"Hmm... so you're Luka? Defeating Nanabi... you must have some skill—"

Tamamo remembered her eyes widening in shock the moment she took a good look at the strangely adorable boy in front of her. He was short, slightly shorter than she was even in her sealed form. But what caught her off guard was his appearance and how familiar he looked.

Though the boy's clothes were slightly different, it was that signature purple hair, his beautiful and innocent aqua-colored eyes, and his youthful face that made her feel unsteady. He almost looked like that one human she had met a few years back who also had a similarly cute face.

Her emotions became a whirlwind of confusion as she stared at the young man, especially with the Monster Lord accompanying him. It also made her slightly anxious when she witnessed his extraordinary power when he easily sealed Nanabi. Eventually, she calmed down, composing herself as she greeted the boy, waving her fan while she looked at him with a flirtatious look as if nothing happened.

The nine-tailed kitsune's recollection was temporarily put to a halt when she heard the sound of wings fluttering nearby as the familiar playful wind stirred in the surrounding atmosphere. With her alluring beauty encapsulating her seductive aura, the whimsical succubus landed gracefully by the giant window.

Her voluptuous body accompanied by her extremely revealing attire glimmered under the moonlight. When Tamamo realized who had arrived, she simply went back to her contemplation, thinking more about the boy that ultimately caught her attention. It was an even bigger deal now that the Monster Lord had also caught interest in him.

"Ah... I've returned~" Alma Elma said in a singsong voice.

The Succubus Queen noticed that her fellow Heavenly Knights were already gathered in the room, except for a certain grumpy slime. She giggled softly at the sight of them, her tail twitching playfully while her massive breasts jiggled moderately in the air as she stretched her arms.

Alma Elma smiled when she noticed Granberia scoffing at her ridiculous exaggerated movements. She turned her attention to Tamamo who seemed to be pondering deeply about something. The kitsune had a serious frown on her face while staring blankly at the horizon.

"Hey, Tamamo, you alright? Are you thinking about something?"

But Tamamo didn't respond, not even sparing a glance at her, still deep in thought.

"Hellooo, earth to Tamamo? Are you there?" Alma Elma went closer to the kitsune, snapping her fingers in front of her to get her attention.

"H-huh? W-what?"

"You were spacing out for a while over there. Are you alright?"

Tamamo felt slightly flustered when the succubus pointed out that she was caught in the middle of her thoughts. She faked a cough, composing herself before waving her fan.

"My apologies, I didn't mean to make you worry. I was just... thinking about some... matters... that are not important..."

"Hmmm... you look like you were contemplating about something serious though."

"It's nothing really... don't worry about it," Tamamo replied, masking her nervousness skillfully with a reassuring smile. "Just some stuff in the past that I shouldn't even be thinking about anymore."

What she said was technically true as it involved a certain someone she never thought she'd see again or rather... someone who was most likely related to 'him.' The fact still bothered her to some degree but she didn't want her fellow Heavenly Knights to be worried about it. She lightly shook her head as she faced the succubus with a smile, wanting to change the topic.

"Anyways, enough about me. What brings you back here, Alma Elma? Weren't you supposed to be keeping the ships off from sailing to Sentora?" Tamamo asked with an irritated yet playful smile, finding her method of 'self-defense' against humans a bit too exorbitant.

"Oh I was, but I was bested by an adorable-looking boy named Luka..." Alma Elma announced and though she declared her supposed 'defeat,' she seemed happy about it.

"That short purple-haired boy?" Granberia asked, raising her brow. "You had to have given him quite a handicap."

"But that Luka had some excellent potential," Tamamo said thoughtfully. "I've seen his amazing secret strength."

"I'm sure he'll become really strong," Alma Elma giggled seductively. "Not to mention that he was extremely cute! He's so short, almost like a doll that's waiting to be played with~"

"Sheesh, keep your hormones in check, will you?" Granberia scoffed. "And he wasn't all that impressive when I met him. He's an amateur who just picked up a sword."

"Well, even if he's weak right now, he's undeniably adorable, and I know that you agree with me," Alma Elma giggled playfully at Granberia before she started wondering about something. "But now that I think about it, he does look familiar to me for some reason."

"Familiar?" Alma Elma's statement caught Tamamo off guard. "What do you mean?"

"I don't know but I think I've seen his face before somewhere... or perhaps a face similar to his..." Alma Elma rubbed her chin in thought. "Hmm... though I'm not quite sure how or if I could remember correctly..."

"What? Like the Hero Heinrich?" Granberia asked.

"No, I mean like... I could've sworn I met someone who looked like him when I was younger..."

Tamamo was surprised to hear Alma Elma's statement but she quickly regained her composure.

I mean it is certainly possible that Alma Elma would've met 'him' when she was still young. But still...

"Hmph... if anyone has potential, it's that other guy he's with," Granberia spoke with her eyes closed.

"Other... guy?"

"Yeah, the other young man that was with them. The taller one."

"Wasn't it just Luka-boy and Monster Lord Alice?"

"Huh, no. There were three of them."

"There was someone else with them?" Tamamo asked, feeling confused.

"Yes, there were three of them traveling together, I saw them when I attacked Iliasburg."

Tamamo and Alma Elma looked at each other before turning back to Granberia with confusion on their faces, having no idea who she was pertaining to.

"I didn't know they had another companion with them."

"Same, I only saw Luka-boy and Monster Lord Alice when I landed on the ship they were sailing on."

"What? How can that be?" Granberia asked, clearly frustrated. "I'm very sure that there were three of them. And he couldn't have just left. Are you sure you didn't see him or anyone else with the boy and the Monster Lord?"

"No, I didn't. And I would've been able to easily sense him if he was nearby."

"I didn't either. Though it's possible that he could've been hiding in the ship with the other crewmates when I was playing with Luka-boy."

"Who was this other companion that was with them anyway, Granberia?" Tamamo asked curiously.

"The other guy they were with, the man, the taller one... the one that had spiky brown hair, wearing a peculiar outfit. When I easily defeated Luka in Iliasburg, this young man rushed in and I ended up fighting him instead."

In all her years as a Heavenly Knight, she had never come across any human who fought like that man did. She had her fair share of quick and nimble opponents but he was different. He wasn't physically strong or heavily armored unlike the human soldiers she usually fought but he was smart and he used his surroundings and anything he could get his hands on to his advantage.

Not to mention that he had those fancy devices that he used to annoy her and stall for time. He was no warrior but he was a respectable opponent and she had to give him credit for his cunning and for using everything to his advantage to fight back.

And suddenly, this man wasn't with the short boy and the Monster Lord anymore? Where did he go? Was he hiding so that Tamamo nor Alma Elma couldn't spot him? Or did he somehow get killed?

Granberia refused to believe that someone like him would perish in a fight easily, especially with how long he stood up against her. And with all the words she heard from her fellow Heavenly Knights, she may as well test Luka for herself alongside the man that she didn't even get the name of. Before Alma Elma or Tamamo could ask more about this third companion Granberia was pertaining to, she was already walking away from the room.

"Where are you going, Granberia?" Alma Elma asked.

But Granberia had already left, leaving Alma Elma and Tamamo in the room. The kitsune frowned as she processed everything in her mind. Getting to meet Luka was still a surprise to her, given his appearance and his similarity to someone she knew very well. She didn't know what to think of him, acknowledging that he was a different person and not the man she met a few years back.

But Luka traveling with the Monster Lord was something not entirely new, though it still slightly bothered her that the Monster Lord would be alongside him of all people. And apparently, there was someone else with them as Granberia described. Who was this other person? How come she never saw him?

The kitsune was too tired to think, feeling her head throb in pain from contemplating too much. Perhaps, a trip back to her hometown in Yamatai could help her relax.


The wind was blowing intensely, the environment looked like it was shifting out of reality. From the barren wilderness stood a lone man, walking away from a nearby wreckage of various metal scraps and broken machines. He kept walking with no signs of stopping despite the unpleasant weather conditions.

The man didn't know how long it had been but after walking for what seemed to be hours, he spotted something in the distance—a city. He could see silhouettes of buildings and structures surrounded by a giant sandstone wall that was ravaged. His stoic expression turned into a smile as he found a temporary place to rest for the night.

He headed towards the city, the blazing heat of the sun and the strong warm winds did not deter him. As he walked, he noticed bones and skeletal structures of various species of monsters buried under the desert sands. He didn't particularly feel anything after seeing them but he couldn't help but sigh at their unfortunate fate.

He wished it didn't have to end this way but he was too powerless to stop everything from happening. He only realized after the experimental procedures had gone off and he was already too late. The damage had been done and it resulted in the deaths of millions.

He sighed in resignation as he gazed up at the horizon. The sun was still shining brightly despite the world's current condition. As usual, the man could see the giant pillar of light that was visible from where he was, stretching infinitely in the sky.

It glowed a bright green light, emanating a strange otherworldly aura that wasn't at all inviting. For as long as he could remember, that beam of light was always there, glowing in the sky; a symbol, a living reminder of everything that went wrong.

But as the man continued to walk, his surroundings started to get distorted. Everything around him changed, the ground below him suddenly disappearing as he fell into a void of incomprehensible sequences filled with moving pictures.

The man tried to scream as he fell infinitely but even with his mouth open, no sounds were coming out. Then his environment shifted once more while he fell as the moving pictures flew around him at exponential speeds like a raging tempest.

He could see four silhouettes of people walking in a city. Then the scene transformed into an eerie-looking room filled with unknown machines, wire-like objects, and odd-shaped beds that were made of glass.

Then the images became progressively overwhelming, flashing right before his very eyes in short intervals; a sword stuck on a rock, a giant creature with tentacles devouring an entire planet, a green-colored asteroid entering the atmosphere, six silhouettes of monster girls of different species, and a man and an angel sitting next to each other under a tree.

He clutched his head in pain while he fell continuously in the void. Nothing was making any sense to him and he felt like he was going mad. He attempted to scream once more and this time he could hear himself. But before he could say anything more, the emergence of a bright white light from below fully enveloped him.

"Ahhhhh!"

In an instant, Luka woke up screaming, accidentally slamming himself on the bed's headboard.

"Owww!"

The young hero instinctively clutched his head, gritting his teeth from the pain.

"Oh my goodness! Are you alright, sir?"

Luka heard a concerned voice nearby. As he was rubbing his head to ease the pain, he felt a soft and comforting hand touch his shoulder. He diverted his attention to the person that was now beside him.

She was a woman with goldenrod-colored hair, wearing a somewhat revealing nurse uniform, with a worried expression on her face. Everything seemed to be going alright that was until Luka noticed that instead of human legs, her bottom half was that of a fish's tail.

"Ahhh!" Luka panicked, jolting out of the bed he was lying on before taking a defensive stance. "You... you're a mermaid girl!"

"Woah, calm down, sir! Everything's alright! I was just checking—"

"Who are you? Where am I? And... and... how did I get... here...?"

As Luka asked in a panicked state, he frantically looked at his surroundings. The room had numerous shelves, drawers, and potted plants as well as a soft mattress bed he was lying on earlier. He also noticed various medical tools and supplies in the room.

"Sir, please calm down... I'm not going to hurt you..." the mermaid girl reassured him with a look of concern. "I'm going to need you to relax and breathe. You're in good hands. Just calm down and then I'll answer your questions, alright?"

Acknowledging the nurse attire of the mermaid girl, he realized that he was indeed in some sort of an infirmary. Luka was confused as he didn't know how he got here or why he was even here in the first place.

He was still too caught up in his most recent dream and he was very confused as to why there was a monster girl with him. He didn't trust her completely but it didn't look like she was planning to do something bad to him so far, though it didn't hurt to remain vigilant.

"Here, why don't you lie on the bed for now and rest for a little while? Or perhaps you'd want to sit down on the chair? That's fine too. I just want you to calm yourself first, alright, sir?"

Her reassuring words seemed to have made an effect on him. It looked like she really did want to help him. And with his desperation for answers, he accepted her offer, approaching one of the wooden chairs before sitting down.

"Feeling better?"

"Y-yeah... t-thanks..."

The mermaid nurse smiled, bringing out a clipboard and a pen before she began writing something.

"I suppose I should answer your questions, that way we'd be on the same page. Well, to start with, yes, I am indeed a mermaid girl. Visitors do look at us strangely whenever we walk on land with our tail fins but the humans in this town are used to it."

"Huh? Wait a minute... the humans in this town? You've been around humans?"

"Of course! And for your second question, we're in Port Natalia."

"Port Natalia?! This is... you mean... we're at Port Natalia right now?" Luka asked with a surprised look on his face. "So I'm finally here in the Sentora Continent..."

"Indeed you are, sir. And here in Port Natalia, we mermaid girls are welcomed here by the human inhabitants of this port town. Some of us even became permanent residents, like me. So you have nothing to fear about us!"

"That's... pretty awesome. Are there also other monster girls that reside in this town?"

"Hmm... I don't think so. As far as I know, the only monster girls that are welcome here our us mermaid girls."

"I see..."

Even though the hospitality of this town was only limited to mermaids, Luka couldn't hold back a smile at the thought of a human town that was finally accepting of monster girls. This was his dream after all. The gesture of accepting only one species of monster girls may be small but it's a first step in achieving coexistence.

"Oh, I almost forgot, your friend is already at the reception area waiting for you. Want to go meet her?"

At first, Luka was confused about who the mermaid nurse was pertaining to, until he remembered that he wasn't alone in his journey. Luka stood up, following the mermaid nurse towards the reception area. And over there he saw the familiar face of Alice in her human form, sitting on one of the chairs.

"You sure took your time waking up, huh?"

"Nice to see you too, Alice," Luka gave a bittersweet smile, slowly getting used to her sarcastic remarks.

"Now for your third question, sir, you're currently at Port Natalia's Infirmary. As for how you got here... well... how much can you remember from before you woke up?"

"Hmm... we were sailing on a ship that we boarded on Iliasport to get to Sentora," Luka pondered as he couldn't exactly remember everything that transpired before they got here.

"I'm surprised you were able to get past the storm. Ever since that storm arrived, we've never gotten any visitors coming from the Ilias Continent. I'm curious as to how you were able to sail across."

"Oh, that's because of the Poseidon's Bell that we hung on the bow of the ship."

"I see... that's fascinating..." the mermaid nurse remarked. "But anyway, so yes, you two were brought here in our infirmary while you were unconscious. At first, we were worried about what happened, especially when we saw the lamia... umm... n-no offense, ma'am..."

"None taken..." Alice said casually with her eyes closed and her arms crossed.

"Wait... we were brought here?"

"Yes, a young man brought you two here in our infirmary. We were very shocked to see him carrying the both of you. Some of our human nurses were freaked out by the lamia but the man tried his best to calm them down and convinced them that they had nothing to worry about. We weren't quite sure what to do, though he did give us somewhat of an explanation that you were both drained out of energy."

"A young man?"

Suddenly, Luka started remembering more of what happened back on the ship. He thought that he was imagining things but he could've sworn that he saw Valon's face on the ship while he was barely conscious. But Valon had already left them before they reached Iliasport.

"Would you happen to know his name?"

"No, we didn't get the chance to ask. He didn't introduce himself and he seemed like he was in a hurry."

Could it really be him? Could it really be Valon who was on the ship with them?

"So he carried you here and asked us if he could let you rest here for as long as you could. He even begged us to take care of you, ma'am," the mermaid nurse glanced at Alice. "He told us to keep you here in secret to avoid making a huge panic in town. He paid us a huge amount of money, stating that he would pay for everything needed for your recovery."

"He... he did all that?" Luka asked with mild surprise.

"Yes. We felt kinda bad for him and even though we offered free services for newcomers, he told us to keep the money. Honestly, I've never seen anyone so concerned like that, especially with a monster girl. It does make me happy to see humans becoming more accepting of monster girls though."

As the mermaid nurse spoke, Luka was slowly believing that the man who helped them was indeed Valon himself. No other human would even be able to get close to a lamia, even an unconscious one, and bring them to an infirmary to help them.

Before the mermaid nurse could speak further, one of the other nurses called for her from another room. The mermaid girl nodded before turning to face Luka and Alice. She explained that they had already checked their vitals this morning and that they had fully recovered from their extreme fatigue yesterday.

She told them that they were free to leave anytime they wanted and if they had more questions, they could approach the reception desk. The mermaid nurse bowed to them before leaving Luka and Alice in the waiting area.

The two of them just sat in silence. It wasn't that they had nothing to say at the moment but they were both still trying to process everything in their mind along with some of the information that the mermaid nurse provided to them. Luka tried to wrap his head around what happened back on the ship while Alice was busy with her own thoughts.

Luka attempted to recall more of the events that occurred on the ship. A few hours after he fought against Alma Elma, Luka decided to rest in the ship's cabin along with the other sailors. But just as he was about to sleep, he heard a loud ruckus coming from the deck of the ship. And that was when everything went wrong.

He saw the sailors being kidnapped by an unknown group of women, who were all wearing the same clothing and carrying strange-looking devices. Luka didn't know what was happening but he knew he had to do something.

But before he could do anything, the women instantly overwhelmed him and left him helpless as they strapped him on a terrifying milking machine. He shuddered internally, still feeling their seductive taunts and their sadistic laughter while he completely submitted to them.

What was even more surprising was that the unknown group of women were able to incapacitate Alice. He had just recently learned that the lamia that was accompanying him was actually the Monster Lord herself—Alipheese Fateburn XVI, whose identity was revealed by Tamamo. But to see the Monster Lord being overwhelmed by those women...

"How are you feeling?" Luka initiated with a question, seeing the disguised lamia deep in her own mind.

"I'm fine..."

Even though Alice's tone was nonchalant, Luka could tell that something was bothering her. He couldn't blame her, she was perturbed by what happened back there. As soon as Luka was attacked by an unknown group of women, they also started to restrain Alice with their strange weapons that Luka had never seen before.

"Those people that attacked us... do you know who they were?"

"No, I do not."

"I... suppose that makes sense," Luka felt slightly stupid for asking such a question, knowing that they also attacked the Monster Lord. "Are they monster girls disguised as humans by any chance?"

"No, they're not, at least, that's what my senses could tell. None of them carried that monster girl scent nor could I feel any traces of magical energy from them," Alice replied. "For all I know, they're just regular humans... or at least they look like humans..."

Despite being the Monster Lord who possessed vast amounts of power and magic, the women who ambushed them on the ship were able to overpower her. The devices they carried involved some kind of contraption that shot a glowing rope that they used to restrain her. Immediately, she felt herself slowly weakening from the strange coils that were on the devices as she struggled to break free from their grasp.

At first, Alice was able to hold her own very well against them, even overpowering them as she used numerous spells and utilized her overall magic prowess. But surprisingly, they were able to outmatch her with their continuous assault alongside their advanced machines, and of course, Alice knew they outnumbered her greatly.

They were also way stronger than a regular human, feeling their powerful punches damage her body more than she liked. If it wasn't for those restraining devices that they used at the beginning, she wouldn't have been too drained to fight them.

"I guess so, I couldn't really tell. They quickly overwhelmed us. Everything happened so fast," Luka remarked thoughtfully. "They were flying towards the ship with their strange... uhh... flaming backpacks... err... whatever they're called."

Alice clenched her fists, struggling to process the reality of recent events. She didn't know what to say. They were beaten. She was beaten. She never felt so weak, and to think that mere humans could weaken her like that. She was completely out of her element and they had every advantage against her; the element of surprise, advanced technology, their inhuman strength, and greater numbers.

While Alice struggled to understand how a group of women could be so skilled and powerful, Luka didn't know what to make up for the recent events either. They were both attacked by an unknown group of powerful women and drained both him and Alice of their energy. He couldn't save those sailors that were kidnapped and he didn't know what those women wanted with them nor the reason behind their actions.

Then there was his recollection of his former companion Valon suddenly appearing on the ship. Luka was devastated when Valon left them. He felt like he had lost a close friend and it even got to the point where he felt demotivated to continue his journey. Even if Valon didn't say it to him directly, Luka felt like he failed him.

But what he saw back there when he was being violated on the ship by the powerful women was not a dream, he truly did see Valon there. He didn't see everything that happened while he was there because he was severely weakened by how much the women milked him with the machine they had, but he knew that Valon was the one fighting those women.

"That man we saw on the ship..." Luka spoke once more. "That was Valon, wasn't it?"

Alice said nothing. Her eyes were closed and her arms were crossed. She held a neutral expression though the silence made Luka think that she was still bothered by what happened. Eventually, she opened her eyes before asking him a question that he wasn't expecting.

"Do you think Valon is working for them?"

"Huh?"

"Those women that ambushed us on the ship. I have reasons to believe that Valon might be working with them or is somehow related to them."

"You think Valon is working with those people?" Luka said incredulously, surprised by her bold claim. "How so?"

"They possessed highly advanced technology that I have never seen before."

"Yeah... but that doesn't really prove anything, Alice..."

"Well, don't you think it seemed convenient that he left us, a few hours before we boarded the ship? When he left, he felt guilty about the idea of separating. Then when we were on the ship with Valon no longer with us, those women arrived."

"Huh, I... never thought about it like that..."

"Not to mention that Valon had suddenly appeared on the ship while we were being attacked. I didn't sense traces of him when we boarded the ship so how did he get there all of a sudden?"

"That is a good question. But... that can't be right..." Luka replied. "Because he saved us from them. I didn't see much of what was going on while they were... violating me with their machine but I know I saw him. And I know you saw him too. That was him who was fighting those women."

Alice didn't deny Luka's statement because he was right. Luka may not remember much but Alice did as she was still conscious when Valon arrived on the ship. She saw his shocked face when he saw them being assaulted by those women.

"Like I said, it could be that he might have felt guilty about what he was doing. He probably couldn't stand leaving you and when those women attacked, he felt the need to interfere," Alice spoke with a neutral expression. "But ultimately, I'm just purely making assumptions again with no hard evidence. It's true that everything that happened back there was strange and some things just didn't add up."

The Monster Lord had the right to be confused. Who were those women and what did they want from her? It was true that they restrained her and drained her of her energy, her assumption about them trying to deal with her was there but then again, they also molested Luka. Why did they have to violate him and collect his semen as well?

And if Valon was really with them, why did he fight those women? Were they really a group of humans who despised monsters? Did Valon truly feel guilty so he decided to fight back against the group of women? Or were there other forces at play?

"I don't know anymore... I feel like my mind is about to explode with everything that has happened," Alice said frustratingly, massaging her aching temples. "I was the one who wanted to be amused by accompanying you in this journey of yours but now I think I probably asked too much."

"Hey, it's alright, Alice. I mean, I'm very confused too. I'm not really sure about what's going on either, who those women were, or why they attacked us. And perhaps, you might be right about Valon and that there are things we don't truly know about him yet or who he really is," Luka reassured his companion with a smile. "But I do know that despite everything that happened, he still helped us."

Alice was very skeptical of Valon and with the events that occurred in the ship, she was even more suspicious of him now. But as Luka stated it, perhaps there was more to him than meets the eye. She acknowledged Luka's arguments about Valon's willingness to fight back against those strangely powerful women, even if he was with them.

"Now I'm not completely sure what happened when the fight ended but we do know that he brought us all the way here to Port Natalia. He most likely drove the ship all by himself since all the sailors were kidnapped and he carried the both of us here in the infirmary. He even paid for the fees!"

"Even though they provide free services to newcomers in this town..." Alice deadpanned.

"Oh come on, Alice, you know what I mean. We may not fully know his intentions or who he really is but he still helped us. Though I wonder, where is he now? Since he was on the ship with us and he was the one who brought us here in Port Natalia, there's no doubt that Valon is also on the Sentora Continent with us. But where did he go?"

The Monster Lord wasn't sure how to feel about Valon, more so than before. She didn't know if he was someone she could trust, knowing how reticent he was. Though he did help Luka on multiple occasions and it looked like he truly cared about him whenever the idiotic hero was in a troublesome situation.

He also helped them find the Poseidon's Bell by marking the location of the Treasure Cave on Luka's map, which she was slightly curious about. And he did technically save them on the ship, even considerate enough to bring them here in the infirmary to recover.

"I suppose we'll just have to find out for ourselves if we do meet him again."

"Yeah, you're right," Luka answered before walking towards the door. "Now come on, Alice, let's go. I want to explore more of this town."

Also feeling excited to explore what the town offered, the disguised lamia followed Luka as they started exploring more of Port Natalia. They had an unexpected encounter with Lazarus, the leader of a terrorist organization known as Ilias Kreuz, who was responsible for blowing up the mermaid school in the town.

With Luka feeling perturbed after seeing Lazarus, Alice suggested that they take a rest in the town for now. Luka insisted that they leave for San Ilia immediately and that they had already rested but Alice ended up dragging him to a nearby hotel. Eventually, Luka agreed with her to rest for the night as Alice convinced him that they weren't in a hurry anyway.

Alice asked Luka who Lazarus was as the moment he saw his face, he turned pale. Luka explained that Lazarus was one of the leaders of the Ilias Kreuz group. They were a group that took a fanatical view of Ilias's teaching and advocated the extermination of all monsters.

Luka then pondered if Ilias Kreuz had something to do with the Slaughter of Remina but Alice disagreed as thousands of humans and monsters lived there and there was no way a small group like Ilias Kreuz had the strength to massacre all of Remina's citizens.

The two continued their conversation for a while, ranging from the subject of Ilias Kreuz, and eventually deviated to where Valon could have gone off to. Alice told him that there was no point in thinking too much about something that they absolutely had no answers to, especially with the mysteries circulating the man in question.

"Well, I suppose thinking too much about that won't really help us. Let's just sleep now," Luka tried to stand up so that he could rest on the sleeping bag he prepared on the floor when he noticed Alice's hand gripping his wrist tightly. "Umm... Alice? What are you—"

"Why settle for that sleeping bag when we can share one bed, hmm?"

Alice pushed Luka to the only bed in the room before she quickly wrapped her snake coils around him, fully constricting him. She then fully stripped him off of his clothes, eying him with a predatory gaze.

"So you enjoyed being turned into a cow, huh? Did you like it? Did you enjoy being milked by those women as they strapped you on that machine?" Alice purred while licking her lips with a slight hint of jealousy etched on her face. "Well, let me show you something way better than a mere machine! Tonight, you get to experience a lamia's tail~"

"Alice?! W-w-what are you... a-a-ahhh...!"


"Alice... did you really have to do that?" Luka asked, still feeling slightly shocked by what happened. "Because of shattering that sword, I think you broke the King..."

"Hrm, he was speaking such gibberish that I had to wake him up."

The young hero could only stare in disbelief at his companion who had a calm demeanor while everything else in the castle was in utter chaos. Three days had passed since they left Port Natalia and they arrived in the city of San Ilia where the people's faith in Ilias was strong. He was eager to ask the San Ilia King what it meant to be a hero.

Initially, he thought that it might take another three days for him to finally have an audience with the king due to the amount of visitors in the castle but when the captain of the royal guards spotted him, he told Luka that the San Ilia King wanted to meet him right away. When the San Ilia King spoke about his dream about Luka being the hero to defeat the Monster Lord, he informed Luka that he must prove his strength to three wise men in the Sentora Continent and receive their blessings in order to be deemed worthy of the Goddess Sword.

But suddenly, Alice approached the sword and easily shattered it to pieces. She mocked the king and the pitiful sword and told Luka that she would be the one to show the real 'hero's' way. She told him about the Four Elemental Spirits that were all in the Sentora Continent: Sylph, Gnome, Undine, and Salamander, and that he should receive their blessings instead.

With their blessings, he will gain powers that will undoubtedly help him in his journey, unlike the weak excuse of a sword that was now broken before her. Due to the shock that the King felt from seeing the so-called Goddess Sword broken before his eyes, he started to laugh strangely, descending into madness. When the guards arrived to check what was going on, Luka half-lied about what happened, stating that the Monster Lord broke the sword as he dragged Alice away from the throne room.

They were currently standing outside the throne room, watching the guards run all over the place in a panic. They wondered if the Monster Lord really did attack the castle when all of a sudden, they heard a loud rumbling noise.

Suddenly, a figure crashed through the walls and the guards around Luka fainted on the floor. It went so fast that Luka thought he saw a green blur buzzing in the castle hall.

Only for that green blur to reveal herself as none other than the Heavenly Knight of Fire, Granberia. The dragon swordswoman stood menacingly in front of Luka with her arms crossed and her sword struck on the floor.

"Granberia! What are you doing here!?" Luka asked in shock, confused as to why she was suddenly attacking the castle of San Ilia.

The dragonkin remained silent. Her gaze was not on Luka directly as she seemed to be looking for something.

"I could've sworn I sensed him here..." Granberia muttered to herself, clicking her tongue in frustration before finally looking at Luka. "Where is he?"

"Huh? Where's who?"

"Don't play dumb. The man, that was with you. The slightly taller one. The one I fought back at Iliasburg."

Is she looking for Valon?

"W-why? W-what do you want from him...?"

Just like the first time he confronted her, Luka could feel her intimidating and powerful aura emanating from her. Her mere presence dwarfed that of the Queen Harpy and Nanabi, both of which were already formidable opponents that Luka heavily struggled fighting against. His hands felt shaky as sweat poured from his nervous face.

The last time they met, it wasn't a pleasant experience as he was quickly defeated by her with no effort at all. Valon then fought her for his sake but even if he fared better against her than he did, the technician was defeated in the end. If Valon couldn't beat her then how could he possibly stand a chance?

"I wanted to have a rematch, to test him and see what more he can do."

"Valon's... n-not here... right now..."

"Valon, huh? So that's his name."

Luka gulped in fear as he slowly pulled out Angel Halo, his hand shivering intensely as he gripped his sword. He knew he was scared and without Valon to help him, he didn't know if he would be able to live through this second encounter with Granberia.

In difficult situations he found himself in, he had always relied on others for help. When he was being milked by the group of women back on the ship, Valon arrived to save him for the third time. Would he be here again to help him or save him again?

No... I... I can't keep depending on others! I have to start learning to do things on my own!

Luka tried to compose himself, steadying his grip on the sword. He had come this far in his journey and he wasn't going to stop here now. Valon had helped him multiple times and he wasn't going to let his former companion's efforts go to waste.

Instead of feeling envious of the lack of strength, he will use Valon's support for him from before to fuel his drive to continue forward. And as an aspiring hero, he wasn't about to let Granberia wreck this castle just so she could find Valon. So even with doubts still fresh in his thoughts, he raised his sword at her with every ounce of resolve he had.

"Oh? You're pointing your sword at me?" Granberia raised a brow, slightly amused by the boy's display of courage. "I must say that I wasn't originally planning on fighting you. But looking at your stance now, I can tell that you're completely different from when we last met."

She could tell that just from my stance? Wow... that actually makes me... kinda happy—no, no, no! Now's not the time to indulge in her praise!

"Very well, I'm here now. I might as well enjoy myself," Granberia gave a small smile as she raised her sword. "This also works for me. I want to see if the others were just exaggerating your abilities. Alright then, let's have a match!"

"Guh... I'll stand and fight!"

Luka knew that there was no way he was going to beat her at his state but he wouldn't be able to move forward if he didn't do anything, and running wasn't an option. He remembered what Valon told him before he left, that he had to learn how to handle things in his journey by himself. With a long sigh, Luka gripped Angel Halo tightly before charging towards Granberia.

He initiated the fight with a Thunder Thrust, landing a direct hit at her. The attack barely scratched her at all as she remained motionless from her spot, observing Luka carefully. Though not perfect, she praised Luka for executing the move properly, demanding him to show more of the skills he learned.

The battle continued with Luka pouring every ounce of strength into using his sword and the skills he learned from Alice against her. Occasionally, there would be soldiers from the San Ilia Royal Guard that would support Luka in his fight but Granberia quickly dealt with them as she didn't want anyone else to interfere.

She would sometimes hit Luka back with simple attacks like a sword cleave or hitting him with the hilt of her sword, though she mostly stood still to observe his attacks. Luka knew that his attacks were barely damaging her but he continued fighting back, swinging and slashing his sword at the dragonkin.

He used Demon Decapitation and even the healing technique that Alice taught him, Meditation, which intrigued Granberia when she noticed that the boy had the ability to heal himself from his injuries. Finally having enough fighting spirit to use the last move that Alice taught him, he used the castle walls as leverage before he crashed his sword on her with Demon Skull Beheading.

As expected, none of his attacks even managed to make a dent on her. He slowly felt hopeless when he realized just how powerless he was against her. He was gradually getting exhausted and he didn't know how much more he could fight with Granberia not even fighting him seriously.

"I see. I asked you to show me your skills. However immature you are, there certainly is amazing potential. Perhaps I'll let you live a little longer."

"Eh?" Luka was confused, seeing the Heavenly Knight withdraw her sword.

"I intended to fight your other companion but clearly he isn't here," Granberia spoke in a neutral tone. "I suppose you don't know where he is either, huh? He isn't just hiding?"

"I... y-y-yeah..." Luka was mildly surprised when she knew that he was also unaware of his whereabouts.

"Hmm... very well..." Granberia spoke while she was deep in thought before giving Luka a challenging smirk. "Until we meet again."

And just like that Granberia vanished into thin air, leaving Luka alone.


Valon was somewhat happy that he managed to obtain some cash that he found on the ship. Rather the appropriate phrase would be 'hoarded the ship,' but being stuck in a world such as Monster Girl Quest made him desperate for anything he could get his hands on to help him survive.

He had recently left Luka and Alice in the infirmary he found in Port Natalia. He was thankful to have found the money and he was also grateful that the doctors and nurses, especially the Mermaid employees, were incredibly friendly and considerate.

But he wanted to leave them as much as he could as he still didn't feel like it was a wise idea to continue accompanying them on their journey. And in the state he was in, he didn't have the courage to face them, especially with the recent events that transpired.

The young technician sighed exasperatedly, walking away from the city of San Ilia. It had been a few hours since he left the grand city, asking some of the locals if they had seen his brother. Though he felt disappointed yet again when he didn't find his brother or any clues related to him there, he was able to buy useful items such as food, tools, and some metal scrap.

As he walked on the grassy fields, he couldn't help but feel lost. He hadn't contemplated it as much but he didn't know where to go from here. He bought a map of the world from San Ilia but he contemplated if it was even wise to go to some locations that were in the game, such as the haunted mansion where Chrome was. Of course, he needed to search every location that he knew to look for his brother but he doubted if he could last long by himself.

And with everything that happened so far, he just felt severely overwhelmed. Every time he progressed in his search while he was in this world to look for answers, specifically on his brother's whereabouts, it felt like he just kept getting more and more questions. Aside from all the acts of interference that he did, now he had to worry about a group of women who were wearing Cosmoknight uniforms roaming around this world, doing whatever the hell they were doing.

Who were they anyway and what was their deal? Why did they kidnap the sailors on the ship and why did they assault Luka and Alice? What were they trying to accomplish by extracting energy or power outputs from the main characters of the game? They didn't look like they were from Delta, at least from what I've observed.

He was sure they were from C.O.S.M.O. because of the recognizable equipment that they had, though, it would be somewhat terrifying to consider if they were not from C.O.S.M.O. and were just some angels or monsters disguised as humans doing questionable things behind the scenes. But that was highly unlikely based on his encounter with them and it would be way more sinister if C.O.S.M.O. was truly involved.

Because if C.O.S.M.O. was involved, that would leave him to ask one eerie question—why? What was C.O.S.M.O. doing? Are only the Delta Cosmoknights merely stranded in this world from the Warpgate incident last year or has the organization made an actual presence in this world? If so, why? Why are they here? What did they want? Did they truly have permanent access to this fictional world? What did they hope to gain by being in Monster Girl Quest?

And why did those women suddenly let him go? They had beaten him thoroughly back on that ship and he thought that he was going to be captured and be taken away in some hidden facility to torture him. But they let him go in the end, only bringing the extracted essence they obtained from Luka and Alice before flying away.

Who were those women anyway? Were they Cosmoknights?

The more he continued with this train of thought, the more perturbed he felt. And it didn't help that was already extremely stressed from everything else that happened. The brutal deaths of the three bandits haunted him. He couldn't shake this horrible feeling that he was responsible for their gruesome fate.

His fight against Granberia where he destroyed the city's arch structure, the savage harpy that he saw from the Irina Mountains, his fight against the Queen Harpy where Luka was severely wounded, the rage he felt in Iliasburg and in Enrika, the journey deviating from the storyline and the changes that occurred because of his interventions, and the thought of still not getting anywhere close to finding his brother alongside the possibility of C.O.S.M.O.'s involvement in this world all proved to be too much for his human brain to handle.

He clutched his head, temporarily stopping in his tracks as he collapsed on the ground from the stress overload that he felt. He felt all his anxieties up to this point build-up, crashing down on him like a bullet through his mind. He was in agony, panting heavily as he struggled to catch his breath.

He felt like he should be stronger after three years of being a member of Omicron's extraction unit but the mere fact that he was in such a foreign yet familiar environment that was supposedly fictional decimated his sense of logic and reason. After a few minutes of hyperventilating, he eventually calmed down. He felt stupid for even considering to stop walking while no longer in the presence of human civilization as the threat of being surprised by a Monster Girl was high.

He stood up and composed himself. He figured that he'd just have to organize his thoughts soon once he was in a safer environment. His mind was still a complete mess that it gave him throbbing headaches but now wasn't the time to be distracted. But just as he was about to continue his lone walk, he noticed a figure wearing a beige-colored cloak standing in front of him.

Valon was surprised to see the cloaked figure suddenly in front of him as he didn't hear any sound that would signify that someone was approaching him. Even if the stranger that stood ahead was harmless, he didn't want to risk the possibility of getting caught. He quickly grabbed one of his newly fabricated smoke bombs before throwing it on the ground near him.

As the air around them was quickly covered in smoke, Valon quickly tried to get away as he made his way through a nearby grove. He hid behind a large bush, looking at where the smoke was. As the smoke slowly subsided from view, he wondered who or what the creature was that suddenly appeared out of nowhere in front of him.

Valon knew that the best idea was to run away if there was ever a chance that the figure he encountered was a monster girl but he couldn't help but feel slightly curious. He couldn't see their face very well as it was concealed by the beige-colored cloak they were wearing. But now that he thought about it, for some reason, the cloaked figure looked familiar, like he could've sworn he saw the exact same figure from somewhere before.

"Fascinating..."

The technician was so caught up in his own thoughts that he didn't realize that the cloaked figure was beside him all of a sudden. He widened his eyes in shock, extremely confused about how he got here so fast without even seeing or hearing him move. Not even his helmet's motion sensors were picking up signals from them.

It was like his strange encounter with that weird woman named Brigid in Enrika all over again. Were his sensors being faulty again or did the stranger's presence surpass the capabilities of his technology? Valon suddenly felt afraid, wondering if he was up against a vastly powerful individual.

But he had absolutely no idea who they were or if they were in the game as he had no recollection of any mysterious cloaked figures with a strangely hollow voice. Did he somehow miss something from the game files or any small information? Perhaps he missed some minor details in Paradox?

Whoever they were, Valon needed to get away from this stranger, if he even could. Though he had his exoshield and his helmet on, he didn't want to find out what this strange person was capable of.

Acting quickly, he threw a smoke bomb and a flashbomb towards the cloaked figure before running away again. He activated his gauntlets and the barrel attachments in case he needed it.

Relying on his helmet to guide him from any monster girls that he may encounter, he ran away as far as he could from the cloaked figure without looking back. He silently cursed to himself for making a lot of noise because of his running but he didn't want to deal with whatever the hell that stranger could do.

After a while, he started to get tired. He quickly looked around him to find any traces of where the cloaked figure might be. When he found none, he sat near a tree as he collapsed from exhaustion, panting for his breath.

"How peculiar..."

Valon didn't even have time to contemplate when he spotted the mysterious cloaked figure once more, standing in front of him. He was too exhausted from all the running he did but he managed to stand up quickly, pulling his collapsible bo staff with one hand and a foambomb on the other.

He assumed a defensive stance, ready to face the cloaked figure if they tried to do anything. The technician didn't know if he would stand a chance against the stranger but he only needed to stall for time so that he could recover his energy before making another hasty escape.

"Look sir... er... ma'am, I don't really know which, but I don't want any trouble, okay? I apologize for throwing those... things I threw at you but I don't really want to deal with some... crazy stuff right now. So if you can kindly just... you know... forget we ever saw each other, that would be great."

Goddamn, my diplomacy skills are horrible...

Valon was desperate to use any method necessary for a safe escape. He figured that he'd at least try to talk to find out their intentions. Even if they happened to be a monster girl who was just interested in him for a good meal, at least he'd know. But if they were someone that he could reason with, then he'd at least be safer.

But the cloaked figure merely stood there, unmoving from their spot. They didn't move or react to Valon's words. He didn't know if they were just staring at him or thinking about something because Valon couldn't see their face.

Finally, they spoke. "So this is the world, huh? Interesting, very interesting..."

"Huh?"

Of all the things he expected to hear from the cloaked figure, he wasn't expecting that. He was confused about what the stranger was talking about when he muttered that this was 'the world.' Though Valon observed from their voice tone that it was slightly masculine, despite its hollow tone.

"I finally found it after eons of searching. This world, this... reality... it really exists..."

What? Found... it? Exists? And... hold up... did he say... 'after eons of searching?'

"Seems Maverick was correct. There really exists a world beyond the eyes of chaos," the cloaked figure spoke thoughtfully. "Though I wonder if the primordials can perceive this reality."

The technician just became increasingly confused with every word that came out of the stranger's mouth. Valon had absolutely no idea what he was talking about. It looked like he was just babbling undecipherable words. But due to his technical nature, he tried to discern what the stranger was trying to say.

The cloaked figure just stood perfectly still while he spoke, there was barely any noticeable movement. The wind was stirring in the air but Valon noticed that it wasn't affecting his cloak at all, like he was invisible. And for some reason, the more he spent time near the stranger, the more eerie he felt around him.

So he's not a monster girl and I doubt that he's an angel. Definitely not one of the missing Delta Cosmoknights as I can feel this strange aura around him. I don't understand what the hell he just said about some 'eye of chaos' or the 'primordials.' And I'm certain that I've never heard those terms from the two games.

As he contemplated the mysterious stranger in front of him, he couldn't help but feel this strange otherworldly aura emanating from him. Valon didn't even possess a sixth sense but he could feel this peculiar air around him.

Just who is this guy? And what is he trying to tell me? Is he some fanatic Ilias cult from San Ilia that somehow got magic powers or something? I've never even heard of a cult in the game. Or did I miss something? And what or who the hell is Maverick?

"Yeah, uhhh... I don't really understand what you're trying to tell—"

"And you, good sir, you can see me..."

"Huh? Well, y-yeah, of course I can. You're standing right in front of me."

"How intriguing..." the stranger spoke calmly while rubbing his chin. "Yes... very intriguing..."

Why does he talk like that?

"I must say, I'm... very surprised. When I first saw you that night, I thought you were terrified for no reason. But it seems as though you truly can see me..."

"When you first saw me...? Wait, so you are that cloaked guy I saw back at camp while I was working on my gear..."

The cloaked figure didn't respond, silently contemplating to himself. Then he spoke. "I'm surprised the Rabbit nor the Guardian of Hades hadn't spotted you yet. But now I understand why."

"Rabbit? Guardian of Hades?"

Is he pertaining to the White Rabbit and Reaper from Paradox?

"This world is truly different from the others I've seen. I have only heard rumors of a world that was rewritten by a mere man and its distinctive qualities. Now that I got to see it for myself, I am... somewhat impressed."

"What do you mean by this world being different from the others you've seen? Is there really a concept of a multiverse? And what do you mean by a world being rewritten?"

"Though I sense that the path this world is taking would also be different from the rest. I'm curious if that's because of you and your people's involvement."

Valon didn't like that the stranger was avoiding his questions and he didn't like how cryptic his statements were. But the mention of him and his 'people' caught him off guard.

"Huh? My... people's... involvement?"

"You're not from this reality, are you?"

His voice was calm but Valon felt his blood freeze when the stranger told him that he was aware of his nature. One of his hands was still gripping his bo staff while the other was on his belt, ready to throw a foambomb. But truthfully, even if he could escape, he couldn't shake the feeling of dread of finally encountering someone who knew that he wasn't from this world.

"It didn't take long for me to know. And I have seen people from your world that have been roaming this world for a while now."

So C.O.S.M.O. really is here?! But why?

"I'm curious to know how your people managed to achieve dimensional hopping. But I suppose the answer is not my business to know. And I have already spoken too much," the stranger spoke as he turned to leave.

"Wait, you haven't answered my questions yet!" Valon called out to the stranger. "Who are you and how do you know me? What did you mean about this world being different from the rest? And where did you see my... 'people'? What are they doing in this world?"

The cloaked figure stopped in his tracks, slowly glancing at Valon. "The world that you know is no longer set in its destined course. It had embraced a massive change caused by a series of chain reactions. Everything in this world is now bound to that change. The question is, will you fight it or will you flow with it?"

"Wait! I..."

But before Valon could speak more, the cloaked figure was already gone. He was out of sight as if he had completely vanished into thin air. His mind felt like it could explode at any moment due to how confused he was. There were so many things to process from that encounter that he just couldn't keep up.

Who the hell was that guy? Was he a character from Monster Girl Quest that I don't know about? But I've never seen him before. And apparently, he's lived for eons, at least that's what he said unless he's exaggerating. Though, he looked like he knew a lot of things... that I should also know for some reason...

Valon acknowledged that the cloaked figure was aware of the existence of other worlds as he easily recognized that Valon wasn't from this world, which he admitted that it terrified him. He was clearly someone that he didn't want to mess with but he also wasn't hostile towards him, just creepy and mysterious. Still, he was very suspicious of that guy and Valon definitely didn't trust him, especially with his cryptic words and this strange aura that he possessed.

Though extremely untrustworthy in his eyes, he knew that the things he told him shouldn't be taken lightly. Of course, he still had no idea what the stranger meant about this world beyond the eye of chaos, or whatever Maverick or the primordials were, and the fact that he was surprised that Valon could see him. Perhaps he could dig into those pieces of information in his spare time.

And the idea of the entities such as the White Rabbit or Reaper, who had vast powers over space and time, that he assumed scaled beyond that of Goddess Ilias and Alipheese I completely terrified him. He had no idea how they weren't able to detect his presence in this world yet if they truly existed in this particular world of Monster Girl Quest, but he was grateful that he hadn't encountered them... yet.

But with the things he said about this world being unique from others and whatever he meant by a world being rewritten by a man, he realized that there truly was something more to this world than he thought. Perhaps, this world was more than being in the confines of the original Monster Girl Quest. And with the stranger's statement about this world that was forever changed plus the highly probable presence of C.O.S.M.O. in this world, Valon felt even more lost and conflicted than before.

Truthfully, he already knew that changing the course of the game's storyline was inevitable with just his mere presence alone from way back. It was just that Valon wanted to make sure not to deviate too much from the story or he'd run the risk of encountering changes and unexpected results such as the death of the three bandits, which wasn't supposed to happen.

But if C.O.S.M.O. is already here, that is a big IF they're already here, would my efforts of trying to stick to the canon even matter anymore? And even if they're not here, would it really matter in the end if me just being here is already changing things? And would it even be good to embrace the change or am I just being a stubborn idiot to accept that fact?

He also still didn't know what C.O.S.M.O. was doing here, but now he's believing more and more that they're here in this world now. And if they were here, that would be bad news.

Valon facepalmed, trying his best to remain composed from his throbbing headache. Both his interventions and his inactions caused negative consequences for this world and the people in it, that much he knew. He had done and seen so many bad things and the guilt he felt from what he did and witnessed was truly gut-wrenching.

His long search for his brother left him physically and mentally drained and he knew that he was completely agitated. With no clues whatsoever about his whereabouts, he was fighting the doubts that formed in his mind; doubts about where his brother was and everything else related to this world.

As he walked out of the grove that he recently ran into, he looked in two opposite directions. One was a path towards the haunted mansion that he could see near a tall hill from a far distance. The other path was to the direction of where he came from—the grand city of San Ilia. He observed the two locations, contemplating which path to take.

He was momentarily surprised when he saw smoke coming from San Ilia and the slight rumbling noises that originated from the city. A series of images flashed through his mind when he stared at the city. It looked very similar to the one back home. Valon then heard the cloaked figure's question ring through his mind.

"The question is, will you fight it or will you flow with it?"

In one blink of his eye, he saw himself running away with younger brother Ralph, holding his hand tightly as they tried to escape the falling city from the Aresians. Another blink revealed the lamia bandit brutally attacking the dragon bandit whom he found in a strange cave in the Irina Mountains. And the last blink showed Luka strapped on the milking machine while being violated by a group of women.

The technician found himself unconsciously clenching his fist as he stared back at the city of San Ilia. He glanced at his M.A.D., noticing the blinking blue dot that was displayed on the screen. He was still unsure of the idea of finally interfering and if he really had it in him to do it. It just didn't feel right, especially since he didn't even belong here and the uncertainties that followed the act.

I... ugh... goddamnit! Fuck this stupid eroge world!

With another sigh of exasperation, he ran towards the city.