Chapter 17: Hostile Takeover
In hindsight, he'd forgotten about his cape. That had made the perfect makeshift cloak to cover his vulnerable head and chest. Still not an amazing form of protection, but one that would have to do until later.
The atmosphere of their little group had been properly smashed to pieces after the events of Succubus Village. The only two actively speaking were Luka and Alice, with the occasional icebreaker aimed at him.
Small curiosities over his status or if he was doing alright were largely placated by him grunting in affirmation.
"I suppose there's some secret to this village?" Giorno asked upon reaching the outskirts of the village.
"It doesn't look like anything strange is happening... Eh? Alice?" Luka stopped after noticing her being gone.
"You thought the same of the inhabitants of Succubus Village and look how that ended up."
Luka winced at that harsh reminder, before changing the subject.
"Should we talk to the people around the village first?" Luka proposed.
"Hmph…" He grunted, following him into yet another situation that would likely grow out of control.
This time, he was not going to wait for his ally to figure things out.
He would be the one to force the situation.
The village was small, undeniably small but somehow functional. This was very uncommon, given how every other settlement worked.
What was worse was the fact that only women seemed to live here, which made no sense.
"Oh my... A Traveler? This is a wonderful village for just relaxing. Please enjoy your stay here and may the fatigue from your travels melt away."The elegant woman offered as he approached her.
"Excuse me, I'd like to ask you something... Have any other male travelers visited this village recently?" Luka questioned.
"Of course... This is an open village, after all. Though most of them seem to leave right away. Is there something wrong?" She replied, confusion clearly plastered on her face.
"No..." Luka said, before ending the conversation politely.
'Over exaggerated… A ploy if nothing else.'
He did not like the feeling of her gaze on him, reminding him of monsters that would usually take their time to drink up their looks.
"Oh my, how rare. Travelers? Even more, such a young boy too!" A woman with an umbrella looked at the pair of them with interest.
"Excuse me, I'd like to ask you something... Have any other travelers visited this village recently?" Luka inquired.
"My, not that I've seen. Not many travelers would choose to come to such a remote region as this."She explained, drawing the suspicion of Giorno.
'They're lying to us… The other one said that men came to visit but left soon after. Now no one ever comes?'
"My name is Ran. I'm a maid that serves the Lord here, Cassandra. I'm currently shopping in preparation for tonight's meal... Did you need something from me?" A woman in a long maid's dress asked as Luka approached her.
"Excuse me, I'd like to ask you something..." Luka started.
"I'm sorry, but I must be going. I can't neglect my Master's orders."
With that, she retreated in the direction of a large mansion.
The eyes of every single villager were on them as they approached yet another woman, this time a younger-looking girl with twin tails.
"How rude. Introduce yourself before approaching me out of nowhere." She haughtily began to command, before locking eyes with Giorno.
"…" Giorno looked down at her feet, catching a glimpse of two shoes at least. That didn't stop him from being suspicious of the way her skirt looked.
"Uh… sorry. I'm Luka, a Hero Apprentice. This is… Giorno Giovanna, he's my friend." Luka politely greeted.
"I'm Emily, Lord Cassandra's only daughter. Did you come here to meet my mother as well?" The young girl introduced herself to them.
"Before that, I'd like to ask you something. It's about the rumors going around about this village..." Luka started.
"Ah, that stupid rumor? Something about male travelers never returning, or something?" Emily guessed.
"...You've heard of it?" Luka confirmed.
"Wahaha! You believed it and came all the way here!? What a stupid urban legend! Since you came all this way, do you want to meet with mother? I feel sorry for you, having wasted all that effort traveling here on a wild goose chase." Emily offered.
"Oh... That would be good..." Luka agreed.
"Alright then, follow Emily!" Emily declared as she started leading them towards the large mansion.
"Uwaa... What a large mansion." Luka commented, stepping inside the lounge.
"Welcome, Master Luka, Master Giorno. The Mistress is waiting upstairs."The maid from earlier greeted as she escorted them to their seats right by Emily.
"I told Mother you wished to meet with her. Be thankful. She's busy at the moment, so wait around ten minutes. Ran, thank you. You may leave us. Return to your duties." Emily concluded, dismissing the servant.
"Understood. Well then, please excuse me." Ran acknowledged, giving a deep bow before vacating the room.
"Hey, hey... You're travelers, right? Where have you been so far?" Emily asked conversationally, hoping the mysterious blonde would open his mouth for once.
"I came from the Ilias continent and am making my way north towards the Monster Lord's castle..." Luka said, explaining their origins.
"Is your friend mute or something? And what's with the cape?" She inquired, leaning over towards him.
"He's… allergic to the sunlight. It recently came up so he's in a bad mood." Luka answered, nervously coming up with a lie.
"Allergic to the sunlight? Weird… But there's no sunlight here! You can take that off your head. It's rude to cover your face while being a guest, you know?"
"Very well…" The blonde male muttered as he reluctantly complied, removing his protection from the elements.
"See? Much better now that I can see your face… You have weirdly colored eyes…"
"Your grasp of the obvious is inspiring." He coldly replied.
"Eh?" Emily was off put by his hostile nature.
"Uh… don't pay too much attention to him." Luka intervened, taking over the duty of speaking.
After around ten minutes of what could only be described as pointless banter, a blonde woman in a red dress, wearing a tiara finally entered the room.
Her look of supposed superiority already had Giorno on edge, for it was not unlike that of Cioccolata. This woman was merely better at hiding her sadistic nature.
"It seems as though I've kept you waiting for a while. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I am Cassandra, the Lord of this village. My daughter told me of you." Cassandra politely greeted.
"Ah... It's nice to meet you... I'm a Hero apprentice, Luka." Luka stood up to introduce himself.
Giorno hadn't bothered to stand up nor had he attempted to acknowledge her presence.
Just like how he imagined, a small twitch of her right eye showed just how much this insulted her.
"You don't think it's rude to ignore the Lord of this village?" She pointed out as the atmosphere grew much colder.
"Hmm… Apologies, I was just having a most charming time listening to your daughter." He did his best to be sincere in the way he spoke, despite not actually meaning it.
"…Sorry, Mother." Emily apologized, completely out of it.
"Emily, please excuse yourself. I would like to discuss something with our visitors." Cassandra requested, making her daughter frown.
"B-but…" She snapped out of her daze, trying to make her case to stay.
"Go, I need to discuss important things with these young men." Cassandra reiterated.
"…Yes, Mother." Emily sadly stood up and left the room.
"Now then, I heard from Emily you two came here to inquire about that rumor. The one where male travelers have not been returning from our village." Cassandra started.
"Yes... That's what I wanted to ask you about. It was bugging me, so I came to check it out..." Luka confirmed.
"But... It's just as you can see, isn't it? There's nothing unusual going on in this village." Cassandra declared.
"Yes, that seems to be the case..." Luka acknowledged.
"Besides... If the rumor was really true, you would never return from here, wouldn't you? But... I'm sure you will part from this village with no issue. So please tell everyone that the rumor is simply false." Cassandra chuckled.
"I see..." Luka pondered.
"...Now then, let's stop about that unpleasant discussion about rumors and such. Won't you join us for dinner?" Cassandra offered.
Giorno briefly considered calling her out then and there, she was certainly making this obvious with the way she phrased that offer. He quickly decided not to, concerned that the prospect of fighting the three monsters that resided here would prove too much for him.
"Excuse our rudeness, but there are some other things we have to do... If you'll excuse us..." Luka concluded, getting up from his seat.
"Oh, are you already returning? I just prepared tea..." The maid entered the room again with a freshly brewed pot.
"Please don't think you're imposing. We would love to have you for dinner." Cassandra insisted.
"Don't make us repeat ourselves… We have better things to do than entertain some backwater Lord." Giorno firmly concluded, testing the limits of her patience to try and find out why she refused to attack them.
Again, the slight twitching in her eye confirmed his suspicions.
"Whew..." Luka sighed as they walked outside the mansion.
"Oh... Are you two already going back?" Emily began approaching them.
"Go away, we like being left alone." Giorno stopped her dead in her tracks with his hostile tone.
"Errr... Well then..." Luka awkwardly said as they left the village proper.
"Alice...?" Luka called out, turning to her in the forestry.
"...Even you noticed it by now, right? How abnormal this village is..." Alice questioned, looking at him.
"Of course... This village has no men at all." Luka replied.
"Hmm, so you did notice. For there to not be a single man here is just plain strange." Alice acknowledged.
"Yes... This place isn't normal at all... I think we should examine this village a little more closely." Luka concluded.
The continued silence of Giorno bore at him, prompting him to look around.
"Huh? Where is he?"
"He's already figured it out… Probably from the start."
"Stay away from me!" A shrill scream from one of the women in the village reached them, along with the sounds of wood and glass being smashed to pieces.
"Crap!" Luka ran off towards the sounds of desperate resistance.
"Now talk… I want to know the truth and nothing but the truth. Lest you join your allies." He threatened, holding an insect-type monster by her neck.
"Gah! S-stop! I'll comply…" The bloodied woman conceded.
"You could have attacked us before, why not?"
"I was ordered by Cassandra... Until Alice had left the village, I was to ignore you." She confessed.
"This village devours any men who approach… was Alice aware of that?" He inquired, giving her some breathing room.
"Y-yes! It's been happening since before the Sixteenth… Ever since the defeat of Cassandra by the hands of the previous Monster Lord."
"Cassandra… Alice was certainly apprehensive of this place. Who exactly is your Lord to her?"
"You don't know? Cassandra was the previous contender for Monster Lord… The Nereneids have always coveted the throne."
"I see then… A bitter, sore loser. Your compliance is appreciated."
He slammed his fist into the side of her head, allowing her unconscious body to hit the ground after he was finished with her.
The hurried sound of boots approaching him was ample warning of the arrival of his ally.
"I uh… saw you took care of the monsters so far," Luka commented as he sealed the monster on the ground, showing mercy that they did not deserve.
Most of the previous ones had been left in poor states, showing signs of torture in the pursuit of information.
"This village has been operating for decades… Devouring any men that dare approach it without mercy. Their Lord is Cassandra Nereneid, a previous contestant to the throne of all monster kind." Giorno reported, ignoring the urge to drink from his canteen again.
"I felt like I heard that name before… But decades? How is that possible?" Luka questioned.
"Anyone unimportant is killed, those who would be missed are spared. Such as…"
"A diplomat from a major country…" Luka concluded.
"We need to end this operation for good. I hope you at least agree with me on that."
"Of course I do. Why wouldn't I?" Luka felt a bit hurt by the insinuation that he was okay with this.
"Just making sure, Luka."
They strode unopposed to the gates of the mansion, finding a lone maid as their only enemy.
"I'm under instructions from my Master. I'm sorry, but I cannot let you pass."
"Just let us pass!" Luka demanded.
"...We were going to overlook you two out of respect for Alice. But we won't overlook you twice. Those are the master's orders." Ran explained, exposing herself as a Scylla.
A swarm of tentacles popped out from her skirt, oozing transparent liquid.
"Are you another one attacking people!? If so, sorry but I'll have..." Luka started, taking hold of Angel Halo.
"Why apologize? These monsters are nothing more than mass murderers… They deserve to be destroyed." Giorno interrupted, running towards her at full speed.
"Lightning Sword Flash!" Luka was quicker on the draw, using his fastest skill to close the distance in an instant and cleave a wound right through her abdomen.
"It's useless!"
Giorno punched her right in the stomach, sending her crashing into a tree.
"What power! No human should be capable of this…" She spit up some blood, getting back up to continue the fight. "Just what are you?"
"Gold Experience…"
His stand wasn't exactly Gold anymore, rather a bright yellow if anything. Right… They were inexplicably linked together, after all. What affected him also affected his own stand.
"Muda Muda Muda!" His stand cried upon launching itself towards the maid, not holding back anything.
'Is it just me, or is he a lot stronger than before?' Sylph asked as they watched the barrage in real-time.
"Death Sword Chaos Star!" Luka slashed at her over a dozen times in a split second, taking advantage of her being taken by surprise.
"Let me service you!" Ran reeled back, covered in large purple bruises and cuts of light.
Her growth of tentacles attempted to wrap around the closest person, who happened to be Giorno.
The moment even one made contact with his exposed chest, an almost primal instinct overcame his body.
Any semblance of moisture in his skin instantly vaporized, resulting in his entire body being encased in ice.
"What is this?!" Ran panicked upon having her tentacles flash freeze, freezing her lower body stock still.
"Huh?" Luka stopped fighting, amazed by the strange technique. "Are you okay?"
"Fine. Just a bit… stiff." Giorno struggled against the ice covering his own body before he felt it slowly melt off.
"You're a monster… Mistress Cassandra knew there was something off about you." The maid muttered, just as Luka slashed at her back, sealing her into the half-frozen form of an octopus.
"She deserves worse…"
Breaking down the door to the large lounge they had sat in before, they encountered the giddy daughter of Cassandra.
"Wahaha! I knew it! I knew you two would come back!" Emily sing sang, drawing the ire of the taller of the men.
"This is not a game… Or do you mean to tell us that killing humans is just that to you?"
"You've been preying on humans too?" Luka incredulously asked, watching the mischievous girl transform her hair into tentacles. More flooded from out of her skirt, revealing her true nature as a Scylla.
"Of course! I've eaten plenty of huma-"
A sudden handful of knives nearly hit her right in the face just barely caught by her tentacles.
"Hey! That could have hurt Emily! Emily knew you were a crazy one!"
"I'm crazy? You're the one speaking in the third person." The blonde male made a strange gesture with his hands.
"Eh?" Emily looked back at the knives, watching them grow legs and yellow-spotted bodies. "Bugs? You think bugs are gonna hurt Emily?"
"Blister Beetles, to be exact…" Giorno clarified, not believing his luck as Emily let them secrete their Cantharidin all over her tentacles. "This one is an idiot. Deal with her quickly, before her mother intervenes."
"Alright!" Luka instantly stepped forward, slashing at her like lightning.
"Ow!" Emily got thrown back into one of the cabinets, smashing it to pieces. "Mother won't like that."
She commanded her tentacles to attack the two men, not feeling them respond as they should. Her tentacles were now swollen, covered in blisters, and extremely slow.
"What did you do to Emily? Emily's tentacles hurt!" She complained as Luka easily avoided her attempts to grapple him.
"Don't ask such a pointless question…" Her blonde attacker commented, delivering a haymaker to her jaw.
Luka climbed up one of the walls, before jumping down and delivering a devastating slash to the top of her head.
"You want to come close? Then Emily will indulge!" She yelled, using a few of her good tentacles to wrap around Luka's leg.
Just like that, she yanked him towards her with obvious ill intent.
Almost immediately, something repeatedly stung the back of her neck causing her body to briefly shut down.
A weirdly shaped Jellyfish sat on her back, stinging the same part of her neck over and over.
"Ow! What is that?!" Emily smacked the small creature off her back using one of her appendages with an almost unnecessary force.
Her own body was struck was the same force that same second, throwing her back.
"Gnome!" Giorno called for the power of the Earth, infusing his body with her power and ducking under a few hastily deployed tentacles.
"You're too much trouble!" Emily got back up, swarming him with everything she had left.
"Death Sword Chaos Star!" Luka slashed at her tentacles, shredding through them with cuts made of holy light.
"No!" Emily winced, just as Giorno let loose one last punch aimed at her abdomen.
The sound of flesh being torn through filled the room, followed by the pained screaming of a young girl.
"AAARGH!" Emily wailed, slamming her palms on him as she struggled against his body.
"It's useless…" Giorno pulled his bloody arm from the massive hole in her stomach, surprised by his newfound strength.
"No! No…" Emily crumpled down to the floor, gushing blood onto the carpet. "E... Emily lost...?"
"What have you done…? Heal her!" Luka ran up to the critically injured monster's side, unable to look away from the gaping hole in her stomach.
His continued pleas had no effect on his ally, who only showed the vaguest interest in the blood on his forearm.
"She's bleeding out! Come on, Giorno!" Luka begged, watching Emily fade away with each second that passed.
"You care for the life of a mass murderer? I can't say I see things the same as you do." The blonde inquired, licking some of the blood from his fingers.
Immediate relief encompassed his body, followed by the urge to taste some more of it.
Unfortunately for him, the sound of a woman's heels walking down the stairs snapped everyone out of their revelry.
"You come into my village… torture my people and now look at what you've done to my daughter." Cassandra walked down the stairs at last, not exactly sounding too concerned over the fate of her child. "You've brutalized everyone… Only I remain."
"You're the one behind everything here!" Luka yelled, taking a step back from Emily as Cassandra's aura threatened to choke the entire room out.
"Yes... My family has always lived in this village, disguised as humans. Every human male that would come to visit, we would feed on. I cannot even tell you how many hundreds we have eaten already." Cassandra recounted in a leisurely manner.
"See what I mean? These people cannot be reasoned with, they are beyond redemption, Luka. Even if they are sealed, they'll never change their ways."
"Th... That's... Unforgivable!" Luka yelled furiously, angry at both Cassandra and his friend for his actions earlier. His current sentiment toward these monsters scared him half to death, not counting the sight of him tasting some of Emily's blood.
"But you two look quite delicious... One who caught even Alice's eye... And some sort of male monster. The highest food I could savor." Cassandra finished, allowing her flesh to overcome her false body.
The dress melted away, revealing her true form as some grotesque flesh-woman hybrid.
"Useless… No matter what you are, your evil ends today." Giorno declared, indulging in his desires and having one last taste of blood.
"Mother, before that...! Use your magic power to heal Emily! Emily will fight with Mother!" Emily begged, reaching her hand out to her mother.
"...I've explained this to you many times, Emily. This world works on the survival of the fittest. Those deemed unfit shall be nothing but food for the victors." Cassandra flatly explained, looking down on her dying daughter.
"M...Mother...? No...! Mother!"Emily screamed as a tidal wave of flesh came crashing down over her, melting her away.
"You! You killed her! Your own daughter!" Luka furiously roared, drawing his sword.
"Even your own child wasn't safe from your philosophy? You disgust me…" Giorno did the same, choosing to call for his stand as he drew his blade.
"She lost… that made her dead weight. So I returned her back to me, I created her after all. Survival of the fittest… The weak should be consumed by the strong. A daughter too stupid to understand how the world works is not necessary."
"I'll never forgive you!" Luka's arms shook with barely contained rage.
"When did I ever ask for your forgiveness?"
Slowly but surely, the liquid dripping from her body corroded the room in its entirety. Eventually turning the entire lounge into some sort of flesh cave.
'Organic… Could this be…?' Giorno felt the signature of Cassandra all over himself now.
"Haha… This room is no different from my body itself now."
"We cannot afford to lose here… She must be vanquished." Giorno exclaimed, looking over at Luka.
"…I agree. We need to stop her, no matter what." The purple-haired hero nodded.
"Resisting won't matter, your bodies will be dissolved and digested… piece by piece."
"Gnome!" Luka breathed in the power of the Earth, allowing his ally to pick him up and throw him into the air.
"What is this?" Cassandra's eyes widened, recognizing the skill he was about to use.
"Demon Skull Beheading!"
He crashed down on her head, cracking the jewel of her flesh Tiara and concussing Cassandra.
A handful of knives sliced into her body, thrown with complete intent to be lethal.
"Pointless… No mere knives could ever harm me." Cassandra digested the steel weapons in an instant, before throwing a wave of flesh towards them.
Luka gracefully leaped over the flesh thanks to the power of the wind at his disposal.
"Wrry…" Giorno rose above the flesh as if he were flying, planting himself on the flesh ceiling.
'What the heck is going on with him? He's walking on the ceiling!' Luka spared a quick glance at the odd sight, before snapping back to the matter at hand.
Planting his hands on the ceiling too, he demonstrated his ability to vaporize the moisture of his body. This time only doing so via his hands, he flash-froze an incoming tendril of flesh.
"What the hell is that? What kind of monster are you?" Cassandra secreted more flesh to take the place of the dead cells above her, trying to keep the blonde one as far from her as possible.
Luka used that chance to close the distance, slashing at her neck and arms.
A sudden hand made of flesh slammed into him from the left side of the room, pinning him against the wall.
"Grrr…" Luka struggled against the wave of flesh using his prowess with Gnome.
"Not so fast…" Giorno cut up his own hand, throwing his arm forward at an arc.
A wave of blood spontaneously vaporized into a semi-solid state, expanding out and cutting clean through the flesh wave.
Both ends of her flesh froze up and died, becoming nothing more than useless clumps of liquid.
Luka finally leveraged his body correctly, kicking the last of the flesh away.
"Guh... What power..." Luka lamented, taking a breath to meditate.
"Do you understand my strength now? It's too late to beg for forgiveness!" Cassandra gloated, sure of her victory.
"Sheesh, so it came down to this as I thought. I tried to stop you two since I knew you wouldn't be able to beat her." Alice said as she appeared in the middle of the room.
"A...Alice...!?" Luka exclaimed.
"Alipheese..." Cassandra drawled.
"...But still, you both have become quite strong. To think you would last that long in a battle against Cassandra Nereneid..."
"Who is she? I mean… Giorno already told me what he learned, but…" Luka inquired as the fighting paused.
"I told you about the Monster Lord succession ceremony before, didn't I? When my mother rose to the throne, Cassandra was the only one who challenged her. She lost to my mother in single combat... It was a close battle, where they were on equal footing." Alice explained.
"...Yes, I was defeated by your mother in the past. But I'm different now. I've preyed on hundreds of men since then, storing and saving my power... I narrowly lost then, but as I am now, I would have a complete victory." Cassandra proudly declared.
"Hmph. How stupid, Cassandra. 'In the past'... 'But now'. Still haven't gotten over your loss, have you? As expected, you would never have been fit to sit on the Monster Lord's throne." Alice scoffed.
"...The one unfit for the Monster Lord's throne was your mother, was it not? The foolish advocate for coexistence between man and monster. Then killed by those same humans she wanted to get along with. How ridiculous. Truly a disgrace, unfit to be called Monster Lord." Cassandra smirked.
'Good… Keep talking.'
"It's just a rumor I've heard... Is it true you're following that stupid woman's wish of coexistence?" Cassandra asked in a mocking tone.
"Wh... What's going on Alice!? Your dream is the same as mine!?" Luka's eyes widened.
"...Hmph. Whenever you talk about your dream, it pisses me off. The thought that I could have the same ideal as an idiot like you..." Alice scoffed.
"H... Hey..." Luka started, just as flesh encased him from behind, sticking him to a wall.
Giorno allowed the same to happen to him, having already enacted his true plan.
"Did you think I would sit idly by as you chatted?" Cassandra mocked, forcing ever more flesh to keep them in place. "Now then, little Alipheese. What reason do you have for coming here? I know you're just a pathetic excuse for a Monster Lord, but I doubt you would travel here just to attack me."
"Giorno's right, Luka… With someone like her, coexistence isn't possible. As the Monster Lord, it falls to me to discipline trash like you!" Alice declared.
"Alice...! No! You're the Monster Lord... You can't fight your own monsters!" Luka yelled, fighting against his binding.
"Hmph, that's funny coming from someone as tied up as you are now. That's perfect. Just stay there and watch." Alice ordered.
"No... Don't fight among your own kind...!" Luka pleaded, but Alice didn't waver.
"...Please, Luka. Leave this to me. This is an issue from the previous generation... The fight between Cassandra who wished to rule the humans, and my mother who wished to exist alongside them." Alice pleaded.
"Alice..." Luka called out.
"Living in peace with humans... It has been a while since I heard that laughable tripe. Why should predators spare any thought for their prey? Just what kind of world do you think you live in, girl?" Cassandra mocked as she threw a wave of corrosive flesh at Alice, who hadn't bothered moving.
"Only the strong can survive in this world. Humans are nothing but prey to be devoured by stronger monsters. And weak monsters... They too should be preyed on by the stronger. No matter how hard you cry for that pathetic dream, you cannot change the truth of the world!" Cassandra declared, wrapping more and more tendrils of flesh around Alice.
"Prepare yourself, Alipheese. I shall ensure that you receive no pleasure as I dissolve you. Feel the pain, as your body melts into nothing. Writhe in agony as your better devours you." Cassandra proclaimed, only for the flesh binding Alice and Luka to turn to dust. "What?!"
"You really shouldn't have bragged about your own power… You don't even realize what's happened, have you?" Alice asked, not bothering to lift a finger.
"What is going on… My flesh…" Cassandra grew weaker, as if she'd spent all the energy she'd gathered in this one moment.
"Your flesh is an extension of yourself… That still means it's a part of your body." Alice explained as Giorno broke free from his imprisonment. "Deal with her, Giorno… You know my feelings on the matter."
"As she was saying… this flesh is merely an extension of your body. Meaning that all this time, even as I walked on this very floor, I had been making contact with you." He continued where she left off, striding over to her.
Alice pre-emptively held onto Luka's shoulder, giving him an odd look. One that managed to convey her wanting him not to interfere with what was going to happen.
"That means I've been free to use Gold Experience as I saw fit. Constantly flooding your cells with life energy, not gently to rejuvenate your body. But rather as a method to exhaust your lifespan, effectively aging your body to its complete limit."
"No…What kind of magic is this?! From a weakling like you?" Cassandra yelled in disbelief, watching as all her flesh began turning to dust before her own body began failing her.
"You were careless… Believing yourself to be above a mere weakling like me." Giorno sarcastically mocked her, grabbing onto her neck and sticking his fingers inside of it almost instinctively.
"I... I cannot... I... I fought with Alipheese the Fifteenth on equal terms! I did!" Cassandra claimed, feeling her body being drained of her blood and filled with energy she didn't want.
"The reign of the fifteenth is long gone… You're nothing compared to Alice, nor even a Heavenly Knight. You are weak…" Giorno insisted, eagerly drinking up more and more of her essence through his fingers. "But if anything, you were right about one thing Cassandra. In this world…"
"I... I cannot... Not to me... Why... Why do I have to die!?" She questioned fearfully as her body began shriveling up, both due to her rapid aging and lack of blood. "N...No... Help me... Don't let me die..."
She reached her arms out towards Alice and Luka as a last desperate act, receiving no pity from either of them.
It would seem not even Luka had any reason to protest for this monster.
"The strong devour the weak."
Just like that, the last of Cassandra Nereneid crumbled into dust.
And with it, that unquenchable thirst had been satiated.
Luka and Alice silently sat outside, struggling to come up with any words after what had just happened a few moments ago.
"Hey, Alice... You want humans and monsters to coexist together too... Don't you?" He hesitantly questioned.
"It's just as you heard. My aim as the Monster Lord is to live in harmony with humans... But don't think I'm being an idiot about it like you are. I'm deeply thinking about everything and working out ways to solve the various problems." Alice disclaimed.
"Is that why you came with me on my journey?"
"...It's just as I said when I first met you. I want to see when your true character comes out. How long can someone who has the same dream as me last? As I traveled the world, I wanted to see." Alice declared, turning towards the mansion of her family's now fallen nemeses.
"…I guess this is just Giorno's true character, after all. I can't believe he actually killed someone, even if it was someone like Cassandra. Not to mention how he almost killed Emily." Luka sighed, feeling his stomach turn. Watching his friend essentially eat someone had changed how he looked at him.
"He's the same as us… He wants coexistence. He just…" Alice debated on how to phrase her next comment.
"He's not afraid to do whatever it takes to get there. He's willing to take that extra step, something I wouldn't ever do." Luka finished for her.
"I was surprised he lasted this long if anything. I'm shocked he hadn't killed Lily or tried something back at Succubus Village after what they did. But let me get this off my chest, Luka." She said, looking him in the eyes as she confessed. "If he hadn't killed her, I would have done so myself. What she had done up to now was more than enough to receive the full wrath of the Monster Lord."
"Yeah… I understand. Even if it's a bitter pill to swallow." He trailed off, suddenly thinking of another topic. "Hey, Alice... One more thing..."
"...About my mother?" Alice guessed.
"Yes... The human Hero who defeated her..." Luka clarified.
"That's a rather difficult story. You haven't heard anything about the previous Monster Lord being defeated by a human Hero, have you?" Alice asked.
"No..." Luka confirmed.
"My mother was not defeated by a human Hero. She gave up her life for her beliefs." She simply said, not going any deeper. "Are you sure you're okay?"
"No, not really. I just can't think of him the same anymore. If he's going to kill monsters now, if he's going to eat them then…"
"Then what, Luka?" Alice raised an eyebrow.
"You should stop teaching him… He's too dangerous."
Whilst those two had been having some alone time, Giorno had surveyed the now abandoned village.
Homes still in perfect condition, with actual infrastructure and rather beautiful and well-maintained grounds.
As well as the largely intact mansion of the former Lord, who he had personally dealt with.
"It seems like a waste… To allow such a place to be forgotten." He muttered, covering his head and chest with his cape.
"I get the feeling that won't be happening." Undine manifested out in the real world.
"You're exactly right, a village barely anyone visits? Where most people assume the worst happens?"
"You uh… you okay? You had us a bit worried there." Sylph popped out of his body, taking a seat on his shoulder.
"I'm fine… Much better than before. I hadn't anticipated that blood would be my craving, but I've had my fill."
"Then you're a descendant of a vampire… Who can freeze themselves and other people?" Sylph questioned.
"It's not even magic; you somehow alter your body in such a way that all moisture seemingly disappears. That kind of bodily control is beyond even your average monster." Undine noted.
"I'll need to test exactly what my limitations are then."
Creating a small white dove out of a button, he quickly wrote his findings on a sheet of paper he had found on a table.
Tying it to the leg of the bird, he opened a window and watched it fly off towards its origin point.
Right toward the leader of his logistical team, who'd hopefully be on top of things.
It wasn't every day a gang could take over an entire village, and certainly not such a high-quality one.
The only thing that needed to change was the name…
Florence sounded much better than Lady's Village anyway.
Elsewhere…
Ilias was quite angry with the way things were going, silently seething as the influence of this Giorno Giovanna grew to new lengths.
Those utterly disgusting creatures called Succubi had once again proven to be a constant thorn in her side. They had no idea what kind of monster they awakened, far too content to continue their ways of jumping anything with a pulse.
Despite that, a rift had been sowed into that group. Specifically between her chosen hero and his half-breed 'ally'.
Her Luka would naturally have reservations about working with the son of the devil.
All she would have to do was sporadically remind him of their differences, maybe even spill some juicy information about what his companion's true goal was.
That fool had played his hand much too early, thinking that he wasn't being watched at all times. His overconfidence would be his undoing.
Him and the descendant of that snake.
AN:
I'm gonna be honest here, first rendition of this chapter had Giorno just massacre the population of this village to the last monster.
That got way too evil and Dio-esque so I had this instead, which I believed would always be the breaking point of this silly no killing rule Luka has. Even in the VN, Luka doesn't really care that Alice just killed Cassandra. He even laughs about a silly moment literal minutes after her death. I removed that, since taking a life is always something Luka would struggle with.
Now with this, Giorno is the one to end things by aging her to dust and feeding on her.
Natrually, Luka is feeling pretty scared about what his friend is turning into. Questioning if he was always like this.
And Giorno is getting sick of playing along with Luka, and is now willing to take the lead to avoid another Succubus Village incident.
Ilias is mad as hell, because the Succubi have created yet another headache for her.
