Caught in Between

Granberia was in a foul mood. Her mood was all the fouler because she couldn't swing a sword at what was causing her bad mood. Luka and Alice were fighting and Granberia was caught in the middle of it. It wasn't even a normal fight. Not that Alice and Luka ever had normal fights. Generally, when Luka disagreed with Alice, he would protest for a moment and then just do what she told him. It was normally a very effective way to defuse any tension between them. Except now Alice and Luka disagreed on a matter of principle. Worse, they weren't talking about it. Instead, Alice was ordering Granberia to train Luka hard, and Luka was responding by being lackadaisical.

It was a classic culture clash. Alice, a monster, believed that what happened to Luka demanded vengeance. Luka, being human, wasn't so committed to the idea. Not that humans couldn't be vengeful. It's just that it wasn't part of Luka's nature. Alice knew that, so she seemed to be taking the approach of getting him back into fighting condition, at which point presumably they would get down to having a very serious discussion. Alice probably assumed she would win that argument fairly easily because she always did. Granberia was not so sure this time. Luka was a man who just wanted to get on with his life, a life which he enjoyed very much. He was already traumatized from losing a loved one in battle, albeit an absolutely necessary battle at the time. Going back in time had undone that loss and as a result he clung to Alma Elma even tighter. Even if he gave in on the point of fighting the goddesses, Granberia knew that he would never allow anyone to accompany him on such a fool's errand.

Granberia had hoped that the opportunity to work out with herself would be enough to motivate Luka. It was not. He insisted he was not ready for swordplay. Nevertheless, he obeyed Alice's orders to do it anyway. He just chose to not work very hard at it as a form of silent protest. Granberia was simply in the unfortunate position of having to put up with it. Since she was beginning to see things from his point of view as well as Alice's, she was reluctant to blame him.

Alice, obviously deducing that Granberia was going too easy on Luka, decided to take a different tack. That different tack was now facing Luka in the training gym. She was a slime that Granberia had recruited from Eden Continent, on the promise that first, there was no way she would actually be hurt, and if she defeated Luka, she could feed. That was a sell that Granberia had no doubt would lure in plenty of opponents for Luka. But she had to start him off easy. Even in his current state he could beat a slime, couldn't he?

"You look familiar," Luka said, addressing the slime. "Would you happen to be Lime?"

"You remember me!" the slime named Lime giggled. "But I don't remember giving you my name."

"It's…. hard to explain," Luka replied.

"Well I hear you've been time traveling and been to alternate worlds," Lime said. "So I guess it makes sense that you might know me. I only know you from when I encountered you in the forest near Ilias Village and you drove me away like a meanie. I just wanted a few squirts! I wasn't going to hurt anybody!"

"I know that now," Luka replied. "And I'm sorry. Had I known, I would have let you feed off of me. In my defense, you acted very aggressively. I'd never encountered a monster before."

"I guess we were both wrong that morning," Lime said. "Why don't you let me win so that we can both make it up to each other? I get to eat and you get to feel really good."

"No one will be 'letting' anyone win," Granberia admonished. "Here are the rules. Luka has a training sword. It cannot harm you no matter how many times he hits you with it. He only has to strike you three times to win the match. Lime, for you it is a normal battle. Should you win, Lime, you may have your way with him. He has already consented."

"Got it!" Lime said cheerfully.

"I understand," Luka said gravely, training sword at the ready.

"If you are both ready," Granberia intoned. "Begin!"

The battle was on. Squish. Slurp. Squirt. "Fyahhh!" Squirt. Squirt. Squirt. "Yay! Time to eat!"

Granberia looked away in disgust and left the room. If she was being fair, Luka did try. He simply had no balance, which allowed Lime to take out his legs and spread herself all over him. She was more disgusted at the situation than with Luka. She needed to get him a slower opponent.

This time she found Luka an opponent he didn't know. She was a slug girl. Luka had encountered one of these before, but she had been a fairly hostile type, taking men and holding them prisoner and forcing them to mate with her. This particular slug girl was much nicer, and a bit star struck to meet Luka, the great hero.

"Oh, I'm so excited about this!" the slug girl gushed, which in a slug girl's case was a pretty literal term. A cleaning crew would be needed after this battle. "I've always wanted to meet you! You know, I always supported coexistence!"

"I'm glad to hear that," Luka said graciously.

"The rules of this battle are the same as the last, Luka," Granberia instructed. "Ann, I will explain them to you since you obviously have not been here before. Luka must hit you three times. Do not worry. His trainng sword cannot hurt you and in any case it is not long enough to penetrate to anything vulnerable. Should you defeat him, you may have your way with him."

"I doubt I can beat you, Luka, but if I do I promise to make it feel as good as possible," Ann said excitedly.

"Well, you were chosen because supposedly you'll provide a good challenge," Luka said in a friendly tone. "I'm sure you are aware that I'm not one hundred percent. So you have a good chance."

"If you two are done chatting," Granberia said, hoping beyond all hope that Luka wasn't going to screw this up or purposely take a dive. "Then begin!"

Since slug girls are slow, they tend to be chatty while approaching an opponent. This one was no exception, inching towards Luka and deciding to attempt to play mind games with him.

"First I'm going to make you happy with my long, mucousy tongue," Ann promised. She stuck it out to show Luka. His previous slug girl opponent had obviously not done that, because Luka was taken by surprise. His jaw dropped. Then his sword fell out of his hand. Alarmed, he reached down to pick it up. In the process, he fell down. Oh no, Granberia thought. Please don't let her be one of those….

She was one of those. Some of the younger, more "athletic" slug girls were capable of surprising bursts of speed. She was on him like glue, an apt analogy in her case. His legs pinned under her squishy body, she went to work on his penis with her tongue and mouth. His struggles ceased as soon as her tongue touched his penis.

"I can't believe how interesting that feels!" he exulted. He hadn't officially surrendered, but she knew the fight was over. He was barely strong enough in his current state to get out from under her. If he let her go on more than a minute….. Squirt. Squirt. Squirt.

"Oh wow!" Ann exclaimed. "So tasty! I'm so glad I did that for you. But now it's time for you to experience my slimy hell!"

Granberia walked out again, but not before placing a mental summons to Cindy. Ann was dumping so much mucous on Luka's body that only Cindy would have a chance to wash it all off of him in a reasonable amount of time.

Granberia was beginning to wonder whether Luka was even trying. She couldn't say for sure. She was certain that he was giving up too quickly, but not so sure that his pratfalls were intentional given how frequently he'd fallen when sparring with Granberia herself. Since she was quite exasperated with Luka and Alice's lack of communication, she decided to confront Luka herself, which she did at his bedside the next time she had a shift.

"Do you really think that you still need nursing, Luka?" Granberia asked.

"Not really," Luka replied. "I can mostly get around on my own now. I suspect that the only reason I'm still in this room being watched over day and night is because if Alice admitted that I didn't need nursing, she'd have to let me sleep with her in our marital bedroom. I notice she also stopped taking nursing shifts. Is she busy or just avoiding me?"

"I am sure she is just busy," Granberia said. It was not wholly a lie. Alice's workload had increased in recent weeks, but she could have asked for assistance from Tamamo and other kitsunes and had declined. That was unusual, telling Granberia that yes, she was avoiding Luka. She was not going to be the one to tell Luka that, at least not without ironclad proof.

"She's dead set on me doing something about what happened," he groused. "Does she realize what that would involve? The risk? The potential for lives lost?"

"It is not for me to comment on the Monster Lord's plans," Granberia replied. "I can comment on your own dedication to your rehabilitation. Please be truthful with me, Luka. Did you give your best against those last two opponents?"

Luka sighed. "No, I haven't been. I'm sorry I'm making more problems for you. Can I offer you a deal?"

"What kind of deal?" Granberia asked suspiciously.

"My lack of coordination is not an act," he explained. "Sure, I probably could have overcome that and pulled out a win in both of those fights. I mean, I only had to hit them three times. But I still feel so numb in so many places. Asking me to fight right now is ridiculous, you have to know that. Just give me two days of pure bed rest and then five days of me choosing how to exercise. Maybe by then I'll be able to feel my power again, or summon the spirits. In any case, I promise that after that I'll try harder. Just one week off. Please?"

"I will have to run that by Alipheese, but I am certain that she is tired of hearing about you getting munched on by low level monsters."

Granberia did indeed run it by Alice, and Alice reluctantly approved. Granberia sorely wished that Luka would simply put his foot down. Luka was her husband, not a subordinate, although Alice often treated him that way. Things were only getting more and more awkward. Granberia also took a chance by urging Alice to see Luka more often. She agreed, but the two still resolutely avoided talking about the elephant in the room. Granberia's foul mood was only increasing.

The next opponent Granberia chose for Luka was to test his commitment to his promise to her. She chose a bee girl, who in theory should be an easy opponent, but would also sorely tempt Luka due to the nature of her pleasure attacks. Pouring honey on him and licking it off would test his commitment.

The good news was that the bed rest plus Luka controlling his own rehabilitation had helped him to improve by leaps and bounds in just one week. It had gone so well that Granberia had talked Alkce into giving him another week to just keep doing what he was doing. By the middle of that second week, Luka had begun going for jogs outside the castle. Granberia, not terribly into running(swordplay was excellent cardio!), joined him and found it quite pleasant in the cool Helgondo air around the castle.

Finally, however, it was time for Luka to spar once again. To her surprise, Luka announced that he could feel his power. He demonstrated by summoning his fake Angel Halo. Granberia didn't really like him calling it "fake". She preferred to think of it as a shadow Angel Halo. Even better, Luka demonstrated that because it was his own creation, it didn't even have to do what Angel Halo did. He created it to be even better than a training sword, passing right through an opponent when it hit, but doing no damage. It merely caused a little discomfort to alert the opponent that they had been hit. What a magnificent training sword! Even her Ares couldn't do that!

Luka faced off against the bee girl, looking determined this time rather than bored or annoyed, or more interested in catching up with an old friend than fighting. He didn't know this bee girl, so the latter wasn't a problem.

"Same rules as last time, Luka," Granberia said. "Three hits and you win. Beezy, since you only have pleasure attacks, that's what you will use to attempt to defeat him. Should you do so, you may have your way with him."

"That sword looks scary," Beezy said. "It won't hurt me, will it? I'm not really a warrior."

"Don't worry," Luka assured her. "it doesn't hurt much at all when it hits. Just enough to let you know you've been hit. It's actually less uncomfortable than getting smacked with a training sword. That's why I chose it."

"Oh," Beezy replied. "Well if you say it's safe, I believe you. I heard how you saved the insects in Plansect Forest. I trust you completely."

"Are you from Plansect?" Luka asked.

"No, I'm from the area around Happiness Village," Beezy replied. "Mostly they use bees to make their Happiness Honey, but I guess it's okay to tell you that bee girls like me are the secret ingredient. Just a little bit of our honey added makes it irresistible."

So that's what it was! Granberia thought. No wonder it was as good as sex. Somehow the mixture must have allowed the bee girls' erotic properties in their honey to affect even monsters! Or maybe it just tasted that good.

"If you two are ready…" Granberia said, now thinking how much she'd love some Happiness Honey. "Begin!"

"I'm going to pour my honey all over you and lick it off," Beezy said seductively. "Of course I'll lick it off your penis, too."

For a second Granberia thought he might drop his sword again, but he steeled himself. He had wavered for a second but recovered. That's my Luka! Granberia thought.

He was still quite rusty. He didn't have enough grasp on his power to summon fake spirits, nor was he strong enough yet to use the real ones. It took all of his concentration to maintain his shadow sword. The fight took longer than Granberia would have liked. By the time it was over, Luka was covered in honey, only some of it licked off by Beezy. But he'd endured those formidable pleasure attacks and landed the three hits. Granberia stopped the fight and declared him the winner.

"Awwww!" Beezy pouted. "I was so close!"

"You weren't really," Luka smiled. "I've been licked by the best. Not that you're bad, of course. Pretty great, actually."

"Does that mean you want me to finish what I started?" Beezy asked hopefully.

"You lost the match, Beezy," Granberia said. "You do not get to have your way with him. However, thank you for your participation in his recovery today. Please make yourself at home in the castle for as long as you like, and enjoy our amenities."

"I can watch Bee Movie!" Beezy said excitedly. "I love Jerry Seinfeld!"

As Beezy flew out the door to go find herself a guest room with a TV, Luka chuckled. "Well, she was easy to placate."

"And you have made great progress, Luka," Granberia said proudly. "We will continue to increase the difficulty of your opponents. There is no shame in losing as long as you give your best. I had no doubt that you gave your utmost today."

"I guess all that's left now is to contact Cindy," Luka said ruefully. "This stuff is…. Really sticky."

Granberia bent forward and licked some off of his shoulder. Not bad, but not Happiness Honey. How did the humans figure out how to mix it so that it was so good? As much as Granberia liked the idea of licking it all off, he was covered in it. She simply didn't have the patience, plus then Luka would be filthy in another way. Dragon saliva wasn't known for its cleaning properties.

Granberia's ultra sensitive ears heard familiar voices outside the training room. The solution to her problem was right outside. Opening the door, she spotted three kitsunes walking down the hall, chatting. They weren't any kitsunes whom she was familiar with, but that didn't matter.

"Excuse me, my fluffy friends," Granberia said, gesturing for them to come into the training room. "There is a problem that only your unique skills can assist me with."

"A Heavenly Knight needs us?" one of them said excitedly. ."Sure! Anything you need! Be sure to tell Tamamo that we helped you!"

"I will definitely do so," Granberia promised. "This is not a difficult task. In fact, I believe you will find it most pleasant. Please, come in."

The three fox girls entered the training room and noticed Luka. They could smell him as well. Their ears perked up when they caught the scent of honey.

"Luka here had a sparring match with a bee girl," Granberia explained. "As you can see, he needs a cleaning badly. I would be happy to do so if I would actually make him clean. But you kitsunes, I know that your tongues are made for cleaning. Would you…"

"Say no more!" the obvious leader, a three tailed fox, answered with enthusiasm. "Ladies! We have a job to do!"

"A very tasty job!" one of her single-tailed companions said, rubbing her hands together and licking her lips.

"Ummm….." Luka stammered. "Hi, ladies?"

"Hey, hero!" another of the one tailed kitsunes said happily. "Just lie down, we'll have you clean in no time. Well, it might take a little time. But we don't mind! Just make sure that no one of us makes you come three times, okay? That could get…. Awkward."

Granberia left chuckling as the three kitsunes went to work. Luka had earned this one.

Two days later, Luka easily defeated an earthworm girl. Cindy had to be called after that battle, since fighting earthworm girls could be a slimy proposition. Granberia decided that perhaps she should recruit monsters who wouldn't require Luka to be put in critical ecstasy whether he won or lost. It may have been fun for Luka, but it wasn't doing his recovery any good, since the cleanings after the battles forced him back into bed for the day.

That led to Granberia getting a little bold. Three harpies and the Queen harpy faced Luka in the training room one week later. Luka's progress at accessing his power had improved, to the point where he could summon a shadow spirit or two. He would not use his power against his sparring opponents directly. For one, he didn't need training to do that. Once he could reach his power, it was as easy as simply releasing it at whoever he wanted to hit. He could save that for real battles. But his sword work and his use of the spirits did require practice, and harpies were an ideal opponent. With luck, Luka might even take to the air to battle them.

"I don't think I can take on the Queen Harpy," Luka said uncertainly. "I'm nowhere near ready for that."

"Don't worry, Luka," the queen replied. "I am only here to command my troops. Harpies don't coordinate well without leadership. However, if you lose, I shall definitely partake in the spoils."

Luka still appeared nervous, with good reason. His opponents so far had only used pleasure attacks. Harpies could actually fight. Their talons were dangerous. Granberia would have to explain the rules very clearly to avoid an unfortunate accident.

"Luka, you have three opponents," Granberia instructed. "You only have to hit each one once. Once hit, they are out of the match. Harpies, you may either use your talons or pleasure attacks on Luka. I'm sure I don't have to tell you to not use killing blows."

"How do we know when we've won?" one of the harpies asked.

"If you draw blood, you win," Granberia explained. "Obviously if you make him ejaculate, you win."

Luka still had a major dilemma on his hands. He needed three spirits for this fight and at this stage of his recover he could at best mimic two. Calling the genuine spirits was still out of the question. Granberia couldn't wait to see which he would pick. If he went with the power of earth, it would make drawing blood from him very difficult for these weaker harpies. The queen would have had no trouble, but she wasn't in this match directly. But Luka also needed the power of water. The flow was essential for tracking the movements of multiple, fast opponents. If he used both of those, however, he would be denied the power of wind, and harpies were very fast.

Luka's decision surprised and pleased Granberia. It was a gutsy move. She saw him concentrate and enter the flow, while at the same time summoning the power of wind. He was going to count on avoiding the harpies' talons entirely and attempt to match their speed.

"Begin!" Granberia ordered.

The queen shouted, "Maneuver 4A!"

The harpies all took to the air and one by one, dove on Luka, talons outstretched. The talons were a distraction, however. The real attack was a pleasure attack, the feathers. Inside the flow, Luka could recognize the true nature of the attack, but the harpies spread their wings so wide that Luka was "hit" by two of the three as each made their pass individually. Luka showed no sign of being troubled, but Granberia knew that those feathers could wear a man down, preparing him for a finishing pleasure attack.

"Maneuver 6D!"

This time they came at him low, from three sides, simultaneously. Luka sought to take to the air to avoid the attack, but that proved to be a bad decision. He lost his concentration, and the flow, as a result, and the harpies adjusted by pulling up with astonishing maneuverability. They had originally intended to massage him with their feathers, but seeing an opportunity, they wrapped themselves around him. His pants and shirt came off and all four went down in a tumble.

Now it was a wrestling match, Luka versus three opponents. She wondered if he'd be able to summon the power of earth to throw them all off. She saw him concentrate, but whatever he was going for, he couldn't pull it off. One of the great things about his shadow sword, however, was that it was impossible to dislodge from his hand. While the harpies determinedly rubbed him with their feathers and bodies, he managed to land a solid hit on one, forcing her out of the match. That gave him room to operate, so the other two backed off. But they had done real damage. Luka was a little woozy. They had a shot to finish him with pleasure attacks, or take advantage of his wooziness to cut him.

"Split attack!"

Ah, the obvious move, Granberia observed. One would fly at Luka with the intent of cutting him, the other with the intent of finishing him with a pleasure attack. This would be very difficult to defend against in Luka's current state. Luka would almost certainly prioritize the physical attack even though the pleasure attack was more dangerous. Men always avoid pain rather than pleasure.

What Granberia had forgotten was that he still had his wind power summoned. He had not lost his hold on that yet. Luka did something she had never seen him do before. Faster than even the harpies could adjust, he backflipped and manifested a second shadow sword in his other hand. He landed a blow on each harpy as they passed under him. Luka had won.

Luka had also landed back first to the Queen Harpy, who grabbed him from behind and wrapped him in her feathers, her hand stroking him as she massaged his body and pressed her breasts against his back. With a cry of ecstasy, he ejaculated. When he was finished, the queen gently laid him on a mat.

"Sorry, Luka, you presented me with an opportunity," the queen giggled. "But you did win, I acknowledge that. Your final move was extraordinary. It deserves the ultimate reward. You've never experienced my pussy before."

"You have already taken enough liberties," Granberia said sharply. "The rules are the rules. You may only have your way with him if you win."

"Oh, Granberia!" the queen laughed. "I couldn't resist a little harmless cheating, but I'll refrain from taking any further liberties. His carcass is yours."

Actually, Luka was making his way to his feet, very impressively given that a queen had just finished him. Granberia's foul mood was beginning to soften considerably.

"As always, you are all free to stay here as long as you like as thanks for aiding Luka's recovery," Granberia announced.

"I have to return to my duties," the queen said, bowing. "But my three subordinates here would love to stay awhile. They have always wanted to see the castle."

"Yay! We wanna stay in one of the towers!" one of the harpies exclaimed.

Over the next two weeks, Luka had five more bouts, four of which he won. The loss was understandable. Granberia had substantially upped the difficulty by pitting him against the queen elf. It had been an impulsive decision, since the queen had just happened to be in the castle and had not come to spar with Luka. She'd been there for business, but didn't mind mixing a little pleasure in. It had been a classic sword battle, she with a training sword and he with his modified shadow Angel Halo. First to three scores won. It had been a glorious battle, with the queen elf defeating him 3-2. Then she enjoyed a more gentle version of what she had intended for him in their more serious battle ten years ago. Luka seemed to enjoy it as well. Given that he'd defeated a succubus, a young fellow dragonkin warrior, a five tailed kitsune, and a vampire, she felt Luka had more than earned a pleasant loss.

His progress really was quite remarkable once he had started dedicating himself to it. He could summon all elemental powers, at least for a very short time, and had started being able to summon the real spirits as well, although something about his condition made it hard for them to work with him. Still, they had missed him and were eager to get back to working as a team again.

Of course, that did not mean Alice and Luka's issues were resolved. Luka had worked hard for Granberia's sake, not Alice's. The time Alice and Luka spent together was still sporadic,with uncomfortable conversation kept to a minimum. If an uncomfortable conversation threatened to begin, Alice cut it off by declaring that she was hungry, and acting on that hunger, which usually shut Luka up quite effectively. Still, it meant nothing was resolved. Granberia had to assume that Alice was just counting on Luka coming around once his confidence was back.

Tamamo, however, finally chose to intervene, which she had done often over the years, since she thought Luka and Alice sometimes incapable of communicating their feelings in a healthy manner. In the past, her interventions had done good more often than not, so Granberia was not about to oppose her, even though it was something she herself could never have done. They were opposites in that respect, Granberia believing in minding her own business, whereas Tamamo felt that anything having to do with Luka or Alice was her business.

Tamamo's scheme, such as it was, was to have Luka take his dinner in the dining hall instead of his room. Despite the fact that Luka had long since stopped needing a separate room or nursing care, Alice was still practicing a policy of avoidance. If they spent too much time together, they might argue again. Tamamo thought that this was exactly what needed to happen and felt the idea of a perfectly healthy Luka being brought his meals in bed simply because Alice wanted to avoid him absolutely ridiculous. So when she worked her next nursing shift, when dinner came, she simply marched Luka into the dining hall to join Alice. Granberia had been told to expect this, since she was also present, discussing castle business with the Monster Lord.

Alice looked up in surprise as Luka entered the room and set down his tray. Wordlessly, he began eating. Alice flashed a dirty look at Tamamo as she sat down and called for a server to bring her some thin fried tofu and rice balls. For awhile, Alice seemed determined to focus entirely on her food. But finally, she apparently decided to do what she normally did: try to pretend that everything was fine and stick to small talk.

"So Granberia tells me you've been doing so much better," Alice said to Luka. "Have you still been having pain?"

"No, I'm feeling pretty good now for the most part," Luka replied. "Sometimes I still try to do something that came easily to me before and find that I can't do it, but whenever I find something like that I keep working at it until I can do it again. I think I'll be back to one hundred percent in another month."

"That's excellent, darling!" Alice said. The happiness in her voice was not forced. Which may have led her to dip a toe into the controversy between the two of them. "So what do you plan to do once you're back to normal?"

"Once I'm normal," Luka answered. "I want to live normally again, I guess. I have a good life here. I'd just like to put what happened behind me and go back to my idyllic life. Of course, I'll stay in shape in case something happens again. As we both know, trouble doesn't give us much advance warning."

"I see," Alice said listlessly. "So, just forget the whole thing? Pretend it never happened? Everything's just… peachy?"

"You know that's not how I think about it, Alice," Luka said. "It's impossible to forget what I went through the past few months. All the more reason for me to want to get back to my life."

"Luka," Alice said. By this point, Tamamo and Granberia's heads were turning back and forth to follow the conversation and they weren't being subtle about it. "I understand how you feel. But do you understand the consequences of the whole world knowing that the Monster Lord's husband was hurt that way, without any consequences for the perpetrators?"

"They're goddesses, Alice," Luka countered. "I'm not too worried about a world in which people know that goddesses can do whatever they want. It doesn't exactly embolden anyone else."

"It emboldens those two!" Alice shouted, rising from her chair and banging on the table. "Do you really think they are going to stop there?! That they'll continue to behave themselves? Ilias didn't spend a single day behaving herself in the last five hundred years, except for the period where she didn't exist! And the Dark God, she wasn't here one damn day before trying to destroy everything that you and I built!"

"They are behaving so far," Luka said mildly.

"Because they fear you!" Alice yelled. "They figure that being human, the longer you take to retaliate for what they did, the less likely you'll be to ever do it!"

"Alice," Tamamo said gently. "With them possessing his power, either one of them is more powerful than he is. Together…. Maybe there's just nothing we can do."

"The Luka I know would find a way," Alice said coldly. "They know that as well as I do. That's why they fear you. That's why they are trying to placate you. But mark my words, Luka. Once they realize they've gotten away with it, they will think that you were AFRAID, and they'll discount you. They'll make their own plans and you won't even be a factor in those plans, because they'll assume you won't be a factor. Because they broke you. They made you treasure your comfortable life more than justice."

"So you want me to go to heaven, and do what?!" Luka roared, now out of his own seat.

"Gods are a lot like monsters in one way that counts, Luka," Granberia cut in. "Show them that you can defeat them, and they will see things your way. That is why they don't make trouble now. But I must side with Alipheese on her last point. However much you disdain the idea of vengeance, if you do not show them that you are not one to be trifled with, they will stop taking your wishes about how the world should be seriously. Then you will have something to fight for, except the fight will be much harder and more lives will be lost. I said I would not judge you if you decided to do nothing. I still must warn you of what will happen, however."

"Do any of you realize how insane this kind of talk is?" Luka asked. "I still remember being a nobody, and now you're asking me to take on two gods. At the same time! Alone!"

"Never alone, Luka," Alice said quietly. "We'll always be with you."

"There's nothing you can do!" Luka yelled, now in a rage. "They have my power! They can obliterate any of you with ease and none of you can do anything except traumatize me as I watch you die! The only way to do this is by me doing it myself! And I can't believe any of you would ask me to do that! Or worse, accompany me when you can't help!"

Luka stalked out, apparently headed back to his room.

"Thank you so much for that, Tamamo," Alice said bitterly.

"He's right, you know," Tamamo said. "It's not fair for you to ask him to do that."

"He is my husband!" Alice raged. "They hurt him, but right now I'm not speaking just as his wife! I'm speaking as the Monster Lord! He has a responsibility to be the hero the world needs! He may not like the idea of vengeance, and if he doesn't want to think of it as vengeance he doesn't have to. But he does need to demonstrate, not just to them, but to the world, that no one attacks the Monster Lord or her husband with impunity! What if Alipheese decides to start recruiting again, wants to start another war? Who would join me?!"

"Nevertheless," Tamamo said. "You're asking him to take all the risk. The fact that we'd go lay down our lives for him is irrelevant. We can't help him. This is on him. We don't have the right to pressure him into this."

"You don't, but I do," Alice said with finality. "I am the Monster Lord. I have to make the tough decisions. This is one of them. You're right that I can't force him. He's not one of my subordinates. But I sure as hell am going to put pressure on him, because it has to be done! Those two entered MY castle and paralyzed and raped MY husband!"

"Is this really about Luka, Alice, or is it about you?" Tamamo asked, clearly in shock at Alice's words.

"It's not about me or Luka,." Alice answered. "It's about what the two of us built. That's bigger than both of us. Now if you'll both excuse me, I have to go back to work."

Alice slammed the door on her way out.

"That went well," Granberia observed helpfully.

"This is not going to end well," Tamamo said gravely.

Granberia could see that Luka's motivation had taken a turn for the worse. His face was expressionless as he entered the training room for the day's opponent. Granberia hoped that her choice of opponent would improve his mood. Standing across from Luka was a lamia, a young, lovely purple haired girl.

"Oh, Luka, I've been waiting so long for this!" the lamia said excitedly. "You're like, totally my hero!"

"Well, I'm just glad I could help make the world a better place," Luka said bashfully. He enjoyed praise, but he was often embarrassed by it.

"Do you recognize me?" the lamia asked.

"I…. Maybe?" Luka seemed to be trying to think really hard. His faces when he was thinking hard were almost as amusing to Granberia as those other faces he made when she had him alone. "I seem to think I should know you, but I just can't place where I've met you."

"Well, I was really young," she replied. "Just a kid, actually. Remember, you faced me and my three other friends in a cave? Then you took us back to Iliasburg and the people forgave us?"

"Oh wow!" Luka exclaimed, utterly astonished. "You have to understand, for me it's been decades since I last saw you! You're all grown up now! You look…. Amazing! How are the others doing?"

"Well, Dragon Pup still looks exactly the same. They age really slowly and live like a thousand years," the lamia replied. "Gobby got married. And Vanilla, the Vampire girl, she's a fully grown vampire now and prowls the streets of Iliasburg at night looking for prey. Willing prey, of course."

"And what's your name?" Luka asked.

"Me? I call myself Tina. They used to call me Teeny, but I decided that was too childish so I just go by Tina now."

"And what do you do these days?"

"Wellllll….." she paused, practically shaking with excitement, trying to time the revelation perfectly. "I know all four of us said we wanted to be heroes, but I'm the only one that really held onto the dream. I mean, the world you helped create was so peaceful, Gobby and Vanilla just decided to go live normal lives. But I still want to do some good in the world. The world still needs heroes, don't you think?"

"It definitely does," Luka said with a smile. "So that must mean you're a pretty formidable opponent."

"I'd like to think so," she said nervously. "I got a little training and I practice a lot. Plus now I have real lamia strength and speed, whereas before… well, you remember."

Granberia was satisfied to see Luka's mood improved. Nevertheless, they could talk and catch up more afterwards. It was time to get down to business.

"Are you two ready?" Granberia asked. "The rules are the same for you as always, Luka. Three hits and you win. For you, Tina, you must either make him submit with your tail bind, or make him ejaculate. I hope it will not be too weird for you, Tina. Your tail bind is unlikely to defeat him, so resorting to pleasure attacks may be the only way for you to win."

"Oh, I've been waiting to do this for a long time," Tina assured Granberia.

"Okay, now I feel weird," Luka said.

"Then don't lose," Granberia countered. "Begin!"

Luka did something he rarely did, striking quickly and landing an early hit. "Ouch!" Tina said. "Oh, that wasn't so bad."

"There are no timeouts, Tina," Granberia cautioned. "Luka could have finished you in the time you inspected your nonexistent wound. He refrained only as a courtesy."

"Okay, okay, I get it," Tina said. "I'm ready now."

Luka took up a fighting stance again. He feinted, causing Tina to flinch. She showed some cleverness, however, bringing her tail in very low for a trip. Luka went down. Tina pounced. In a second, Luka was completely wrapped up in her tail. It was a good wrap, too. She had Luka on the ground and wrapped up about as thoroughly as a lamia could wrap someone up. He'd have to summon his earth power to get free. Granberia had no doubt he would get free, but it wouldn't be instantaneous. Tina had an opportunity, if she took advantage of it.

Tina ripped open Luka's shirt and ran her long tongue along his chest. Granberia became immediately concerned when Luka stopped struggling and gasped. What happened next caused her to go well beyond concern.

"Oh my goodness, how is your tongue so warm and soft?!" Luka choked out.

"I'm one of the rare subspecies of warm blooded lamias," Tina explained. "You'd better break out soon, though. You don't look like you can take many of those licks. If I reach your penis…."

"Please, just keep going!" Luka begged. "I'm done! You win! Just give me more!"

Tina paused and looked at Granberia. "I…. is this okay? He hasn't even been beaten yet."

Granberia could scarcely believe what she had heard. She recovered in time to make a ruling.

"Luka has made a request," Granberia announced. "You do not have to grant it if you do not wish to."

"But…." Tina stammered. "A-Aren't monsters supposed to honor requests from prey?"

"They are," Granberia said. "But this is a gray area. In this contest, it is tantamount to surrender. He's already lost. However, if it makes you uncomfortable you do not have to do anything more to him. You have won. He is yours to do with as you please, within reason."

"Well…." Tina said uncertainly. "I do want to. I've wanted to do this for so long. But…. I thought I'd have to earn it. I don't feel like I've earned it."

"Your pleasure attack was so potent that it defeated him in an instant," Granberia said. "You should be proud."

Granberia rarely lied, and this technically wasn't a lie. Luka had indeed succumbed. But she knew in her bones that this was Luka being rebellious again. She did not look forward to reporting this to Alice, but there was no choice. As she left the training room, she heard Luka's cries of delight as Tina's tongue wrapped around his shaft.

"He…. WHAT?!!!!"

"He gave up very early in the fight," Granberia reported. "And he…. Made a request."

"A request," Alice repeated, rolling that word around her mouth a little, as if to test the taste of it. Clearly she didn't like it. "He didn't lose, he didn't even surrender. He made a request. A request."

"She did have him in a powerful bind," Granberia said lamely.

"Oh, now you're not even trying!" Alice raged. "We both know he could break out of that in less than thirty seconds! Luka withstood the queen succubus for thirty seconds when he was already close to the edge. I know for a fact he wouldn't lose to an inexperienced lamia in just thirty seconds! He did that on purpose!"

"I'm afraid that he probably did," Granberia said sadly.

Alice sat back on her throne. She shook back and forth angrily, trying to jostle her throne in her anger. The throne, while well built, creaked a little.

"He's in perfect health now?" Alice asked. "He doesn't require nursing care?"

"I would not say his health is perfect," Granberia replied. "But he has not needed nursing care for weeks."

"Good," Alice said. "No more nurses, which means no more sex. His hall pass is revoked."

"What of the sparring sessions with monsters?" Granberia asked. "The promise of a feeding on one as delicious as him is a powerful recruiting tool."

"He's not taking those fights seriously," Alice said. "With a few exceptions, it's been an excuse to get his rocks off. Even when he wins."

"That may have been my fault, Alipheese," Granberia said sheepishly. "I chose his opponents."

"I know, Granberia, I don't blame you," Alice said. "You've done everything I've asked. But no more recruiting monsters. We are done with that as well."

"Do you wish me to begin sparring with him again?" Granberia asked. "I believe he is close to ready. He'll lose badly the first dozen or two times, but….."

"No," Alice said coldly. "I know what I have to do now."