Welcome to Monster World!

The Tartarus was huge. About the same size as the one that had led to Angel World, but this one seemed bigger because it was on land for some reason. It was quite intimidating.

"So how do I get in there?" I asked.

"How'd you get into the Angel World rift?" Tamamo asked.

"I didn't do it myself," I answered. "We were going to go explore it if we could, but we stepped into this village whose inhabitants had disappeared and I went to Angel World while everyone else just saw an empty village."

"Not only that, but Luka never left us!" Sonya added. "He kinda spaced out for a minute and then he was back."

"Hmmmm…." Tamamo mused, frowning. "I don't like technology or magic I don't understand. Clearly the angels wanted Luka to see their world. I'm going to assume the monsters do as well. Let's wait here and see if anything happens."

"Could we lower a rope ladder?" I asked.

"Sure, if we had one that went twelve miles down!" Tamamo giggled. "There are many ways to make a rift inaccessible and those worlds that had the technology to do so, did so, quite prudently. But they only have to deal with one rift. We have seven."

"The joys of being a Singularity World," I muttered.

"Let's just see if our presence here draws any powerful entities," Tamamo said. "If not, then I'm not sure what else we can do. I SUPPOSE WE COULD ALWAYS JUST SEND YOU TO ANGEL WORLD!!!!"

Tamamo shouted the last at the top of her lungs. That drew the desired response, although I use the term "desired" very loosely given who showed up.

"Now we wouldn't want that, would we?" evil Tamamo asked, appearing before us. "Angel World has already had a chance to make their pitch. At least give us a chance to persuade you."

"I'm not sure I like your idea of persuasion, kitsune," Alice said darkly.

"Neither does Saja, which is why she'll be your guide," evil Tamamo said. "I'm only here to escort you across the border. Saja believes in appealing to you on an intellectual level."

That was good. While Saja was dangerous compared to the Tamamo I'd known and loved, she was infinitely more reasonable than the Tamamo that stood in front of me. Saja was severe, but fair, and could be trusted. At least as long as she was making the decisions. I was well aware that although Saja was first among equals, if the Dark God decided to reassign my "persuasion" to another Ancestor, things could get rapey and violent.

"How long will you be keeping him there?" Alice asked, clearly worried.

"He is our guest," evil Tamamo replied. Sorry I keep calling her that, but damn…. "He can stay as long as he likes. Our method of taking him to our world isn't the same as the angels, so time won't pass differently. I'd suggest you pull out your cute little castle and relax for a few days. There's a lot we'd like to show him."

Alice turned to me and took my hands. I knew the speech that was coming.

"Luka…." Alice said, voice shaking. "Please be careful. Don't lose in a place like that."

"I only ever lose in places you don't expect me to," I chuckled. That got a tearful laugh out of Alice as well. She put her head to mine.

"Just don't do anything too idiotic," she said. "And at the first sign of real trouble, teleport out of there, okay?"

"I did it when I went to Black Alice's castle. I'm sure this won't be a problem. They just want to talk, right? I know Saja. She's honorable."

"It's not Saja I'm worried about," Tamamo said, her eyes never leaving her counterpart's. The mutual disdain they had for each other was striking. It was as if Tamamo hated herself.

"Are you ready, Luka?" evil Tamamo giggled. "Untold delights await you."

"I'm sure it's nothing I haven't already experienced," I said. "I've been around, you know. Even Ancestors don't faze me."

"You'll have to tell us all about it," evil Tamamo laughed. "But I'd expect no less from the Worldbreaker. Come…"

Evil Tamamo held out her hand. Reluctantly, I grasped it. And then I was somewhere else.

I had expected that somewhere else to be perpetual darkness for some reason. Even with all my experience with monsters, there was a part of me that still saw them as creatures of darkness, while I associated angels with the light. I felt a little bad about that. Alice had once admonished me for wondering why the Monster Lord's castle wasn't built on a barren wasteland with lava everywhere. A thousand years later and I still had my prejudices.

One prejudice I was comfortable with was not trusting this Tamamo. I'd always assumed that no matter which Tamamo I met on whatever world I met her on, that there was good in her. While on Ariana's world that had proven true, deep down, it had nearly gotten me killed. Tamamo, I have learned, both from experience and from long talks with the Tamamo I married, is a very complicated individual, the study of whose psyche would fascinate any behavioral psychologist. Goodness did not come naturally to her. She was a lot more like Ilias than I cared to admit. Self-centered, egotistical, capricious, and cruel. A lot of factors had gone into changing her, none of which were present or likely to be present on this world dominated by monsters. Which meant that I couldn't trust this Tamamo any further than I could throw her. And with her ability to root herself to the ground using earthpower, that meant I couldn't throw her even an inch.

But the darkness, or lack thereof, that's what I was talking about, right? Actually, it looked like any other day on any normal world. It was partly cloudy, obviously midday. There was lush, pleasant smelling forest all around us. I recognized the forest immediately. I was home. We were just outside of Ilias Village, or Iliasville, or Luka Village. I wondered what they called it here.

"You look like someone who just came home," Tamamo said, looking genuinely interested for some reason. Yes, she was indeed complicated. She'd wanted to kill me in an incredibly cruel way not long ago and now she was taking a genuine interest in what I was thinking.

"We're just outside of Ilias Village, aren't we?" I asked. "Although I'm sure you don't call it that."

"'We' don't call it anything," Tamamo shrugged. "It's not our village. Saja wasn't lying to you that we have total freedom here. It's still called Ilias Village, because the people of the village still want to call it that. As long as they don't cause trouble, they are free to worship who they want and use whatever names they want."

"Are we going to Ilias Village?"

"That's where we're going to meet Saja, yes," Tamamo confirmed. "She doesn't want me to be your guide. She says we got off on the wrong foot. Can you imagine?"

"Actually, I wouldn't have complained if you were. If I had a gold piece for every monster I considered a friend who threatened to eat me…."

"So," Tamamo said with a sly grin. "Are you gonna let me in on what your relationship was with your world's version of me? You seemed to let your guard down around me back in Grangold."

"I'm not going to give you an advantage over me by giving you the details."

"As if that didn't tell me all I needed to know," Tamamo sneered. "I guess I'll learn more when that Tamamo you just left merges with me. I'm not looking forward to that."

"I don't know, you might learn something."

"I'm sure my personality will dominate," Tamamo said with absolute confidence. "She's the way she is because she's weak. Once she feels this body's power she'll be eager to use it."

"She might surprise you," I said, although with less certainty. My Tamamo I would have had absolute confidence in. The Tamamo on the strange world I'd found myself in was still in the same mental space my Tamamo was before we became close. She had "mellowed" but still hadn't really grappled with the wrongs she'd done.

"I think it's you who needs to learn something," Tamamo said. "That's why you're here. You have a choice to make. Given your affinity for monsters, I doubt it will be a difficult choice."

I harrumphed. Ilias and Alice had tried to force me to make a choice right at the beginning of my journey. Luka, the one who was born on this world, had confided in me during a late night talk(we had begun conversing in my dreams a little), that he would have felt forced to choose and would likely have gone with Ilias. Being more experienced, and a lot less of a beta male than I'd been when I was younger, had laid down the law to both of them. Yeah, that's how I remembered it! My balls told a different story, an ache of remembrance reminding me that my tone had earned me two fists to the nuts. But I had stuck to my guns and persuaded them, and I was convinced that all of us were better off because I had. While I didn't rule out siding with one world or the other, if that's what it took to save as many people as possible. But my gut was telling me that I had to find another way, a third way. After all, the White Rabbit had told me that it always ended the same way. Maybe those other Lukas had been pressured into choosing one side over the other. Maybe the answer was to do what I had done with Alice and Ilias. Or maybe that was my natural optimism talking.

We entered the village, and to my surprise, it looked just like Ilias Village on any world I'd been to. People seemed happy and content going about their daily tasks. The main difference was that there were more monsters around. Rather than just slimes, there were also slugs, bunnies, pig girls, dog girls, wolf girls, rat girls, even the odd kitsune or lamia.

One lamia in particular drew my attention. She was instantly recognizeable. Actually, she wasn't just a lamia. Saja was the ancestor of lamias, dragons, and harpies, among others. Her wings were not reptilian, but huge, soft, bird like wings. As for her beauty…. All Ancestors were goddesses, but Saja was the loveliest of them all. There was something unattainable about her, although she was certainly not unobtainable sexually. As a matter of fact, an older man was lying on the ground, naked, moaning and panting next to her, basically worshipping her.

"Thank you, honorable Ancestor!" he wheezed. "Never have I enjoyed such ecstasy before! I am not worthy of your attention!"

"Your semen was surprisingly flavorful for one your age," Saja replied mildly. "You work hard to provide for this village. That should come with some rewards. Whenever I return to visit this village, all you need do is ask."

"Thank you, my lord!" the old man panted. "You are the loveliest being in the entire world!"

"You haven't met my master, but thank you," Saja said gracefully. With a gesture, she returned his clothes to his body. That was when she noticed me.

"Ah, Luka!" Saja said with unusual friendliness. She had always been stiffly formal with me, except when she was flirting. "Pardon me, I was famished and this nice man offered me some refreshment. As happy as he is, I believe I benefitted more than he did."

"No, my lord! I will always remember this day!" the old man gasped.

"I bet you say that to all the Ancestors," Saja joked.

Saja joking raised my suspicions. Or maybe it was just her flirtatious nature. I decided to approach this whole ordeal with an open mind. Tamamo I couldn't trust, but Saja was an even keeled and fair woman. That didn't mean she wasn't dangerous, but she wasn't the type to stab you in the back. Saja was the type to stab you in the front then rape you as you bled to death. But if Saja wanted me here to persuade me, then I could be confident that persuading would be all she tried to do. This time.

"Welcome to Makai, Worldbreaker!" Saja said grandly. "As you can see, monsters and humans live in peace together. Everyone is happy. And except for a few Ilias worshipping holdouts, there is none of the prudery that I hear still exists on the Paradox world."

"Paradox world?" I asked. "Is that what you call it? Because it's where the paradox started?"

"It really should have its own name, should it not?" Saja asked. "You call this place Monster World. But it's not like Angel World, which is truly a world dominated by angels. Monster World, or Makai, as we call it, is a monster and human world. After all, we need humans to survive. It's a symbiotic relationship that the old goddess sought to disrupt."

"I can't disagree with that. I'll just need to see more than this one village for like… three minutes, to really believe that."

"Suspciious sort, isn't he?" Tamamo muttered.

"Don't you have important work to do, Tamamo?" Saja asked, arching an eyebrow. "Thank you for delivering him safely to me. I can guide him from here."

"No problem," Tamamo said. "I'm up to the tips of my fluffy tails in work. I'll get to it."

With that, Tamamo vanished, teleporting away to wherever it was she needed to be.

"I have things to do myself," Saja said. "But I am at your beck and call as long as you are my guest here. All you need do is call my name and I will hear. In the meantime, why not talk to the villagers? When you are finished here, call me and I will take you whever you wish to go."

"Actually, that's a good idea," I said. "Obviously, I want you as a guide here, but it's also true that people aren't going to speak freely with you around. I think I'll spend a few hours here and then move onto Iliasburg. Unless you want to give me a ride."

"Oh, I'd love to give you a ride….." Saja said. Ah, from serious to flirtatious. I'd set that one up for her on purpose. It was good to see that unlike Tamamo, Saja was basically the same Saja. "I understand what you are saying. You are unable to travel quickly to Iliasburg yourself? Pardon me, I am not familiar with your abilities. But if you need me to teleport you anywhere, I can do so."

"Thank you, Saja."

Saja disappeared. I wasn't the naïve young man I'd been when I'd first shown up in a fantasy world. I knew that if I let Saja guide me I'd only see what I was supposed to see. I also knew that I was probably going to be monitored. Unless of course the world was exactly as Saja portrayed it, in which case she would have faith that I'd discover that for myself. Saja was not a liar. But self delusion was common, especially among the most powerful, and even among people who seemed nice. My sweet Tamamo, when I first met her, may have been sunny and had good intentions, but she would still rape a man without hesitation if she liked him, and kept slaves in the castle for her own use. I'd talked to those slaves. To a man, they loved Tamamo, but her playfulness had often been cruel and terrifying given the huge discrepancy in power between her and the men who served her. And she had been the kindest of the Knights! Seeing how Tamamo was on this world, that was the red flag to end all red flags. There were bad things to find on this world, and I intended to find them.

But Ilias Village was probably not the place. The people were kind, open, and enjoyed talking about their lives. Food production was higher than it had ever been on my world, thanks to all the monster labor. There were definite societal benefits to coexistence beyond lessened violence and fear. Talking to the monster villagers told a similar story. The only one that creeped me out a little was the lamia, the only one of her kind in the village. She was a pudgy little brunette with modest breasts and insanely thick lips that got my mind going to lewd places. But her demeanor screamed "I will eat you if I get the chance."

Another thing that set Ilias Village on Makai apart from any Ilias Village I'd known was the fact that it was just ilke Succubus Village on every world in that public sex was as normal as public kissing. Saja had simply drained a man out In the open while waiting for me. She wasn't alone. During the day I saw three instances of public "eating", two involving pig girls and one a slime. The bunnies, dog girls, and lone kitsune preferred to take their partners indoors for some privacy.

All in all, everyone seemed happy. For my own part, I preferred Luka Village on my original monster world. Monsters and humans lived and loved freely, but it was more…. Traditional in nature. I knew that simple feeding occurred. It was simply monsters doing what came naturally, and humans were more than willing to assist. But it wasn't out in the open. In public, monsters and humans appeared to have relationships that were exactly the same as human/human relationships. Here, the fact that humans were food and monsters needed to take breaks from their labors for "refreshment" was completely out in the open. Sometimes literally, as I noticed a man foolishly taking a wolf girl from behind. After only two minutes, he fell over from critical ecstasy. The wolf girl turned, pounced on him, and began riding him. Pretty decadent, but who was I to judge? It was better than hatred.

"Disgraceful!" an old woman said to me.

"Yeah, it is pretty….um…. unnecessarily public?" I agreed cautiously.

"People have forgotten the old ways," the woman said, a warning in her voice. "She's coming back, you know. She's not really dead."

"Are you referring to Ilias?"

"The Goddess, blessed be her name," the old woman nodded, bowing her head. "She will smite the monsters and punish the wicked, yes she will. I raise my boy right. You'll never see him engaged in such perversions!"

She'd never see it, that much I believed. I wondered how much the people here knew about parallel worlds. Was that where she was getting her information from, the fact that there was an Ilias on Angel World? Or was it simply what their faith had taught them to believe? The belief that dead gods would return was common to religion, no matter what the universe.

"You seem like an upstanding young man!" she said. "Here, let me give you a pamphlet. We have services at the Ilias temple every Saturday morning. I hope to see you there during your stay."

"Thank you," I said, accepting the pamphlet. I looked over at the site of the Ilias Temple. It stood tall and proud. I thought well of the monsters for not destroying it and letting the people worship freely. I wondered if any monsters were worshippers, as some were on other worlds I'd been to. For obvious reasons, that was often awkward given the monsters' needs. On Ariana's world, the prophet Justin had made a way for monsters to be saved by Ilias, by satisfying their appetites in restrained ways. On worlds without a Justin, monsters had been faced with the choice of complete abstinence, with all of the problems that caused for their health, or sating those appetites in secret. I doubted I'd still be in town on Saturday, but if I was, I decided to be sure to go to a service.

"Hey there, delicious," a bunny girl whispered in my ear. "I'm a little hungry and I can smell that you haven't been pampered in a few days. I'd love to help you with that. You know what they say about us bunnies."

"What do they say?" I asked, mildly interested. Bunny girls were trustworthy, and discreet. But then I remembered that my Alice was back. While she hadn't given me any change in instructions for dealing with the monsters back in the castle, I imagined she would not approve of random trysts that served no purpose.

"They say that we're fluffier….." she said seductively, showing me her cute tail. "Softer…." She ran her ultra soft rabbit foot against my leg. "and more passionate than the kitsunes. We also won't force you to marry us if you come three times. You can come as much as you want, in every place you want."

"I'm afraid I'm here for… work. But I'll definitely keep you in mind while I'm here."

"Suit yourself, handsome," she said breezily. "But my dance card is pretty crowded the next few weeks. I just thought I'd give a visitor a little extra hospitality, Ilias Village style."

I smiled at that. It gave me pause, though. Was it really good for the entire world to be like Succubus Village? And if this is how all monsters behaved, what were the succubi here like? Did anything get done in the towns they lived in? Something felt wrong about all of this. I liked that everyone was getting along, but humans, and even most monsters, need more than impersonal sex. One thing that seemed to be missing from this idyllic scene were monsters and humans just…. Holding hands. Talking as if they were actually interested in what the other was saying. There had to be balance, and this wasn't it. And I'm a pretty liberal guy when it comes to this stuff, as all my readers know.

Still, as I said, it was not my role to judge. I'd seen the Stepford nature of the Angel World and this was already far better in my opinion. My role was to learn what I could about Monster World and decide if I should throw my lot in with them. If every place was like Ilias Village, I had to admit they had a leg up on the competition. After all, I'd sided with monsters over Heaven on my very first adventure, and with good reason.

I was feeling a little hungry myself, so decided to head for the nearest diner. I picked up a date on the way, a friendly minotaurus girl. I made it clear to her that I wasn't feeding her second stomach today, I just wanted a dinner companion and would pay. Her response was that she liked beef better than semen anyway, a fact which I still found disturbing, but I liked her and so that was good enough for me.

Sitting down, I ordered what she was having, a sirloin steak with baked potato. In contrast to the simple outside, the restaurant looked pretty modern. I expected I'd see a lot more modernity on my travels in Makai. Monsters liked technology as much as humans. It was primarily Ilias and her teachings that prevented technological development by regarding it as sinful. With Ilias out of the picture, I'd probably see quite a few wonders, some probably not even found on Earth.

"You know, you're very kind to pay for my dinner having just met me," the minotaur said. "Most guys want something. Everyone's so transactional in this world."

"Don't you want something from the men?" I asked.

"Oh yeah, definitely! There's nothing like a good shot of semen while the taste of meat is still in my mouth! I have to be careful though, my tongue…."

"Yeah, I found that out myself," I chuckled. "Your tongues are a bit too rough for that kind of pleasuring."

"There are techniques we can use to get around that, but yeah, I can't wait until I'm old and the bristles fall out. Then I'm going to show some guys a time! They don't complain though. I usually just pump them between my breasts and when they're about to blow I have them do it in my mouth."

"Well, I just wanted to take you out because you're pretty, you're nice, and you seem like you'd be fun to talk to."

"Are you trying to play me?" she asked suspiciously.

"Not at all. What's your name, by the way?"

"Minnie. Don't joke. I've heard them all a million times."

Minnie, eh? She was far from miniature, standing a good six foot eight. Monsters often named their children after their own species, which I found weird, but whatever. It was also cute.

"So do you like living in Ilias Village?" I asked. Minnie was already getting started on the bread that was brought to our table. She was smearing the butter on the bread and gobbling it up in very unladylike fashion. Not that I minded. It reminded me of Alice. Actually, Alice was ladylike when it came to preparing to eat food. She would daintily butter her bread, making sure to evenly spread it. And then she would stuff the whole thing in her mouth, crumbs falling out as she chewed with her mouth open.

"It's nice," she replied. "People are great here. The guys all want one thing, but we monsters just want one thing too, so I guess it's fine. I don't get to just talk much. You sure you're not trying to sell me something?"

"Not trying to sell you anything," I laughed. "I'm just from… out of town and wanted to know how things are around here."

I realized that what I said sounded a little suspicious. Would she think I was a spy? But then if the people here weren't aware of alternate worlds, who would I be spying for? This world was completely dominated by monsters. There was no opposition to commit espionage for. Even though that was definitely a big part of my mission here, it seemed likely that only the Ancestors would suspect.

"It's nice, like I said," Minnie continued. "I've lived on Ilias Continent all of my life. Iliasburg is a cool city, but it's quiet out here, ya know? I get paid good for my work. I plow fields. Lots of fields."

"Oh, plowing makes good money here?" I asked.

"Oh no, it makes shit money. If you're not a minotaur. I can plow a dozen fields in a day, so I get a dozen times the wages of a human field worker. I'm the only minotaur here so no one can do it better than I can. I'm saving up so I can build a big mansion here. I want it to be the biggest house in the whole village! With secret passages and all sorts of places to get lost in! And then I'm gonna spend even more money and get a condo in downtown Iliasburg! I'll rent it out to tourists when I'm not there."

A minotaur girl with a plan. I approved.

"Is there a man in your life?" I asked.

"A man?!" she scoffed. "Sorry, bud, these mammaries ain't gonna be producing any milk in my lifetime! So if that's what you're after, forget it! Men are just burdens. And I don't want kids. I'm a solitary sort. I just want to chill out and explore my mansion, maybe get a home theater. I like watching movies."

Ah, so that was a luxury available to ordinary people here. At least outside of Ilias Village, which even in my world had preferred the simpler life. I expected that Iliasburg would be a pretty modern metropolis.

"Don't worry, I'm already married," I assured her.

"Really? Is the lucky lady here, or you traveling alone?"

"She's… back home. A lamia."

"Ah, you landed a monster!" Minnie guffawed, spraying bread everywhere. "Lamias are tough to be married to, or so I hear. It's not natural for humans and reptiles to get along. We mammals are far more compatible."

In my experience, it was a stereotype, but not far from the truth. Humanoid and mammal monster girls married a lot more often than reptilian and insect girls. The latter tended to prefer just taking mates, often by force.

"Well, I was once married to a kitsune," I said. "She was nice."

"Oh man, you really did luck out! Kitsunes make the best wives! But I hear lamias are almost as good as succubi in the sack."

Oh yeah, I thought, feeling my erection press against my pants. It had been a few days. Alice would be super hungry when I got back, and then….

Our steaks arrived and Minnie dug in greedily and loudly. Like I said, it can be endearing if you are not grossed out by it. Our conversation became limited since her mouth was always full. It was a big steak, too. A 72 oz special, off the monster menu. My modest sixteen ounce from the human menu seemed wimpy in comparison.

My attention was drawn to a couple of wolf girls who had just entered the restaurant. They gruffly brushed off the human hostess and began going from table to table, sniffing the male patrons one by one. The first one who was sniffed squirmed uncomfortably and the wolf girl moved on. The second patron smiled at her when she grabbed put her nose into his hair and inhaled. She glared at him, denigrated his smell, and he went back to his dinner. A handsome guy, too, probably a hit with the ladies, the human ones at least. But apparently something about his smell put the wolf girls off. The opposite problem from mine. I had a feeling that if they got to me, I'd have two new dinner companions.

They didn't get to me. A group of human teenagers were sitting chatting over milkshakes and pizza, not noticing the two wolf girls who were apparently not in the restaurant for the menu. One of the wolf girls put her hands on the shoulders of one of the boys and sniffed him around the neck. She must have liked what she smelled, because she lightly nipped him on the neck.

"Ow! Quit it!" the boy protested.

"What, you don't like it when a woman shows an interest in you?!" the wolf girl sneered.

"I don't even know you, bitch!" the boy said defiantly. If he was trying to be insulting, he failed, as "bitch" was simply what a wolf girl was.

Minnie noticed that my attention was on the imminent confrontation a few tables away. The table in question, the boys had risen to get in the wolf girl's face. Her companion sauntered over and stared down the young boys.

"Is there a problem here?!" she growled.

"Yeah, there's a problem!" one of the boy's friends yelled. "Ollie ain't interested! You just bothered a dude who was into it! Go fuck him!"

"That guy's a loser," the wolf girl replied. "It's Ollie I want. Come on, kid, you're about to become a man!"

"Step off," the boy who had come to Ollie's defense said in warning. The kid had honor and guts. He wasn't about to abandon his friend to get raped. He was also going to get raped himself at this rate. But at least his honor and his loyalty would be intact.

The wolf's companion sniffed the brave boy. She grimaced. "Pretty dull for one so young, but I like your spirit. You're coming to."

"Fuck you! I ain't goin' nowhere with your furry ass!"

No one was intervening. Minnie gave me a warning look. I ignored it.

"Excuse me," I said, walking up to attempt to deescalate. "There are plenty of willing males here without you grabbing a kid who isn't ready."

"You volunteering?" the first wolf girl asked, sniffing the air and apparently liking what she smelled.

"No, I'm not. I only give nice girls the time of day. And you're not being nice. You should leave with the guy over there."

I pointed to the guy who had smiled at the wolf girl. He was watching and smiled and waved.

"I don't want him. I want Odie here," the first wolf girl growled.

"Ollie," I corrected. "And he doesn't want you."

"That's because he's a virgin and don't know what he's in for. It's understandable to be scared kid. Don't worry. You'll love the things I'm gonna do to you."

She licked his face with her long tongue, causing him to look absolutely disgusted, despite the fact that due to her magic it had to be causing a natural reaction in his nether regions. He clearly didn't want this. I was beginning to wonder why no one was intervening. There was even a constable sitting at another table, eating calmly, as if nothing was going on.

"This is not a negotiation," I warned, placing my hand on my sword. "Go find someone willing. You're not entitled to any man you want."

"Get a load of this guy!" the second wolf laughed. "He's got an ugly ass sword and talks like he's one of the heroes of old! Hey, loser, the 11th century called, they want their heroes back! Haw!"

"I don't think it's funny at all!" the first wolf girl rumbled, roughly shoving Ollie back into his booth. "Heroes were racist scum, serving Ilias and murdering monsters. We don't take kindly to humans glorifying those bastards."

"I'm not that kind of hero," I said. "But I don't take kindly to people who rape young boys. You want to rape someone? Try me."

"Aw, don't take him personally, Amy!" the second wolf girl laughed. "He's just role playing. He wants to get raped! C'mon, let's play with him! He smells even better than the kid! And he's horny, too! He'll feed us lots!"

The disadvantage of not having been pleasured in awhile. Sigh. All the monsters could smell my accumulated lust. I might have to let one of the friendly ones take care of that for me for the sake of the mission. I was determined that it wouldn't be Amy and her friend. They needed to be taught a little lesson out consent.

"Well if you'd like to step outside, I'm sure we can resolve this dispute," I said, knowing that if I beat them up they'd see things my way. It was how monster culture operated.

"Naw, I think we're gonna go right here!" Amy yelled, and sprang at me. I didn't even need to summon a spirit to see that coming, or get out of the way. I spun around, using her own momentum against her to smash her face into the table the kids were sitting at.

Her companion sought to claw me from behind. My sword was already out of its scabbard and cut through her torso like butter. I never even looked at her. I did hear the angry yipping of a small puppy behind me, informing me that I'd sealed her with one shot.

"Oh, yer gonna pay for that!" Amy yelled, and went low, trying to take me down.

I sheathed my sword and sprawled, preventing the takedown. She had no grappling skill whatsoever. She was a classic bully, picking on little kids and thinking that made her tough. I took her back with ease and locked in a choke. She tried to power out of it, which would normally have worked, as the strength differential between a normal monster and a normal human made choking a wolf girl a very unrealistic option for defending oneself. But I was from Earth. The Human World. We were stronger. Without using Gnome, I wasn't in Amy's class strengthwise, but with the right leverage, which I had, she had no chance of escape. She grunted in surprise at her inability to simply shake me off. Then she began to panic.

"I'm not going to kill you!" I hissed. "In fact, I'm going to let you go. IF you leave without causing anymore trouble and promise to limit your feeding to GROWN men who want you! Do you understand?"

She nodded to acknowledge that she did. I released her.

"Take your friend with you too," I said, pointing out the little puppy running around in a panic. "My sword sealed her into a weaker form. She'll regain her true form in time. A month, maybe two. In the meantime, reflect on what you've done."

There was scattered clapping from the human patrons. The monsters were silent. A few of them glared, the resentment on their faces clear. I looked over to Minnie. She seemed impressed, although she had made no move to help. I sat back down at the table to finish my steak.

"You're a pretty tough guy," Minnie observed. "You got monster blood? No, I don't smell it on you. How'd you get so strong? Magic?"

"Like I said, I'm not from around here," I answered.

"Pretty handy with that sword, too," Minnie continued. "I wouldn't go advertising that outside of this small town. Monsters have a long historic memory. It's not unusual for humans to openly carry like you do. Everyone has the right to defend themselves. But being heroic like that? Bad memories associated with that."

"Do you hate me now?" I asked. I didn't really care. I had just met Minnie, and was certain that I'd done the right thing.

"Hate you? Hell no, you're a stand up guy!" Minnie said. "We don't judge our fellow monsters if we can help it, but they deserved what you gave them. Most of the monsters here would tell you the same thing if they could. But there are plenty here that are gonna want you out of town for what you did. They'd want you dead if they thought they could beat you. Word of advice: I know you're horny, but don't let no one make you come as long as you're here. Even the nice seeming girls might kill you once you're helpless after that little stunt."

"Message received," I replied. "I guess I'll head for Iliasburg right after we finish eating. You want to come?"

"Nah, I got work to do tomorrow," Minnie said. "Plus if I'm being completely honest, I can't be seen with you after that. The monsters will know I came in with you, but they'll forgive me just having dinner with you, not knowing who you were. But now I do know, which means I gotta keep my distance after this. You get it, right?"

I did. Minnie had dreams, and apparently hanging out with a human who had beaten up a couple of monsters ,no matter how much they had earned that beating, would harm her business prospects. The humans would probably still happily employ her, but the monsters who owned farms might shun her. I'd been exposed to the first dark side of this Monster World. Saja hadn't been lying that it was a place of total freedom. Monsters could rape anyone they could take. By the same token, humans had just as much right to stand up to them, if they could. The problem was that most couldn't, and those that could faced consequences for taking a stand. My welcome in Ilias Village, at least with the monsters of the village, had been worn out.