him to a duel the next time I found him. Went terribly for me. He told me that if I interfered with his business ever again, he would kill me."
"Well, I encountered him just an hour ago. His name is Gabriel." I blurted out.
Norah's face turned pale. She stared blankly at me. "Gabriel…" She said, her voice sounding like she was out of breath. "What did he say to you?"
"A lot. He offered to tell me where you live. I stupidly took his deal and now he's blackmailing me. He threatened my younger brother by name." I shook my head. If I could do things again, I would've just ignored the psychopath in the alleyway. My brother would've been safe.
Norah's expression turned to that of fear and paranoia. "He knows where I live?!"
"I'm afraid so, Norah. Fuck, why'd I take his deal… I'm so damn gullible." I said, covering my face with my hands. "Listen, I need to go home now. I need to make sure my brother's safe." I got up from the bed and began heading towards the door. "One more thing. Dayna is willing to have a harem if you want a husband."
"Maybe. I'm genuinely considering it because of how few single men there are in Floria now." The Lizardman waved at me with her prosthetic arm. "Nice seeing you again, Elise. Wish you the best of luck dealing with Gabriel."
"Thanks…" I mumbled as I left her room. As I passed by Dayna's room on the way out, I could hear the two of them going at it. For some reason, listening to it didn't feel nearly as disgusting as it did a year ago.
April 11th, 1566 ME
"Pro-Mamono Zone" of Floria
Nikolas Mason
Both human and mamono residents of Floria were in high spirits today. At least, the half of Floria that had actually accepted monsters. Today was April eleventh, the day that the Mamono Lord had changed all monsters into their current forms. Me, Amaya, Delilah, King Emyr, and a bunch of their generals were going to have a special party to celebrate. Unfortunately, no matter how hard I tried to get into the cheerful mood that everyone else was in, I couldn't shake the feeling that Kenton was up to something.
He can't be dead. He wouldn't just break one of the Chief God's teachings like that.
"Nikky…" Amaya mumbled her new nickname for me sleepily, grabbing onto me as I tried to get out of bed. It was a bad habit of hers, but I couldn't help but find it cute.
"Amaya. We have a long day ahead of us, we can't afford to sleep in." I warned her, to no avail. The sleepy Lilim simply kept hugging me harder. It made me wonder if Amaya was part Bogey.
Amaya yawned adorably. "But we can stay in bed and wait for the Kikimoras to bring us our breakfast, right? We're having lunch and dinner with Delilah and the others."
"I guess…"
Amaya smiled warmly at me, giving me a small kiss on the cheek. At times the Lilim felt less like the charismatic and clever leader that she was and more like a lovestruck schoolgirl. It made me glad that King Emyr and Delilah were doing most of the political work, with Amaya and me only helping out when they needed us. I let Amaya cuddle me while we waited for our breakfast to come.
Eventually, our personal Kikimora maid arrived with our breakfast. Both of us said our thanks to her, and the two of us ate.
"So, what do you think Elise is up to?" Amaya asked me.
I sighed sadly. "Well, to tell the truth, she hasn't been doing very well as of late. Her best friend's committed suicide, and she's blaming me and another one of her friends for not being there for him. She's been drinking herself to death, and neglecting her family in the process. It's sad to see her like this.
Amaya frowned. "Her best friend committed suicide?"
"Yep. He asked for his ashes to be thrown into the ocean so he couldn't be revived as well. There's no bringing him back unless Hel steps in and does something." I explained, wistfully. "Do you think we could've convinced him that monsters aren't the horrible abominations he thinks they are?"
"I don't think so. One of Delilah's Ratatoskrs managed to find his document. Says he has unshakeable belief in the Order's teachings. Acts stubborn but loyal to his superiors, and highly aggressive to monsters, especially so to Arachnes, due to a personal bias involving his birth parents being monsterized at a relatively young age. The only way he would be coming over to our side is with a mamono wife and an incubization."
Memories of fighting away the Arachne that was Kenton's mother came to the front of my mind. Had I let the Arachne take Kenton away, would things be different? I shook my head. There was no use in thinking about past what-ifs. "Going back to Elise," I said, changing the topic, "I have a favor to ask of you, involving someone close to her."
Amaya perked up. "What is it?"
"Her maid. Amias. I'd like for you to monsterize her."
The Lilim looked at me with an expression of shock. "Are you sure? Monsterizing someone that close to her will surely anger her greatly."
"You're right. But that's something I'm willing to endure. You know who Eryn is, right?"
"Elise's younger brother. Isn't he sick with the same disease that affected Lescatie's fourth princess?" Amaya responded.
"Yep. And Elise thinks that throwing money at mages and healers is going to solve the problem when Lescatie couldn't do it. I've seen Amias and Eryn together, they're perfect for one another. Once Eryn incubizes, the disease should be no more. Once Elise sees Eryn acting completely normally as an incubus, she will realize that her prejudices towards us were unfounded, and maybe, just maybe, she'll warm up to us. Not like my relationship with her can get any worse."
"You're willing to go against your 'No-monsterization-unless-absolutely-necessary' policy?"
"I am. I refuse to let Eryn continue suffering. He isn't being cured by human means anytime soon."
The Lilim grinned. "Alright, then."
The two of us finished our breakfast, leaving our empty trays and dishes on the table for our maids to collect. Afterwards, we still had several hours to go until the party with King Emyr and Delilah. Amaya, being the lustful being she is, insisted that we have sex at least one more time before we left. Seeing nothing else to do at the time, I agreed. Amaya then practically threw me onto the bed, and everything after that was a blur.
"Ahhh… I love you so much, Nikky…" I awoke to Amaya whispering into my ear dreamily, a dopey smile on her face. Her happiness was contagious, and I found myself smiling as well. The two of us just laid in bed for a few minutes, indulging in each others' bodies.
Our cuddling was interrupted by a knock on the door. Amaya practically jumped out of my arms, startling me. She hastily threw on her clothing and stumbled towards the doorway, still in a post-sex stupor. Opening the door, stood a Dragonewt, one of Delilah's personal servants. I recognized her as one of the maids that had congratulated us on our marriage. Amaya must have asked Delilah to monsterize her.
"Miss Amaya, Delilah sent me here to warn you that the party is in fifteen minutes."
"F-fifteen minutes?!" The Lilim asked, startled.
"Yes. She assumed you and your beloved would be having sex with each other, so she sent me here to wake you up."
"Thank you! We'll be there soon!" The Dragonewt nodded, leaving the two of us alone. Amaya tossed me my clothing, quickly and wordlessly casting a spell to hide or clean my body of all remnants of our sex. We both finished getting ready with five minutes left to spare. Seeing no time to walk to the room where the party was being held, Amaya focused her magic and teleported the both of us there instead.
April 11th, 1566 ME
"Pro-Mamono Zone" of Floria
Kenton Liu
The four of us laid prone on one of the castle's many rooftops, fully armed and hidden from sight with an invisibility spell. Andreas and Annette pointed to one of the windows facing a large, rectangular room. Andreas handed me a spyglass to get a better view of the room. Two people appeared from thin air into the room. I immediately recognized one of them as Nikolas. My fists clenched in anger seeing the being next to him. A Lilim with short, white hair wearing clothes that looked like they belonged to a prostitute.
"Someone you know?" Kirsten inquired curiously.
"Yeah. Name's Nikolas. We used to be friends, until he went and pulled this shit on me." I glared at my former alley as he gave the Lilim a kiss on the cheek, before sitting down. Two other people came in view of the window. I recognized them as King Emyr, and the Lilim's other companion, a red-haired Malef Dragon. Traitors. Traitors everywhere.
Seeing the people I once trusted cozying up to the enemy only made me more determined to finish the job. Unfortunately, Valerie's plan required that we wait for them to finish their little celebration before we attacked. More and more powerful monsters began entering the room. A Demon, a Gazer, a Nurarihyon, several Dragonewts and a Wight, all being followed by their husbands. I recognized some of the men as people I had fought with, people that had worshipped the Chief God diligently. A few were even wearing their Order uniforms.
You don't deserve to wear that.
I grimaced, knowing that even if we took down Amaya and Delilah, their generals would be there to take control. This attack would have to be the first of many.
"Increase the focus on the spyglass. You should be able to listen in on their conversations." Annette told me. I adjusted the knob on the side of the spyglass, focusing on Nikolas. I eventually heard my old friend's voice, speaking to the Malef Dragon cheerfully.
"Delilah, how have you been doing?"
"Rather stressed lately, Nikolas. Me and my beloved have been worried about this "Anti-mamono district" of Floria you and Amaya keep talking about to me."
I watched as Amaya slapped Delilah on the back. "Come on, don't worry about that right now. They're not doing anything illegal yet. We can figure out a solution later. Go spend some time with your husband." I grimaced. The Lilim's sickly sweet voice made my skin crawl.
The corrupted dragon shrugged. "I guess you're right." She regrouped with her husband, the two of them sharing a glass of wine together happily.
"How much longer until these fuckers go to bed?" Andreas asked anxiously. "We should've left later."
"Valerie insisted that we infiltrate the castle early and spy on them to get some additional info about what they're doing." I focused on Amaya more. "Although from the looks of it, they aren't going to be discussing such things here."
"Hang on. Focus on the demon." Annette gestured to a tall, blonde demon with curly goat-like horns. "She keeps pointing at Amaya."
I did as the mage asked me to, focusing on the demon. A regal-looking tag hanging down from her risque uniform read "Denise". The demon stared at Amaya with a disappointed look, before talking with her companion, the Nurarihyon from before.
"I don't understand why she insists on playing so nice with the humans. Delilah was right." The demon mumbled, taking a sip of her drink. "This 'anti-mamono zone' she keeps talking about is a disaster waiting to happen."
"Tell me about it. I'm thinking of just going over there and turning the place into a mamono realm."
"Amaya would be quite angry if you did that, Denise."
"I know. But it's not like she'd be able to do anything about it at that point. Plus, she'd warm up to it in time."
The demon turned and sneered once more at Amaya. The Lilim, too focused on her husband, did not notice her general's discontentment. The Nurarihyon reacted in a similar way as well to her fellow general. "That husband of hers. Ever since Amaya got with him, she's changed."
"Talk about it." The Nurarihyon let out an irritated grunt. "I'm going to go have a word with Citra, she's visited the anti-mamono zone a few times looking for a husband." The white-haired temptress took her drink and left Denise to her own devices. I put the spyglass down, grimacing.
"Fuck me." I said, handing the spyglass back to Andreas. "They're even worse than the Lilim. At least she wasn't trying to perfectly imitate Druella. If we kill Amaya, we might have a bigger problem on our hands with them in power."
Kirsten observed the two high-ranking monsters through her own spyglass. "I'm sure Valerie has something planned for those two."
"I hope so." Andreas opened a trapdoor on the roof of the castle, leading to our hiding spot. "Everyone get comfortable and prepare yourselves. I'll keep watch until everyone starts leaving, then we'll split up and take the dragon and the Lilim down." Our group nodded their heads in agreement as they entered the hideout.
Several hours later
A loud knock from Andreas on the trapdoor signaled that it was time to make our move. "Looks like the party's wrapping up. Everyone, get armed and prepare to track your targets." Kirsten grabbed her bow, I grabbed my sword and Annette grabbed her staff. Climbing out of our hideout, Andreas handed me his spyglass again. Both Amaya and Nikolas looked dazed and heavily intoxicated, with Nikolas having to princess carry Amaya. I watched through the tall windows as they stumbled through the hallways to their personal bedchamber. On the opposite side of the room, King Emyr and Delilah were acting in a similar manner.
"Best of luck to you two." Andreas and Annette quickly nodded, heading their own separate ways, leaving just me and Kirsten.
"Right. Amaya and Nikolas's room should be this way." Kirsten turned in the opposite direction of where Andreas and Annette went and began following Amaya and Nikolas. The frequent amount of windows made it trivial to follow them. The two of them entered their room after a few minutes of drunkenly walking down the halls. Kirsten and I took up positions at the window Valerie had marked out on the map of the castle. Sneaking a peek through the window, the two had predictably thrown their clothes aside and began having sex. It was the perfect opportunity to strike.
"You remember the plan?" Kirsten asked, tossing me a spare bow and a special, red-tipped arrow. "Sensory overload spell, then explosive arrows. When I say 'fire', you fire on them. You don't have to get a direct hit, not with these arrows. Just make sure you hit near them."
I took a deep breath. "Understood. Let's do this."
"Get ready, get set…" Kirsten shattered the window, holding her hands up and casting the sensory overload spell on the targets. "...Fire!" We both raised our bows and released two arrows, the projectiles curving their way towards Amaya and Nikolas. A deafening explosion rang out a second later, followed by a cloud of smoke and dust obscuring where Amaya and Nikolas once stood.
"...Did we get them?!"
April 11th, 1566 ME
"Pro-Mamono Zone" of Floria
Amaya, 58th daughter of the Mamono Lord
One second, I was indulging in my husband's body without a care in the world. The next, all of my senses felt like they were being hyper-stimulated. A deafeningly loud noise, a blinding light, a horrible smell, all at once, followed by an explosion that launched me several feet away from the bed. I barely managed to regain my senses in time to dodge a figure in a green coat wielding a glowing white blade. Behind him, was another figure in a green coat, wielding a bow. I could just barely make out pointed ears underneath the hood. An Elf, most likely. Both shared a disappointed and slightly concerned look at me being alive and in a mostly fine state.
I caught a glimpse of Nikolas in the opposite side of the room, looking much worse for wear than I did. His body was covered in nasty looking burns. He was unconscious, but I could still sense his spirit energy. I turned towards the invaders, snarling and summoning my weapon of choice, a custom-made mamono realm spear. The intruders charged forward.
The elf let loose another explosive arrow that I easily dodged. The projectile detonated on impact with the wall behind me, tearing a large hole into the hallway leading to my room. I could hear shouts of fear and surprise coming from the residents in the rooms next to mine. The sword-wielding man charged forward with his weapon aimed right at my chest. I focused my magic and created a circular shield, stopping the blade just in time. The man strafed to the right, attempting to stab me where my spear arm was, forcing me closer to the wall. I quickly flew up into the air to prevent being cornered, while dodging yet another sword strike aimed at my feet.
The Elf loaded another different looking arrow into her bow, took aim, and fired at me. The arrow seemed to split into several more arrows, something I wasn't prepared for. The shield that I had made blocked all but one of them, which embedded itself in my thigh. I let out a wince of pain and immediately tore the arrow out of my thigh and threw it to the ground. As I looked for where the elf was, I noticed the sword-wielding intruder was sprinting for a defenseless Nikolas.
"No!"
I pushed myself to my limit, soaring downwards to put myself in between the intruder and my husband. A feeling of rage spread throughout my entire body. These people were not only here to kill me, but kill my husband as well. I threw my spear down, and raised my fists.
Neither the man nor the elf seemed intimidated. The Elf readied her bow while the man charged forward yet again. I ducked under the intruder's sword once more and put all of my strength into a hard punch to his stomach, sending him flying backwards across the room. The Elf immediately came to his defense, launching another explosive arrow between me and her partner. I was undeterred by their distraction and flew straight on through, my fist headed towards her position. I caught her square in the chest, launching her across the room as she slammed into a wall. She began feeling her chest while coughing, the floor around her being dotted with red specks.
Just as it began to dawn on me what I had done to her, the man who had seemingly recovered, let out a cry of rage as he jumped into the air with his sword aimed at my head. I barely managed to get away, resulting in a nasty laceration on my arm. I hissed in pain as I felt a burning sensation in my arm.
"Your time in this place ends now, Lilim." The man spoke for the first time. I didn't give the man the luxury of a response, instead accelerating myself with my wings towards the man while simultaneously casting a spell to harden my fists. The intruder took up a defensive stance and blocked the blade, sending him back a few feet. Despite everything, he remained calm.
The two of us continued for what felt like hours, although it couldn't have been more than four minutes. The man's reflexes enabled him to block or dodge every punch and kick that came his way. The more we fought, the more it became clear that this man was one of the heroes that had gone missing when we had taken over.
As the two of us grew more and more tired, the Elf recovered and tried to stab me in the back with a curved knife. Fed up and enraged with the intruders, I simply grabbed her by the arm and threw her with all my strength at the sword-wielding interloper. She let out a shriek as the two of them collided, both of them falling to the ground. I saw my chance to end this.
Suddenly, a wave of purple fire came from the window where the intruders came through, completely enveloping the Elf. Standing in the shattered window was Delilah, with a look of fury but also grief in her red eyes. She leapt down without a word, staring at the Elf's companion.
The hero, despite his fatigued state and being outnumbered by two insanely powerful monsters, refused to give up. He let out a cry of defiance and rage… Only to vanish in a flash of white light. Both me and Delilah stared dumbfounded at where he once stood.
"Where did he go?!" Delilah screamed in anger, looking around frantically. "I must get rid of him!"
"He teleported. He didn't look like he was done fighting, though. Someone else must have teleported him from a remote location." I deduced. "We can find him later. Now…" I turned to the elf, red-faced and panting on the ground, sweat covering her face. The dragon's flames had completely immobilized her. "There's the matter of what to do with her."
Several minutes prior
Delilah Mayfield
It all happened so quickly. One second my husband was there, the next he wasn't, a red puddle in his place.
"No. No, no, no, no!" I wailed, looking around frantically for my beloved. Two figures jumped down from a shattered window facing my bed. Both were wearing what looked like forest green cloaks, one carrying a sword and the other carrying a staff, both of them glowing white. A sign of weapons enchanted by the Order.
I slowly realized what had happened. These people had killed my husband. King Emyr, no, David Emyr, the man I had promised to love, spoil, and cherish for the rest of my life, was gone because of these people. Even worse, there was no chance at reviving him. Whatever they had attacked us with, left his body completely decimated.
"I'll kill you." I growled, staring at the two asassins. "I'm going to kill you all!"
The two backed up, understandably intimidated. I began with my signature move, quickly flying up into the air and unleashing a massive stream of corruptive fire on the two invaders. The mage quickly formed a spherical shield of energy around the two, blocking all of the fire. I shot downwards and slammed into the shield as hard as I could. The mage and I made eye contact. Though fearful at first, the mage narrowed her eyes in determination.
As soon as she removed the shield I lashed out at the mage with both claws aimed at her torso. Her partner grabbed her and dragged her out of the way at the last second. I attacked relentlessly, constantly forcing them to be on the defensive. They reminded me of Elise. Taking advantage of me while I was weak. Only now, they had taken away my husband.
"I'll tear you apart!" I screamed in fury as I lunged towards the mage once more, managing to grab them by the head. I squeezed as hard as I could, crushing her head. I dropped her mangled body to the ground and faced towards the other. The man had a look of horror on his face.
"Ab-" Before he could finish talking I boosted myself forward with my wings and slammed my clawed fist into his head. He flew backwards, sliding across the floor. He didn't get up after that.
Having dealt with the intruders, I searched around desperately for David. Maybe he had survived and was hiding. He had to be. Please…
All that was left of David Emyr was a bloody arm and few splashes of blood on the wall and the remains of the bed. Before I could fully acknowledge the death of my husband, I heard more explosions coming from Amaya's room. She was under attack too. I took a deep breath and flew myself to her room as fast as I could.
April 11th, 1566 ME
"Pro-Mamono Zone" of Floria
Amaya, 58th daughter of the Mamono Lord
A Unicorn and a witch stood over Nikolas, working their magic, while a pair of Dullahans stood guard over them. "We've stabilized him. He should be fully healed after a few days of rest. Try not to go too hard on him in bed while he's recovering, Miss Amaya." The Unicorn reported.
I scowled at the horse-monster, not in the mood for her jokes. I went over to Delilah, leaning against the wall. The dragon was sobbing, covering her face with a clawed hand. I had tried my best to console her, to no avail.
"He's gone, Amaya. He's gone…" She repeated. "And we can't bring him back."
"Don't say that. Even if he can't be revived by a Lich, Hel will save him. I'm sure of it." I tried to comfort her. She simply sobbed harder. "In the meantime, I'm going to make sure we hunt down the people that did this to him and Nikolas and bring them to justice." I turned towards the Elf, bound and gagged with Ushi-oni made rope. "In fact, we already have one here." I tore the gag off her mouth.
"Give us names. Who are you working with? Where are they hiding?" I growled, staring directly into her green eyes.
"Go to hell, Lilim!" She spat in my face.
"...Unsurprising. Guess we'll have to do things the hard way." I summoned my ball of dark mana and prepared to corrupt her. Yet, just as I was about to do the act, I noticed something. She was grinning.
"...Abort." The Elf smirked as her body began to glow white. I tried to shove the dark mana into her chest, but she vanished before it could make contact.
"Fuck! God damn it!" I yelled, punching the nearby wall in frustration. I turned towards the Dullahans.
"Organize the troops, now. We're going to catch these bastards and bring them to justice if it's the last thing we do."