Sometimes thing happen for a reason

"Do you think we're in the right place?" Tamamo asked Promestein, who was busily consulting her tablet for an answer.

"Odds are, no," Promestein grumbled. "Much like the last world, it looks right, but we won't know until we meet people."

"People?" a male voice asked. "Who are we meeting?"

"AAAHHH!!!" Tamamo screamed in surprise, lashing out with three tails and leveling Albert.

"Wow, girl!" Albert said, rising from the ground easily despite Tamamo's pummeling tail strike. "You're pretty strong!"

"Don't sneak up on people like that!" Tamamo shouted. "How the heck did you manage to hide from my senses anyway?!"

"I just got here," Albert explained. "Tethering spells have a short delay. You arrived on this world a few seconds ago, I followed."

"You… you attached a tethering spell to me?!" Tamamo exclaimed. "What are you, some kind of stalker?!"

"Only a man who believes in love," Albert said wistfully.

"Perhaps you didn't see this ring the first time around," Tamamo said, shoving her ring in front of Albert's face.

"Hey, marriage is a sacred bond," Albert said smoothly. "But prophecy trumps marriage. It's fate, baby."

"What in the name of fuzzy mittens are you babbling about?"

"Prophecy, as I said. My oracle told me that I would meet my one true love in the forest near Elias Village on Elias' birthday. That's why every year, I go to Elias Village and on the way, punch that damned god in the face! It never seems to go well for me, but I assure you, it's very satisfying. Strange how he always manages to throw me down to the exact same spot in the forest every time."

"You are so delusional," Tamamo said. "First off, I'm married and if you know anything about foxes, you know we don't betray our vows. Secondly, you may have noticed the presence of another woman when you awakened?"

"The angel?" Albert asked, confused. "Heh, don't get me wrong, she's pretty and all, but a monster and an angel? I just can't see it."

"Leave me out of this," Promestein said. "You're even less likely to get me to the altar than Tamamo. I'm not the marrying type."

"Haven't you ever been in love before?" Tamamo asked.

"I've… loved people," Promestein answered. "I love you, you've become my best friend. I love Luka, although not in the romantic sense. I loved Ilias at one time. I loved my colleague Sonja. But I'm married to the search for knowledge, not some…. Man."

"Well, that's settled!" Albert declared, putting his hands together. "So let's get back to talking about us, my lovely little nine-tailed fox."

"There is no us!" Tamamo growled. "Now release the binding spell and Promestein, send him back to his world!"

"And miss out on seeing other worlds?!" Albert asked in shock. "Worlds with female monsters?! Oh no, I'm going to enjoy this little vacation. Besides, I guarantee that the more time you spend with me, the more you'll fall for me. Happens every time. I'm completely irresistible. I just wish I knew why. Is it my body? My amazing smile? My dreamy eyes? Maybe it's just the power. I am the Monster Lord, after all."

"And I'm in hell," Tamamo sighed. "I'm finally paying for all my sins. I drank too much last night and died of an alcohol overdose. This is my eternal punishment."

"Wouldn't a bad dream be the simpler explanation?" Promestein asked.

"Please do not discuss the finer points of Occam's Razor with me right now," Tamamo said sweetly. "Look, Albert, even I can't break a binding spell. That requires god level magic. And while you're insufferable, you don't seem like a bad person. So if you really want to tag along, I can't and won't stop you."

"Great!" Albert exclaimed. "At long last, I'm on a quest worthy of my incredible abilities! A quest to….. what is the quest, anyway?"

"We're looking for my husband."

"Oh," Albert said, nonplussed. "You… misplaced him? Because I can't imagine any man running from you."

"It's a very complicated story. And this 'quest' isn't really much of a quest. This is the hardest part. Getting to the world where he was last seen."

"You know," Albert mused. "Maybe you should just set him free. If he comes back, then it's true love. If he doesn't, then he was never really yours."

"Spoken like someone who has no idea what the actual circumstances were," Promestein muttered. "How does a world where monsters are only men not implode? Are you really the best the monster race of your world has to offer?"

"Oh, I really don't like to talk about myself," Albert said modestly. "So let's talk about you, Tamamo. And the fact that you are currently in the market for a new husband."

"No I'm not."

"Of course you are. It's not like your husband just went out for a stroll and didn't come back. He went to another universe. Besides, he can't be a better prospect than yours truly. Is he as handsome as me?"

"Well…. No," Tamamo admitted.

"Definitely not," Promestein agreed.

"Is he as brilliant as I am?" Albert prompted.

"That'd depends on how one measures intelligence," Tamamo retorted.

"I'd still argue that Albert has him beat in that regard," Promestein said. "No one who can successfully perform a binding spell can be stupid."

"Does he have an enormous penis?" Albert asked.

"I realize you don't live in a world with female monsters," Tamamo said. "But penis size is completely irrelevant to monsters. We eat semen for nutrition. Do you care about the size of the straw you use to drink?"

"Fair point, fair point," Albert conceded. "So tell me more about this semen eating thing. So…. You female monsters just go around sucking every dick you encounter?"

Tamamo facepalmed. It wasn't that Albert's question was offensive. Monsters were immune to slut shaming. The very concept was irrelevant to them. It would be like criticizing a man who went to McDonald's AND Burger King AND Wendy's. Marriage tended to complicate things a little, but even married monsters reserved the right to feed on other men when absolutely necessary. Tamamo had certainly not been slacking in that regard ever since Luka died, even after his return. Worshippers at the kitsune shrine were always willing to serve themselves up to the fox god.

"An average monster needs to feed once per week," Tamamo explained patiently. "While oral is the most frequently used and preferred method of feeding, all monsters can feed through their vaginas as well, and some can even feed by other means. Succubi can feed even with their anuses. Some can absorb semen through skin or hair. And some monsters don't even like to perform oral at all, although I'll never understand that. It's not my number one method, but it's by far the tastiest."

"What is your number one method?" Albert asked, genuinely curious.

"Wouldn't you like to know?"

"Hey, I can wait," Albert said, flashing that winning smile again. "I'm the only guy traveling with you. At some point, you will get hungry. I stand ready to make a contribution to your nutritional needs at any time. I can do no less for my true love!"

"I am NOT your true love!" Tamamo yelled. "But now that you mention it, I am hungry."

A tail extended, wrapped around Albert's stiff member and began stroking.

"Ahhh…." Albert croaked, his eyes going glassy from the pleasure. "I've never…. Felt anything… so amazing."

"And this isn't even my special tail," Tamamo giggled. "That one is only for my husband. You only deserve my ninth best tail."

"You're…. ninth? THIS is your worst tail? Ohhh….. if you keep doing that…."

"Promestein?" Tamamo said. "Cup please?"

Promestein reached into her hand bag and pulled out a small cup that she used for semen samples. She handed it to Tamamo.

Cup in hand, Tamamo got more serious with her stroking. She had no intention of making this last any longer than she had to. She enjoyed dominating the male Monster Lord, but hoped that this would be the only time. She realized that she really should have eaten before starting this journey, but she'd been too depressed and hadn't been to the kitsune shrine in over a week. In that respect, Albert was a blessing in disguise.

With a roar, Albert came as Tamamo continued to milk him with her "worst" tail. She held the cup under his penis and caught most of the semen, marveling at how long and how much he ejaculated. Well, at least she'd be well fed today, she thought.

To her surprise, Albert continued to stand upright once the orgasm was finished. Tamamo guessed that his snake body gave him an advantage in that regard. Humans, being bipedal, fell down rather easily. As it was, Albert's upper body was swaying.

"I feel…. I feel as if you took my energy," Albert moaned.

"That's how it works," Promestein chuckled. "We call it critical ecstasy."

"I know what critical ecstasy is!" Albert exclaimed, still looking woozy. "I inflicted it on enough women in my time. I've just never felt it myself. It feels…. Good, actually. I really want to go to sleep now. Wow, that was good. And disturbingly impersonal."

"It was meant to be," Tamamo chuckled, bringing the cup to her mouth and taking an experimental sip. Promestein watched as Tamamo daintily tasted Albert's semen, then made a face.

"Is it bad?" Promestein asked.

"I'm…. not sure," Tamamo said uncertainly. "It's not bad, so much as very different." Tamamo smacked her lips. "Very potent, good nutritional profile. I won't need to eat again for a month unless I need extra energy for our quest. But the taste…. I just don't know. Promestein, tell me what you think," Tamamo said, extending the cup to Promestein.

"I'm not tasting that," Promestein said. "Angels don't consider semen delicious. I actually hate it."

"Oh, really?" Tamamo teased. "You sure drank a lot of Luka's semen!"

"I swallowed Luka's semen because a) he loved oral, b) I loved Luka and wanted to show my gratitude for his kindness and belief in me, and c) I wasn't about to be his only sexual partner that didn't swallow. And d) it was only a few times!'

"Who is this, Luka, anyway?" Albert asked.

"That would be my husband," Tamamo said, shrugging and downing the rest of the semen. She made another face as if she was a teenager drinking alcohol for the first time. "Wow, that's strong. I'd have to really get used to that weird taste. Snake semen is definitely not human semen."

"Um… Tamamo…. You have a…." Promestein said.

"A what?" Tamamo asked.

"A semen mustache," Promestein informed her.

Tamamo licked under her nose and along her lips. "Did I get it all?" she asked.

"I think so," Promestein said. "Here, let me find a sanitizing wipe."

"So he's your husband, but your friend here sucks his dick?" Albert asked.

"Only when he was married to his first wife," Promestein said quickly.

"First wife? Was she a monster too?"

"IS a monster," Tamamo corrected. "We're both married to him."

"That… that dirty dog!" Albert said, with admiration rather than judgment. "What kind of man is this,a mere human, who can land TWO monster wives and an angel side piece?"

"I was NOT a side piece," Promestein said, miffed.

"That story, like all of the stories around Luka, is very complicated," Tamamo said. "But I guess if you stick with us long enough, we'll tell you all about it."

"Please do!" Albert exclaimed. "I need to know what this guy's secret is! He's not handsome, he's not even that smart, he's got a small penis…"

"It's not small," Tamamo said. "Just not…. Big. Normal size for a human. Right, Promestein?"

"He does seem to be about average, yes," Promestein confirmed. "I measured. Five and one third inches. Although it varies. I imagine he gets bigger around monsters due to the higher level of arousal."

"So… I don't get it," Albert said. "What did you all see in him? Is he a powerful wizard?"

"That… is also complicated," Promestein said. "In theory, he's far more powerful than you."

"A human, more powerful than me?!" Albert exclaimed. "If I had a leg, you'd be pulling it right now. And what does more powerful 'in theory' mean, anyway?"

"Well, on one hand, he's saved all of existence and defeated gods, and on the other he's gotten raped by imps and crab girls and only avoided getting raped by a slug because he happened to be carrying salt with him."

"I… see," Albert said. "Actually, I don't see at all."

"That's not what attracts monsters to Luka anyway," Tamamo said. "Even if he wasn't powerful, monsters would be clamoring for his affections. First, his semen is also very potent and unlike yours, unquestionably delicious. His smell alone instantly attracts most monsters."

Albert sniffed under his armpits. "Don't I smell good?"

"You're clean," Tamamo said. "But monsters on my world were evolved to eat human semen, not monster semen. That taste is what we're conditioned to enjoy. It's not you, it's just evolution."

"But even that's not what really attracts women to Luka," Promestein explained. "The big reason, the only reason I've ever enjoyed making love to him, is that he's the most wonderful guy any of us have ever met."

"Luka makes people want to be the best version of themselves," Tamamo added. "Promestein and I, we have very dark pasts. We have a lot to atone for. Luka believed in us, made us want to be better people. You want your true love? Take some advice from a woman much, much older than you. Ditch the corny pickup lines and flexing your pecs and talking about your dick, and please, PLEASE, don't ever rap again. Instead, just be the great guy that it's clear you can be."

"Huh," Albert said, chewing on Tamamo's words. "Maybe this is fate, but not the fate I thought it was. It's decided, then! I will demonstrate how great a guy I am by selflessly assisting you in finding your own true love, your husband! And that will make me more prepared for next year when I travel to Ilias Village by way of Elias' fist next year!"

Close enough, Tamamo sighed to herself. At least she would be spared Albert's courting of her from here on.

"I'm glad we have an understanding," Tamamo said, now in a much better mood. "So since we do have that understanding, do you want to experience my eighth best tail? I wouldn't mind some more energy. We might be world hopping for awhile."

"My penis stands ready to serve you," Albert said with a flourish.

It was indeed still standing, so Tamamo wasted no time wrapping her eighth best tail around it. What she hadn't told Albert was that her eighth best tail was at least three times as fluffy as her worst tail. Albert's eyes crossed.

"AAAAAHHHHH!!!!!!!"

A scream pierced the air. Tamamo hadn't been looking at Albert and at first assumed the scream must have come from him. It wasn't unusual for men to scream like little girls when she brought them to orgasm. But this scream had come from several meters behind Albert.

Tamamo stopped stroking Albert when she saw who had screamed. A cute little kitsune girl was staring in shock at the spectacle before her. With her were a young human male and a rabbit girl. The rabbit girl just stared, jaw agape. The man, on the other hand, looked fascinated.

"What… What are you doing to him?" the rabbit girl asked, voice quaking. "Oh no!"

Albert twitched and began to ejaculate all over Tamamo's tail. Damn! Tamamo had been distracted and hadn't had time to get a cup under him! She'd have to lick the semen off her tail, which would contribute to the hairball she already was working on deep down in her stomach.

"He's dying!" the little kitsune girl screamed. "What have you done to him! He's bleeding white blood out of his penis!"

"That's not blood, and he's not going to die," Promestein explained patiently. "And I guess this answers the question as to whether we're on the paradox world. I'm guessing we're not."

"You've never seen semen before?" Tamamo asked, licking Albert's seed off of her tail.

"What's semen?" the rabbit girl asked.

"Would you explain it to them?" Tamamo asked the boy.

"I'm just as confused as they are," the young man shrugged. "So… that wasn't blood? Was it pee? Was he having trouble peeing and you were assisting him? He doesn't have a urinary tract infection, does he?"

"No, it's not blood and it's not pee," Tamamo replied, finishing licking the last bit of Albert's semen from her tail. "It's food. So you're monster girls. You don't eat semen?"

"We don't even know what that is," the kitsune answered.

"If you don't know, then you don't need to know," Tamamo said. "You see, we're from a world different from yours, with different rules. In my world, we need this semen for food, and only men have it. My companion here was simply feeding me."

"So…. So you get energy…. From this…. White stuff?"

"Exactly," Tamamo answered. "How do get energy? Are you like my companion here, getting energy solely from human food?"

"We do eat the same food as humans do, for the most part," the rabbit girl confirmed. "But that's more nutrition than energy. When we need an energy boost we have another way of getting it."

"Oh?" Tamamo asked. "What's that?"

"HUGS!!!!" the kitsune answered, rushing to Albert and embracing him. The rabbit girl followed, wrapping her arms around Albert's big torso.

"Whoa there!" Albert said halfheartedly. "That feels… really nice, actually. I always did like hugs. But your hugs feel different. Like…. It's draining me."

"Albert, make them let go!" Promestein warned. "Hugs might not be so harmless on this world. They might kill you!"

"What?!" Albert exclaimed, but before he could shake the two cute furry monsters off, he sighed and then perked up. "What's this? I felt drained at first but now I feel more powerful than ever! As if the critical ecstasy is gone!"

"That's what makes hugs so magical!" the kitsune explained. "Hugs on our world exchange energy between the people hugging! At first, it lowers both of our energy levels, but the love makes it grow and we become stronger than ever!"

"Fascinating," Promestein said. "So it's a positive sum interaction, unlike on our world where it's zero sum. The hugged and the hugger alike both gain energy, whereas in our world the monster can only gain energy at the expense of her victim."

"Well, we've gotta let go now," the rabbit girl laughed, smiling at Albert, who stood up much straighter than before thanks to the energy infusion. "We just met you. We don't want to have your babies."

"Babies?!" Albert exclaimed. "But my penis… it never touched you! Well, maybe rubbed up against your leg a little. But that couldn't… Could it?"

"No, silly, what would your peepee have to do with having babies?" the kitsune laughed. "Your world sure is weird. On our world, if you hug long enough and the love builds to high enough levels, it sends a message to the stork girl to deliver a baby! But that takes a full minute or more of hugging! Sometimes it requires several hugs in a short period of time. So we always keep hugs down to less than a minute. Unless we're in love and want to have a baby together."

"I am in love with this world," Tamamo exclaimed. "I love hugs! Who wants to give me hugs!?"

All three of the natives from this world happily embraced Tamamo, who wrapped her tails around them. Tamamo marveled at how it felt. It felt as good as sex, but not in a lewd way. She imagined that a lot of unintended stork deliveries must happen on this world. It was easy to lose track of the time given how good it felt to hug and how high the energy transference made her feel.

The three natives approached Promestein, who put a hand out to stop them. "I don't do hugs," Promestein said. "And besides, we have a mission. We really should be going."

Tamamo reluctantly had to agree. As much of a dream world this place seemed to be, she had to find her Luka. And further, she didn't belong here. Tamamo was a semen eating monster. If she were to spend too much time in a world that didn't even seem to know about sex, at some point she would be forced to feed and it would surely corrupt an innocent male, who would then corrupt an innocent female and bring this world's entire society down. Tamamo had ruined enough societies in her darker days. No more.

Nodding to Tamamo, Promestein pressed the button on her dimensional hopper and they disappeared. The three natives of the hugging world stared at the spot that they had once occupied.

Finally, after a long silence, the kitsune girl broke the ice.

"Matthew, if I play with your penis, do you think that white stuff will come out?"

"I wonder how it tastes?" the rabbit girl asked. "Would it give us energy as it did her?"

"Ooh, what if we licked it!" the kitsune suggested. "Matthew, if we lick your penis, we'll get the white stuff directly!"

"Um…. Okay," Matthew said.

Ilias awoke with a start. Critical ecstasy, despite being an energy drain, was pleasurable, and Ilias loved her beauty sleep. Since she hadn't been eaten by the mandragora, but rather thoroughly sucked between those ample breasts, the goddess had decided to teleport back to heaven and sleep it off. Even before she had experienced mortality, she had enjoyed sleep. Most angels slept. Most angels ate. Neither of these were necessary functions, but in the case of sleep angels still found the practice rejuvenating, and food was still an energy booster even if angels didn't risk starvation if they failed to eat.

Ilias' sleeping quarters, like everything else she used personally, were lavish. In her previous incarnation as a goddess, her room had contained nothing but portraits of herself. Some had been drawn by angels with a talent for it, others by human artists who were easy to talk into painting such a lovely figure as herself. Her current bedroom, however, while still containing her favorite portraits of herself, now contained those of her friends as well. Being a true goddess now, she didn't even need anyone to pain them. Instead, she simply created them from her perfect memory, perfect photographs of Luka, Alice, Sonya, and the many monsters who had befriended her, often demonstrating their friendship by making her feel incredible things. Cindy's cute smile adorned the wall at the foot of her bed. While Cindy hadn't given her the most intense experiences, she had never said no to Ilias' requests to be washed and had always expected her as she was without judgment. Luka, Alice, and Sonya's pictures enjoyed a prominent place on her wall. Someday, Luka and Alice at least would be her friends forever in the new heaven she had created. Sonya, Ilias would visit from time to time once she had seen Luka and Alice to a safe conclusion to their quest. One day, Ilias hoped to entice all of her friends still on the paradox world to come to her world so that she could keep their souls safe in her heaven when they grew old and died. That way, heaven could be like life in the pocket castle, for eternity.

Ilias began her morning ritual, one she had established back in the Pocket Castle. She enjoyed some aspects of mortality, and getting herself prepared for the day was one of them. She was the goddess. She must always look her best. Not that she didn't enjoy all of her power. When in a hurry, it was also great to just be able to wish herself presentable and get right to the business of the day. But despite the fact that she had slept in, today was not supposed to be a busy day. Luka and Alice would be at sea, and there was only one encounter to worry about, albeit a nasty one: Alma Elma. Ilias knew she might be doing some rewinding. Fortunately, in every scenario, Alma Elma had allowed the ship to sail for a time before harassing Luka. Once she did, the day might get very busy indeed, but for now, Ilias had time to make herself look her best.

Ilias looked in the mirror as she brushed her long blonde hair. The goddess was sure she was the loveliest being in the universe. Luka, when pressed, had agreed. Yet perhaps she could make herself look even more lovely? Were the breasts big enough? Maybe Eden-sized breasts would be better? No, then she'd just look disproportionate. She would have to increase her height to make the breasts look right and Ilias liked being petite. Maybe some more color to her face and hair? She'd been light-skinned and blonde her entire existence. She thought that it made her look pure. Maybe she should change her hair to black, perhaps her skin to something a little more olive, make her lips a little redder?

Ilias experimented with a few dozen different looks in the mirror, rejecting all of them. No, she had to admit that she was the ideal of innocent beauty for the majority of humans, male and female alike. Her initial choice of this form had been wise. No reason to change it. But it had been fun to consider it given her new perspectives.

Ilias quickly finished up when a summons from Eden informed her that it was about to happen. The storm was picking up around the small ship transporting Luka and Alice to the Sentora continent. Alma Elma would make her appearance and Luka would very likely need a rewind and an evaluation. Fortunately, Alma Elma never fought hard in this scenario. Luka winning was simply a matter of him not losing his cool and paying attention to what he'd been taught by Alice, as well as whatever rules Alma Elma defined for her little game. Of course, if Luka did lose, she'd let him experience getting eaten by the queen succubus. Ilias herself wanted to experience that sometime herself. This time she'd watch with far more interest than disgust.

"How are we doing?" Ilias asked, even though she could have found out for herself simply by extending her sight to where Alma Elma and Luka were. But she found she enjoyed talking to Eden. Conversation could be very boring if one person already knew everything.

"Alma Elma is en route," Eden reported. "She'll be teleporting onto the bow of the ship as soon as she has it in sight."

That made sense. Monsters had less sophisticated teleportation magic than angels. They could only teleport to very familiar places or line of sight. Alma Elma would use her wings to scout out the location of the ship, then make a dramatic entrance in front of Luka in order to intimidate him.

"I assume Luka and Alice are training?" Ilias asked.

"Actually, no," Eden said. "Luka's sword skills are already formidable and he picks up anything Alice teaches him so quickly that she doesn't badger him to practice for long periods of time. Instead, she just seems to enjoy talking to him. Which is what they are doing now."

"Hmmmm…." Ilias mumbled. As with many of the other things that were different about this adventure, that could become a problem. No matter how good one was, and Luka was very, very good despite being recreated from only a small part of his essence, practice was essential. If Alice was already so enamored with him that she wanted to just chat and giggle with him, he might not be as prepared as he should be, even with Ilias having nerfed his opponents to make it easy for him. But there were also advantages to Alice genuinely liking him this early. That might make this first encounter with Alma Elma interesting.

Ilias reached out with her senses to find Alma Elma. The queen succubus was soaring above the storm clouds, using her own heightened perceptions to make out the ship even through the cloud cover. Once Alma Elma pinpointed the location, she disappeared from the air and reappeared on the ship.

Alma Elma and Alice began conversing. Ilias listened closely. So far, things were going as they had in the original history. And then, Alice said something extraordinary.

"Buzz off, you walking obscenity," Alice ordered.

"W-what?!" Alma Elma asked, utterly perplexed. "But…. But the hero is attacking monsters. You ordered us to fight in self defense."

"Don't play word games with me, you annoyance," Alice retorted. "I didn't order you to fight in self defense. I ordered you to fight ONLY in self defense. I didn't order you to fight every human who successfully fought of a monster trying to rape him. Luka has only fought monsters who attacked him first, or who were in the process of attacking others. In other words, monsters who were disregarding my orders. But I don't blame them. Monsters have to eat, and some aren't all that bright. You have no excuse. You can have any willing man you desire and you understand my orders perfectly well. As of this moment, I have only one order for you. And that order is, 'buzz off'. Let us pass to the Sentora continent."

"Ah, so that's how it is," Alma Elma said, a grin on her face. "This boy has caught your eye. I know how you operate, Monster Lord. You may not want monsters attacking humans, but that's a far cry from you being willing to protect a human yourself."

"I'm not protecting him. If you want to attack him, go right ahead."

"Okay, here we go," Ilias breathed, ready to rewind time if the battle ended quickly.

"But if you do attack him," Alice continued. "You're not a Heavenly Knight anymore. Or the queen succubus, although I'm sure you don't care much about that position given how little you do as queen."

"You'd…. you'd depose me?!" Alma Elma exclaimed. "Over a human?! Even your mother wasn't like this!"

"Be very, very careful what you say next," Alice warned, her eyes turning dark.

"Okay, okay, maybe I was out of line there," Alma Elma said hastily. "But it's my duty to warn you, as someone who has far more experience than you with men: whoever you think this boy is, he's lying to you."

"Lying?" Luka responded. "I barely even know who I actually am! How would I have time to be a fake?!"

"He has amnesia, idiot," Alice added. "Either he's spinning an incredible web of lies, or he's exactly who he appears to be. Personally, I'd like to find out."

"Oh, I'd like to find out as well," Alma Elma said dangerously. "All right, Luka-boy, it looks like you escape today. But we'll be seeing each other again. And I'll find out who you really are, you can bet on that."

With that, Alma Elma vanished.

"YES!!!!" Ilias cheered. "I did not see that coming! Alice told that bitch off!"

"I'm a little worried about that threat," Eden cautioned.

"Yeah, me too," Ilias agreed. "Alma Elma won't assault him against Alice's orders, but she doesn't have to. She'll enter the tournament in Grand Noah and get him there, in a situation where Alice can't complain. She'll do to him what she did in his book. But since he really is who he says he is, it should go as it did then."

"And if not?" Eden asked. "The queen succubus has been thwarted and personally insulted. She may not be interested in giving Luka a fair chance to prove that he is a good man. Perhaps we should intervene and dissuade Luka from entering the tournament."

"I'm afraid he has to," Ilias sighed. "It's possible that he'll master the power of the wind on his own, from his fragmented memory, but I'd rate the chances pretty low. He'll need that tournament match with Alma Elma and the coaching she provides to him. I can't teach him the secret of the power of wind in an evaluation."

"That assumes that she likes him," Eden pointed out. "She's in a mood."

Indeed, she was. Alma Elma's thoughts were normally unreadable, even by a goddess. Whenever she had tried back on her world she had never found anything but sexual fantasies and general randomness. While she couldn't make out anything specific in Alma Elma's mind which would forewarn Ilias of her plans, she did detect a very familiar emotion, one Ilias had felt many times herself.

Rage.