"...Large lacerations on Doppel's arm, although they will heal. All in all, it is expected for the first training session. I've never had any of my Monsters hold back, she will be no different." La Croix's staticky voice came through the small black box.

  Promestein nodded, measuring out her beakers. "I understand the methods but try to treat this more delicate if you can. With her cross of Human and Monster blood, she is already unstable. Push the girl too hard too soon, and you may break her." Promestein paused, listening to the waves of crackling come through the radio during the late nighttime hours.

  "I will take care enough, though no more than necessary. She is still a failure, after all. I have little fondness for broken tools, as you know." The coldness of the Monster's tone did not faze Promestien, she was used to her comrade's coldness.

  "I know well enough, yes..." The ruby-haired scientist poured something into a larger beaker that hung over a dim fire. The flame's light illuminated her pale white face. "...How about your other experiments? I recall you mentioning finding a breakthrough with one of them..." Promestein watched the liquid bubble. "...The Angel Ghoul, I believe you called it?"

  La Croix's voice raised a bit, something akin to excitement breaking through her usual emotionless tone. "Oh, yes. I am quite proud of how that one is turning out. I believe that I have found why she remains stable while the other Angels break down and weaken."

  Promestein kept quiet, waiting for her partner to continue.

  "You see, the other Angels I attempted to give Monster traits through amputation and welding new limbs or organs. However, I found that those instances usually led to..." La Croix paused, the sound of ruffling paper coming through the small device, "...I've opted to call it Dilapidation. If they did not outright perish, they became shells of their former selves. Still stronger than the average Monster, but not by much to be preferable."

  The Necromancer paused, "However, with Angel Ghoul, I instead tried transferring Monster blood into her directly instead of simply welding limbs onto her. The results were quite surprising. The resurrection did cause considerable distress. Although that has always been the expected reaction."

  "Naturally." Promestein concurred, continuing to watch the liquid in the beaker before her bubble.

  La Croix continued, "After some weeks, though, she seemed to settle as her memories of being an Angel slowly faded. There was not much change in her physical body and any that did occur were superfluous. However, I did find it peculiar that the Fallen Angel's wings returned, though the Halo did not. I'm unsure what it means, but it is something to note."

  Promestein hummed in thought, "Perhaps the wings returned as they have more to do with the physical body, while the Halo is closer related to the Holy power of an Angel's soul?" The ruby-eyed Fallen Angel suggested.

  "It is possible." La Croix agreed. "I only wish that I had more complete specimens to test on. Though I understand that you are wary of using actively serving Angels."

  Promestein brought her mouth close to the radio. "Yes, for the moment, we need to stick to experimenting on Fallen Angels. If we try to procure any Angels currently residing in Heaven and its ranks, I'm afraid it may start raising suspicion. Too many turn up missing, and Ilias would soon be searching for answers. But I know she cares little for the Fallen Angels roaming the Earth."

  "Understood." La Croix answered briefly. There was a pause, letting the static fill the dark room. "Promestein, is the name Erigora familiar to you?"

  The Fallen Angel blinked slowly, the name indeed having some meaning to her. "Yes, it is..." Promestein stared past the beakers in front of her, lost in thought. "...I haven't heard the name in a long time, I believe she had been in the running to be one of the Archangels for a while but never made it that far to my knowledge. She was one of the more respectable Angels I knew."

  The line went quiet, the familiar buzz echoing in the room once more.

  "Well, I don't know if it is of any high importance to you, but she and Angel Ghoul are the same. For that is the name she gave me when I resurrected her." Promestein grew silent, a hardened visage growing on her face. The Fallen Angel shuffled in her seat. "That is... unfortunate."

  Promestein became increasingly upset at the news, having held the deceased Angel in high regard when the two were still in Heaven. 'To think, she had been Runael's top disciple the last I had heard. I wonder what had caused such a faithful Angel to fall.' Promestein frowned at the thought, not sure why she even cared to know why.

  "I apologize if that information troubles you, Promestein." The Angel shook her head, replying quickly. "Don't be. As I said it is unfortunate, but in the end, it will be a worthy sacrifice. What we do is for the good of our cause, of our ambition. That isn't something to lose sight of, no matter the cost." It was true enough, she had respected Erigora as an Angel, but ultimately, she was worth more to their search for truth now than she was when she was alive.

  La Croix's voice broke through the static again, "How has your progress gone with White Rabbit? I know last we spoke you were having some trouble with the formula still."

  Promestein scoffed, "Less of it is with my means, and more of it having to do with my partner." Her scowl deepened, "Black Alice, for whatever reason, has been getting much more time allotted to her by Ilias, who lets her travel to the planet almost every other day now. I hardly get much in the way of progress now with her constant disappearing."

  Promestein heard La Croix hum, "Hmm, really? It is peculiar that Ilias would allow a Former Monster Lord so much freedom. What exactly is the reasoning for this?"

  The Fallen Angel crossed her arms, peering down at the metal table before her with some confusion. "To that question, I have no answer. Whatever Black Alice does, I suppose, is important enough to Ilias to give her such luxuries."

  A fierce cacophony of cackling from far behind the Fallen Angel caused her to flinch, 'Speak of the Devil, and she will appear.' Promestein sighed and picked up the small radio. "I will have to let you go for now, La Croix. Take care."

  A quick reply came from the box, "Do so yourself, Promestein." The Fallen Angel pocketed the item in her white lab coat, just as the Eighth Monster Lord skipped into the dark and depressing room. Black Alice's blue dress swooshed with each skip, an almost whimsical air to her movements. She stopped suddenly, putting a hand up to her smirking mouth.

  "Hehehe, oh hellooo..." The Monster drew out her words dramatically. "...Prrrrroooomestein! I'm glad you're here, I just know that you'll love what I have to show you today!" The Fallen Angel in question rolled her eyes, knowing that whenever the Monster came to her like this it was usually to relay something unpleasant.

  "Do you, now?" Promestein asked, knowing that it was better to cut to the chase with Black Alice, if possible, rather than beat around the bush.

  Promestein pushed away from the table, starting to stand before Alice quickly placed a hand on the back of the chair, stopping her mid-stand. "Hey, what are you-" Black Alice put a stern hand on Promestein's shoulder, an unintended reminder as to who was the more powerful of the two.

  "Trust me," Black Alice's voice came out hushed. "You are going to want to be sitting down for this one, friend." The Fallen Angel stayed in that position for a couple uncertain moments, before sitting back down.

  "Good." The Former Monster Lord said, "Really, quite truly, this came as a shock to even me. I didn't know that the "Goddess" was capable of such things as this, so when I saw it, I knew you had to see it too."

  Black Alice summoned her brown stuffed bear to show Promestein what had occurred in Ilias's throne room. However, this time, the contents were much more unsettling. The Former Monster Lord walked around the table with purpose, her pale arms tightly wrapped around the toy bear she now had in her possession. "You know that today was Ilias's birthday, yes?" The Fallen Angel reclined in her seat, her face narrowed in annoyance. "I am aware."

  The Former Monster Lord's carmine eyes fluttered over to her partner, "Ahh, but did you know that the "great" Ilias failed to perform her Baptism at midday?"

  Promestien became surprised at this information, sitting up straight in her seat. "Really? That is very unusual..." Promestien peered at Black Alice questioningly, "...How do you know this?"

  Black Alice turned away from the Fallen Ange's ruby-red gaze, chuckling while petting the teddy bear's head. Her laugh was low, chillingly so. "Because I just finished watching her Baptize Luka a little bit ago, in Heaven." Promestien leaned forward, not quite believing what she was hearing. "She took him up to Heaven for his Baptism? For what reason?"

  The Former Monster Lord looked back to Promestien, a sick grin on her face. "Well, from what I saw, she wanted some privacy..." She turned her head back forward, lifting the bear in her arms until it floated up by itself. "...You'll see what I mean quite soon, my dear Fallen Angel friend." Like she had sixteen years ago, Promestien watched as Black Alice's peculiar toy projected what had occurred between Ilias and Luka. The Fallen Angel watched as the two talked, her face impassive until...

  Promestien jerked back, not having expected to see the boy start to undress. "Wh-What the Hell!?" Promestien cursed, squinting at the image even closer, trying to figure out if what she was watching was actually happening or not.

  Black Alice nodded, "Strange, isn't it? I haven't seen a Baptism before myself, buuuuut..." She looked over her shoulder, pale green hair swishing as her perturbed face gazed back at the Fallen Angel. "...I have a feeling that they don't usually get this risqué, am I wrong?"

  Promestien wordlessly shook her head, unable to make any further comment as she watched the Goddess began to do more than just bathe the purple-haired boy. 'I have never seen a Baptism before myself, but all Angels know that the process quite well. I have no idea what this is.' Her ruby-colored eyes couldn't look away as the Goddess started to...

  ...Massage Luka.

  Black Alice chuckled, her shoulders bouncing. "My hatred for her aside, this is top-grade technique for seduction. A warm bath, a free massage, all that's missing is the happy ending..."

  The Monster tilted her head, missing Promestein's look of repugnance. "...Don't worry, nothing like that actually happened. But I'm now very curious of how far the depths of Ilias's apparent depravity is. I wonder what the larger taboo is, here? I'm thinking it to be the fact that they're technically related, though the astronomical age difference is something to take note of."

  Black Alice casted a look to Promestien, her eyebrow raised in question. "What do you think?"

  Promestein was voiceless, unable to look away from the disturbing process due to her shock. The look of the Goddess's face throughout the whole thing seemed far too excited for what the baptism was supposed to be for. 'I knew that Ilias's sanity was degraded for some time now, but this? There are no words. She has truly lost it.' The Fallen Angel brought a hand to her forehead, not having expected to witness something so perverse from Ilias.

  "Ooo, ooo! Wait, don't look away now, this is my favorite part! Look, Promestein!" Hesitantly, the ruby-haired Angel glanced back up to the projection at Black Alice's request. The feed had been paused in the middle of Ilias's massaging of the boy, highlighting two very peculiar details. The first was that the jewel around Ilias's neck was glowing.

  Promestein pondered on the fact in confusion, 'Strange, I don't remember it ever doing that before. Maybe it is a part of the Baptism process? Perhaps that is why she always wears that around her neck.' Looking farther up to the Goddess's face, Promestein saw something quite surprising.

  A long, dark scar running down the right side of the Goddess's face.

  "What is that?" Promestien asked out loud.

  Black Alice shrugged, throwing her hands up lazily in the air. "No clue, but I can say that I could sense something familiar coming off of Ilias when I spoke to her. This," She gestured with an open hand to the cut, "I believe is what I had felt. It wasn't there when I met with her, though. It only materialized at this moment."

  Promestein stood from her seat, walking around the table to stand next to Black Alice. She squinted at the image, "You said... it felt familiar?" The carmine eyed Monster slowly nodded, her face turning disturbingly serious, a rarity. "Oh yes, very familiar. The energy I felt could only be that of a Monster Lord."

  The ruby-haired Angel turned to Black Alice, whose gaze remained locked on the blemish. "You think that the current Monster Lord did this to Ilias?" Black Alice smirked, crossing her arms over each other. "Most certainly, no other force of Darkness could've afflicted such a thing."

  Promestein lowered her gaze, an odd feeling of dread blanketing the room. "I suppose," she began, turning back to the table behind her. "That this means that we'll need to speed things up." Black Alice quickly replied, "Yes, we'll need to work even harder now that the Monster Lord has revealed herself, along with Ilias now having her "Prophet" running around. I'm not worried, but it is better to be safe than sorry."

  Black Alice jumped a bit, "Oh yeah, that reminds me!" The former Monster Lord opened a blue vortex above the table, haphazardly dropping a large collection of dark green seaweed. Promestein flinched, seawater splashing her lab coat as the ancient maritime plant life fell onto the table, somehow not breaking any of the highly fragile items on the table. The Fallen Angel silently glared at Black Alice, who grinned back at her partner.

  "Oh, don't be that way!" Black Alice pointed a hand at the seaweed, "This cost me an arm and a leg to get, you know. Not my arm and leg, of course, but I'm sure you understand what I mean."

  Promestein grasped her forehead with a hand, attempting to douse the flames of her annoyance, "I appreciate it, this will help me greatly with perfecting White Rabbit." Black Alice nodded, abruptly turning away from the exasperated Fallen Angel.

  Many hours later, the early morning rays fell upon the forest with a soft glow, lighting up the emerald leaves and grass magnificently. Not a clearer or bluer sky could be asked for, as there wasn't a cloud in the sky. In a small clearing, a quiet little campsite sat still, one of its occupants being gone, while the other just began to come awake.

  Luka stirred on his small ground mattress, the blankets he had wrapped himself up in becoming slowly undone. He sat up, the blankets falling from his shoulders to expose his white sleepwear. The boy shook his head some, trying to get his mind to catch up to his body as his thoughts were still a bit scrambled. He reached over to his bedside bag, retrieving a small brush from inside. Grabbing it with one pale hand while grabbing locks of hair to unknot with the other.

  The process gave him some time to think about last night. 'It was certainly different than what I expected, but at least I'm baptized now.' The newly crowned Prophet's face fell into a small frown, 'Which means that I have a lot of work ahead of me. Saving the World as Ilias's Prophet sure won't be easy.'

  Luka tugged hard on his hair, pulling through a particularly large knot with a grunt. 'Even with Ilias's blessing, though, I feel woefully underprepared. She never really gave me much instruction on how to be a Prophet, after all.'

  Working through the last few strands of hair, Luka felt conflict building in his heart. Which was strange, as he really ought to be feeling confident now that Ilias herself had given him such favor in her heart, but instead he had only become more lost.

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  The young boy stood from his mattress, tossing the brush back into his bag of personal items. Moving to the mattress's side, Luka began to fold up the blanket, wrapping it up so that it could be easily stored later when he continued on his trip with Alice. "I wonder if she's awake yet. I hope not. She'd probably just waiting to say something about being hungry!" He smirked a bit, amused at his own little joke.

  He stood straight, slipping on a pair of sandals as he made for the entrance of the tent. The small green tent began to stir as he pulled the zipper. From the opening flap popped out the somewhat tired-looking Luka. His hair was a bit frazzled and tossed around at odd angles.

  Luka let out a silent yawn, stepping out of the tent door with limp steps. He had not changed out of his nightwear yet, so his body was covered only by his white nightshirt. He huffed, putting his hands on his hips as his sleep-filled eyes scanned the clearing. His head recoiled slightly, having seen something quite odd.

  The tree that he was sure Alice had been sleeping the night before was vacant, but even stranger was the fact that the branch she had been sleeping in was snapped in half and was now hanging loosely from the trunk of the tree. He hummed, approaching the tree warily. Luka inspected the ground, noticing a snake-like track slithering away from the tree and into the forest.

  Luka arched an eyebrow at the sight, "Huh, I hope that she is alright..." He mumbled to himself.

  The Lamia was definitely a strange one to him, so the idea of Alice just disappearing in the middle of the night wasn't too out of the question. That, and he was quite confident in his traveling partner being strong enough to handle herself. "...I'm sure she'll be back. She was the one wanting to travel with me, after all. Alice will find me when she wants, I'm sure."

  Content with the explanation for now, the boy turned back to the campsite. "Might as well figure out something for breakfast. I did promise to make something even better than yesterday for her. It would be best to get that ready ahead of time." Luka went over to the firepit he had made, squatting so that he could get it lit once more. The action didn't take much time for him, having only a bit of trouble with moving some of the still-smoldering planks from the night before.

  Luka stood up straight, moving to take a large black pot and fill it with water from the nearby river, unaware of the pair of pale brown eyes watching him from the forest's edge.

  The purple-haired boy whistled to himself as he carried the medium-sized pot back to the campfire. He hung it over the fire to boil, glancing around afterward as the forest seemed to come alive. Luka breathed in deeply, listening to the birds chirping in the trees around him. With a smile, he walked over to his tent to retrieve some ingredients he would need to get breakfast started.

  "Let's see here, where are those tea leaves at?" As the boy searched through his tent, the owner of the pale brown eyes was very slowly creeping her way towards him from the forest with determination.

  "Ah, there they are!" Luka grabbed the small bag of leaves with a grin, hurriedly pulling out of the tent. He ran over to the fire, plucking out some leaves to drop into the water. As he did, the Monster stalking him drew closer and closer, inching nearer with each passing second. On the ground behind her - stretching from her person to the forest she had exited - was a trail of a slime-like substance that reflected the rising sun's morning rays.

  Whatever was secreting the thick liquid lay hidden beneath the odd-looking woman's large brown dress.

  Luka watched the water bowl for a moment, wondering his next move. "Well, an omelette sounds good right now. I suppose I'll have time to search for eggs while the tea is finishing up." He placed his hands onto his hips, scanning the trees standing tall before him.

  "Now, let's see..." Luka kept turning until he caught something out of the corner of his blue eyes. "...Whoa!" He exclaimed, taken off guard by what was standing a few meters before him.

  "Greetings, traveler..." Her voice was somewhat deep and raspy, her tone reserved. Luka appraised the woman quickly, trying to figure out just what he was looking at. The most striking feature he noticed was the woman's very large and pale brown pupils, the stare she gave with them being uncomfortably intense. Her skin was off-white and seemed somewhat clammy, giving her otherwise pretty face a somewhat sickly air.

  The same could be said for her pale yellow-green hair, which fell down almost like tendrils from the brown sunhat she wore. Around the hat's brim was some sort of strange clear veil, one that seemed oddly viscous looking. His gaze went downwards to her oddly shaped brown dress. The garment was very large, encompassing her entire lower half.

  Even stranger was the fact that her dress seemed to be soaking wet.

  Luka wasn't sure exactly what this was, but he could tell it wasn't Human. Either way, he forced himself to be calm. "Oh, h-hello there," He said, "S-Sorry about yelling at you, I-I hadn't noticed your approach." Luka looked to his tent put off the corner of his eye, cursing the fact that his sword was still inside. The boy didn't want to escalate the situation, but being completely defenseless wasn't a great place to be either.

  The Monster shook her head to dismiss his comment, eyes never leaving him. "Oh no, you are fine." He just now noticed two small appendages poking out from the top of her hat. They both angled towards him slowly as if to look at him. She crossed her hands in front of her body, "Would you mind if a weary fellow traveler such as me were to join you? I am famished."

  Luka gave it some thought, before answering. "I-I suppose that you can, I wouldn't mind. I was just about to have some t-tea." The woman's pupils seemed to grow at the mention of the drink. "Is that so? I would like a cup, if you don't mind." Luka cautiously nodded his head, "Of course, it'd be my pleasure."

  The young Hero glanced back, noticing the water was now boiling, the bubbles and froth quickly rising. The liquid had turned a dark brown, its completion drawing near. "Ah, it looks as if it is almost done, in fact."

  The Monster watched Luka intently as he did a light jog back to his tent, inspecting him with her very wide eyes. She began to slide around the campfire, making a wide circle that left a thick coat of mucus in her wake. Luka came back with a bag, slowly coming to a stop when he noticed the Monster now on the opposite side of the firepit then when he left her.

  She merely stared at him with the same broad gaze she had been wearing since they met. "Are you alright, Miss...?"

  The Monster quickly replied, "Melk. My name is Melk."

  Luka nodded, approaching the fire more slowly now. He gently placed the bag down by his feet and reached out for the pot to remove it from its place above the fire. The purple-haired boy set it down on a particularly wide and flat stone, getting on his knees to retrieve a ladle and cups from his bag.

  "Good morning, Melk," Luka said with a smile, "My name is Luka." The Monster nodded, watching as the boy pulled out a multitude of items from the brown sack. First came the small white cups he would use to serve himself and his guest with, and then came the small silver ladle he would use to pour the tea. Swiftly, he filled the two cups with the now black tea.

  Luka looked up to the Monster, "How sweet would you like your tea?" Luka asked, rummaging through the bag to retrieve his sweeteners of choice. Her large pupils somehow grew larger, an anticipating look in her brown eyes. "Very. The sweeter, the better."

  "S-Sounds good to me..." Luka pulled out various spices and such as he looked for two items in particular. "...Now where did I put them? Come on, I know you're here." Melk watched with heightened interest as he pulled out about half of his bag to find the items in question. He pulled out different spices and utensils, a hint of embarrassment in his eyes as he searched.

  Melk's own eyes darkened quickly upon seeing him pull out a saltshaker at one point, but that left her face quickly as he brought out a small jar of honey and a container of sugar.

  The purple-haired boy tried to ignore as the Monster wet her lips with her odd-looking pale tongue and dropped a dollop of honey into each cup. After that, he grabbed the sugar, spooning some into his cup before moving to hers. He added a scoop into the cup, "More, please." Luka hummed, moving to add a second scoop. He glanced up after dropping in the second scoop, holding the spoon over the sugar.

  Melk nodded, "Just a bit more, please."

  Luka slowly obliged with a tilt of his head, 'There'll be more sugar than tea here by the time I'm done...' He thought, adding the third scoop in.

  "Thank you, Luka. That should do." Melk slid close, taking the cup from his hands. He leaned over, looking at the mucus-covered ground behind her. "Soooo, why is it that you are traveling?" He asked, slowly putting together what he was dealing with.

  Melk eyed the cup in her hands, watching a small stream of steam coming from the liquid. "For personal matters; there is something I've been searching for. In fact," The Monster gave him a meaningful look, "I think you can help me with that."

  "A-And... that would be?" Luka asked with a hitch, feeling as though he already knew what the question would be as he took a small sip of his tea. The Monster raised her own cup up, answering quietly. "I have been ready to court for some years now, but unfortunately, I have had horrid luck with finding myself a suitable partner. It seems as if most men don't take too kindly to me."

  Melk brought the cup to her lips and started to drink. Luka cringed at the answer as he watched as the Monster downed the entirety of the cup in a single, loud slurp. He shivered at the woman's purposely audible gulping, "A-Ah, is that r-right?" Luka asked, leaving his kneeling position to stand.

  Melk looked down at the now empty teacup, "This was very good, I thank you for your hospitality. You're much nicer than others I have met here..." She muttered, her wide-eyed gaze rising to meet his. A cool breeze blew above them, whistling through the trees as they swayed the branches. "...Which is why I'd be happy to extend my offer to you if you'd have me."

  Luka bit the inside of his mouth, having felt that it would lead to that but had hoped that he could avoid this situation. This Monster was a lot less aggressive than Lime had been, but somehow that made it so much worse. The young Hero raised his cup to drink from it, the normally sweet tea tasting bitter because of his predicament. He felt the loneliness in her voice, it was a familiar sensation.

  'Even still, I'm not in a position to accept her offer. Though I feel like rejecting her isn't going to be so easy as just saying no...' He thought to himself.

  Luka sighed, bending down to place his cup on the stone by his feet. She looked to him expectantly, painfully hopeful. "I... appreciate your offer," He shook his head, "But I can't accept it, I'm sorry."

  Melk's face fell, her pale brown eyes glancing down to the grass below her. The boy stood awkwardly as a hushed quiet fell upon his campsite, his heart beating becoming quite pronounced in his ears.

  "I should have figured that much. As nice as you seem to be, most Humans around here don't fancy Monsters on a whole, and none would want one like me..." Melk's slimy hands lowered down to her dress, gripping them tightly. The action caused just a very slim amount of her brown dress to rise up, giving the boy a peek at what was underneath. He squinted in confusion at seeing a very thin strip of something very pink and very wet underneath.

  'What is that?' The boy wondered, though not entirely sure if he really wanted the answer.

  "...Unfortunately for you, Luka, I can't wait to find someone else to say yes. You will have to do, whether you want to or not." Melk's hands pulled upwards, exposing what lay beneath her wet dress. Luka gasped at the sight, blue eyes unbelieving in what he was seeing. Beneath the Monster's dress was a mountain of pulsing pink flesh, soaked in mucus.

  Luka's eyes came back up to her face, which was still looking down to her lower half.

  "I hope it doesn't look too hideous. It is all I really have to work with." Melk said as her pale brown eyes rose, meeting his gaze. "I can promise, at least, that you'll eventually get used to it." The Monster's hand goes to her exposed flesh, grabbing onto the layer of mucus around it and throwing it at the boy! He yelped, ducking down to swiftly dodge the attack.

  Glancing quickly to his left, Luka eyed the tent that held his Father's sword. The Slug Monster followed his gaze, grabbing for another handful of slime. He made a beeline towards it the tent, his sandal-clad feet kicking up a cloud of dirt as he was very nearly struck in the back by another one of Melk's attacks.

  Cursing under his breath, the purple-haired boy unzipped the flap back open and grabbed sheath with his left arm. He pulled it out as fast as he could but was too slow to dodge the third, which struck his right forearm.

  Luka grunted, swinging around the front of the tent until he was on the opposite side, putting some distance between himself and Melk. He eyed his right arm with worry, seeing the fabric of his clothes burn away into nothing. He gritted his teeth, feeling his arm begin to numb. 'I can't let her hit me like that again.' He thought, trying to use the quickly failing limb to unsheathe his sword.

  The purple-haired boy was able to pull his sword out, precariously balancing the weapon in one hand alone, as his right arm slow to respond. to any of his commands now. 'I guess her mucus slows down her victims to help make up for her own lack of speed...'

  "I truly am sorry, Luka. Believe me when I say that I'd rather not have to force you, but I need this..." He listened to Melk lament; her low voice regretful as she neared the tent. "...If you come out now, I'll make it worth your while. What do you say?"

  Luka felt a pang of pity for her, the tone she had carrying some desperation in it. 'Even so,' He thought as he crept to his left, peeking around the corner of the tent. 'I can't falter now, that isn't an option.'

  He swung around, charging at an unexpecting Melk who recoiled in shock at his quick approach. He stopped suddenly, raising his silver blade with hard blue eyes. "I'll give you just one chance to leave, I don't want to fight you." Luka said warily as the Slug Monster eyed his weapon with caution.

  Eventually, Melk shook her head, wide eyes looking at him longingly. "I'm afraid that I cannot do that. I won't end another season without a mate." Luka fell into an uneven stance, his right arm still not responding quite well.

  "Alright then, you give me no choice." Luka readied himself with a deep breath and dashed forward! Melk straightened, tensing at his quick approach. The purple-haired boy's sword shined, reflecting the still-rising sun's rays dangerously. For a moment, the Slug Monster felt herself in trouble as he neared her. However, there was a slight miscalculation on his part.

  Luka forgot about the mucus trail the Monster had left behind on the ground.

  Truly, it hadn't been something Melk had done to give herself a tactical advantage. Rather, giving off excessive amounts of mucus was merely an instinctual behavior Slug Monsters performed in response to finding a worthy mate. It was a very messy way of showing interest, one that could end up causing unintended collateral damage.

  Such a thing would occur here as Luka, upon taking a step in the viscous goo, slipped and fell forwards with an embarrassing yell.

  He tumbled past the surprised Melk, rolling towards the firepit until he came to a stop next to the flat rock still holding the rest of the tea and the various items he had pulled out from his cooking bag earlier. His sword had flown from his hand at some point, rolling across the campgrounds.

  Melk, seeing his vulnerable position, moved more quickly than she had before until she reached his downed body. The boy shook his head, trying to rid himself of the pain in his head. Luka froze, feeling something warm and wet covering his feet and then moving up his legs. He gazed down, his face contorting into horror upon seeing the Slug Monster's fleshy bottom half practically engulfing his legs until reaching his waist.

  "Finally," The Monster panted, her face becoming flushed due to her growing excitement. "Prepare yourself for my sticky embrace, Luka!~" The boy felt a cold sweat form on his forehead, he tried to kick her off, but the young Hero couldn't move his legs even a centimeter as the Monster got to his thighs.

  "G-Get off of me!" Luka yelled, as he felt his legs numbing. Not only that, but he felt a certain unwelcomed stirring in his loins. It seemed as if the Monster's slime wasn't just for numbing.

  Melk, to her credit, looked regretful when she regarded his plea. "I-I'm sorry," The Slug Monster muttered, bending down and grabbing the bottom of his shirt with lustful intent. "But I can't stop now!" Luka looked around for something, anything to defend himself with. He paused, looking at the flat rock holding all of the various items he had pulled out earlier.

  Amongst those items, was the saltshaker. Luka reached out to the salt, something Melk was too late in noticing. He forced his numbed right hand to grab the small container and shot the contents out towards the Slug Monster! The salt fell onto her exposed pink flesh, causing her to immediately shrink away from the boy.

  "AHHH!" Melk yelled, the salt burning her vulnerable lower half.

  Luka felt terrible when he heard the screech but continued to fling more and more salt at the Monster. The Slug recoiled, her dress dropping to stop any further damage from being dealt. She glared at the boy, eyes full of pain. "Y-You dried me out... I can't believe you..." Water built up in her eyes, the pain overwhelming. "...I won't forget this!"

  Melk turned, gliding as quickly as she could away from the campsite, tears openly flowing now.

  Luka's breathing was ragged as he watched the Slug Monster "run" away from him, relief and terror running through him. Technically, he had won the fight, but had nearly been at the mercy of a Monster for a second time. The young Hero simply laid there, letting his anxiety from the close call settle. With shaky arms and legs, the boy moved to stand. He looked down at his soaked nightshirt with a labored sigh.

  'Well, I needed to change anyways...' He thought, looking up to his tent. Luka walked over to fetch his daywear, a pair of tired golden eyes watching him from the forest's edge.

  Not long after, Luka was sitting in the nearby river. The mostly clear blue water seemed satisfactory, clean enough at least for him to rid his body of any leftover mucus. Harder to rid himself of, though, was the memories of his near violation.

  For the second time in two days he had been assaulted, and for the second time it had almost been his end. He knew well enough from books he had read in the village's library that once a Monster is able to push a man over his "limits", he would be at their mercy.

  After that, it was a downward spiral, his resistance being whittled away until he is left with no more desire to resist.

  Truth be told, the idea of his very will being slowly erased, was terrifying. He hated thinking about it, but it was the number one threat for a traveler like him. How many times, after all, had men been ambushed and taken away by a Monster? How many men had been forced from their homes, their wives, their families, and raped until their minds broke? It was an uncomfortable thought, but not an unlikely one.

  It had seemingly happened to his Father, after all. It could happen to him, too.

  Luka quickly pushed the bile down, furiously finishing his bath. He left the river soon after, drying off well enough to throw on his traveling tunic and pants. He returned to his camp, finding a curious sight.

  "A-Alice?" The boy's question flew from his mouth when he saw the Lamia standing by the firepit, sipping on what must've been her eighth or nineth cup of tea as the pot next to her tail was nearly empty.

  Alice lowered the cup from her lips and her golden eyes snapped to Luka. The purple-haired boy immediately noticed her tired and frustrated looking expression. 'Oh no, she already looks mad...' He cringed, '...And I haven't even begun to make breakfast!'

  The Monster Lord tried her very best to be patient, "I suggest that you get started on your breakfast plans, Luka." She raised her cup once more, downing the rest of the tea. She then fixed a pointed look onto him, "Because after what I just saw, there is a lot to be desired with your fighting skills. Or rather, lack thereof."

  The purple-haired boy cringed, feeling as if there was a long day ahead of him.