Kyuba

The time for the final match had arrived. The crowd was more excited than any crowd had ever been. Ben was conscious that he was witnessing history. Luka had been one of the few humans to have won the Queen's Cup, although looking at it objectively he hadn't really won. Alma Elma had been toying with him and let him have the win for whatever reason. It didn't seem likely that history would repeat today, however. Luka would have to pull one heck of a rabbit out of the hat he didn't wear to beat her. And since he couldn't use his power, even if he knew he had it, a miracle seemed very unlikely.

Emma was aware that she was probably going to witness a near execution. Not that she could see very well with both of her eyes nearly swollen shut. Like Luka, she was much better at using her power to heal others rather than herself. She'd tried, and felt a little better, but she still looked like she'd been through a war.

Ben spotted Alice in the audience, just across the field. She looked genuinely concerned. If she had stuck to the previous history, she had probably tried to get Luka to forfeit, while being unwilling to reveal to him who he would be facing. It seemed hard to believe, after watching Alma Elma in several matches, that Luka wasn't even aware that she was in the tournament. That put him at even more of a disadvantage, since Alma Elma knew he was there. It's why she'd entered this year in the first place.

Ben also spotted the Queen of Grand Noah. She desperately wanted a human to win for the first time in her reign. She'd been urged by officials to delay the final match until the next day, at least, due to Emma's cheating. Kyuba had clearly been hurt by Emma's outburst. But the Queen was hearing none of it. A monster as strong as Kyuba could just walk it off, she had announced. The match would go on as scheduled.

She needn't have worried. While Kyuba was nowhere near one hundred percent, she came out almost skipping, energetic and joyful. A swollen lip and blackening eye were the only signs that she had been injured a mere hour before. Well, at least it's a small edge for Luka. She doesn't look her best, and she'll be trying to break down his defenses with pleasure attacks. Then again, Emma hadn't been attracted to her at all and it hadn't helped. Luka's body would respond no matter what Alma Elma looked like.

The fans seemed to be more in favor of Kyuba. Her gallant comeback from Emma's dirty fighting had gained the fans' sympathy. They were now rooting for her, although they still loved Luka as well. But the cheers for Kyuba were substantially larger.

Unbeknownst to Ben and Emma, and even Alice, Sariela and Tamamo also sat in the bleachers, in their 'groupie" disguises, Tamamo had even brought pom-poms and wore a cheerleader outfit emblazoned with Luka's name on it to cheer him on. Sariela was impressed at how much Tamamo got into her character. Alma Elma noticed her in the stands. The succubus glared. Well played, Tamamo, Sariela thought. Now she's really in a mood to kick ass.

Also watching were two pairs of eyes not in the coliseum itself. Ilias and Eden peered into the scrying pool, dreading what was coming.

"Is there anything we can do?" Eden asked.

"I'm sure there's a lot we can do!" Ilias said irritably. "But everything I can think of either makes things worse or ruins this entire quest."

"Things are getting pretty serious now," Eden cautioned. "Perhaps you should just stop this and explain everything. They'll be confused, but I'm sure we can bring them back up to speed on who they really are."

"I won't let those two witches ruin my plan!" Ilias insisted. "If I was to go down there now, in my full glory, I'd be letting them win. Alice and Luka would learn how much they had loved each other, but since they wouldn't have lived it, it wouldn't feel real. They just aren't there yet. This needs to happen. I just hope Luka can work his magic to make that nasty succubus go easy on him. Or at least not rough him up too badly. At least she can't kill him. She treasures her coliseum too much to go that far."

"I'm sorry I failed you, Ilias," Emma spoke in her head. She sounded sincere.

"I've been failed by far better than you more times than I can count," Ilias replied. She cursed herself. That sounded more comforting in her head than it had actually saying it.

"Look, you did your best," Ilias said, trying to repair the damage. "Just be ready for whatever comes next. You win some, you lose some. Alma Elma was just a bad matchup for you under those conditions. I admire your cheating, though. Quick thinking there. At least Luka now has a small edge that he didn't have before."

"They are starting, Ilias," Eden said.

The two finalists faced off. Alma Elma was seething inside. Ilias could read her emotions clearly, although as usual her thoughts were too random for Ilias to truly understand how far she planned to take this. But her exterior was as playful as always.

"Hello, Luka-boy!" she said playfully.

"You!?" Luka exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

"It was the only way to get my hands on you in a way the Monster Lord couldn't object to," Alma Elma replied. "And I want to get my hands all over you. I want our sweaty bodies to collide, and rub against each other. I know you want that too, Luka. You're a little pervert, aren't you? Alice thinks you're different from other men, but you're the only man she really thinks she knows. I've known lots of men. And believe me, I know what men are. I'm going to prove tonight that you're no different."

"I'm sure I have no idea what you're talking about," Luka said. "you're just playing mind games with me."

"Am I? Your two biggest fans are right behind you."

Luka, like an idiot, turned around to see Tamamo in disguise cheering him. That's when Ilias noticed her as well, seeing right through the disguise once she turned her senses directly towards the fox. What the hell was that fox doing? Ilias wondered.

The next thing Luka saw were breasts in his face, as he was taken down. Alma Elma wasn't playing this time. And yet she couldn't just beat him and rape him. That wouldn't make the point she wanted to make. Alice expected that to happen. Nothing about Luka getting raped, no matter how creative Alma Elma was, would demonstrate to Alice who Luka really was.

But for now, rape would have to do. Ben watched in horror and fascination as Alma Elma ran through her sexual techniques. Ilias, for her part, had noticed Alma Elma casting the spell to prevent Luka from experiencing release. Alma Elma needed Luka to be able to fight back, at least when she wanted him to fight back. The succubus was raping him, and yelling at him in the same time. Luka, for his part, refused to take her bait. He was clearly getting angry. Their dislike for one another was mutual. But Luka was incapable of true hatred. And if he was going to punish Alma Elma, it wouldn't be through rape or excess brutality.

For long minutes, Alma Elma stayed on top of him, using every part of her body to keep him on the edge of orgasm, not even needing to hold back since he could not come due to her spell. He was being driven mad. Mad enough to beg her to do obscene things to him so that he could finish, thus breaking his promise to Alice? Mad enough to hurt Alma Elma? Mad enough to turn the tables on her and rape her in front of the mostly female audience? Ilias thought the hypocrites would not react well to that. And Alma Elma would milk it for all it was worth, begging and crying for Luka to stop. Alma Elma really thought Luka was a terrible man.

Ilias, for her part, never had a doubt. Neither did Ben or Emma, despite not knowing him personally. Tamamo, for her part, was also convinced Luka would not give in. While she had learned first hand that he was capable of brutality, he had to be driven to extreme lengths, and he had to be protecting more than just himself. Luka would not go that far just to protect himself from getting raped. Especially since even the normally dense Luka understood well enough what Alma Elma was trying to goad him into doing.

Sariela alone believed Luka was perverted enough to give into the succubus. In fact, she was rooting for it. She hated monsters still, and would have loved to see a human violate a succubus for a change. She would happily settle for Luka taking the path of least resistance and beg Alma Elma to do things to him, although what things he could imagine that she wasn't already doing Sariela couldn't imagine. The angel had seen more sexual techniques in ten minutes than she'd ever learned. What else was there to do to him?

Well, there was one thing. Alma Elma's pussy was still lethal, and while she was happy to grind it in Luka's face and even on his dick, she did not let him penetrate. Even her spell would not stop him from coming uncontrollably then, but at that point the match would be over. Luka would have won that battle of wills. So Alma Elma continued to edge him and torture him.

Finally, Alma Elma grew impatient. She poised her vagina over his penis, spreading her lips with her fingers.

"Last chance, Luka-boy! Once you go in here, your mind will break! I'll make you a vegetable! Beg me nicely, and I might give you release without harming you! Or maybe you hate me so much right now that you want to beat me up and violate me? Now's the time to decide, Luka-boy!"

The crowd went silent. Luka uttered one word through his near delirium. "No!"

Alma Elma paused, staring at him in disbelief. "What kind of man are you?" she asked. "Are you really that committed to this act? Well, congratulations! You fooled everyone! But not me, Luka-boy! Not me!"

She lowered herself onto him, engulfing his penis inside her. Luka began to convulse as he continued to be unable to release for the first several seconds. The pleasure became more extreme than a man could handle. More than being vored alive, even. But finally, the dam broke and he gushed so hard inside her that semen sprayed everywhere despite him being balls deep in the succubus. His convulsions ceased and he went limp.

The crowd was in shock. While technically not a violation of the rules, no monster had ever gone this far with a human. Alma Elma stood over her fallen opponent. She'd completely dominated him. He'd never stood a chance. Her arms raised in victory, the crowd responded tepidly. Most of them had never seen a succubus truly rape a man into a catatonic state. Alma Elma glanced at Alice. Alice was standing, her fists balled at her sides, tears in her eyes. She will understand in time, Alma Elma thought.

Ben and Emma were in shock. They'd known this could happen, but had been sure that Luka's true super power would bail him out again as it always did. Alma Elma wasn't truly evil. She only killed those she considered to deserve it. How could she believe Luka to be one of those people? I've failed, Emma thought. Oh my god, I've failed!

Sariela was giddy. She had been certain the plan would give her joy, even if it didn't completely work, because she knew what a powerful succubus with a grudge could do. But she hadn't expected that it would actually lead to what she was witnessing. Luka was alive, but his mind was destroyed. At least, she had her revenge. Tamamo, on the other hand, looked distinctly uncomfortable.

Alma Elma played to the crowd, trying to coax some cheers. The crowd was uncomfortably quiet, with some scattered applause and boos. The Queen succubus tried to rely on her natural charisma, urging the crowd to forgive her, to cheer her. After all, it was one of the biggest reasons she loved performing for an audience. As Alma Elma gestured to the crowd, finally the crowd began to stir, to come to life. That's better, she thought. And then, the crowd erupted.

"See, now that's more like it!" Alma Elma said with satisfaction. That's when a pesky, nagging thought began playing at the outer edges of her consciousness. Why hadn't she been declared the winner?

At first, she'd assumed that the refs and announcer were in just as much shock. But when she turned, she saw that wasn't it at all. Luka was standing there, motionless, staring at her. Yet his eyes were vacant. And glowing white. It was unnerving.

"Seriously?" Alma Elma yelled. "Doesn't anyone go down to critical ecstasy anymore? What is this world coming to? Well, I guess I just have to finish you the way I did the last one."

Spinning up her wind power, Alma Elma dashed to Luka, intending to drop him with one good punch. Despite her great speed, Luka's arm came up to catch her fist. His eyes were glowing brighter. Alma Elma couldn't get over her shock in time to avoid Luka's head butting her in the face. She was the one who got dropped as a result. The crowd roared their approval.

In the official's booth, there was confusion. No human had ever recovered from critical ecstasy before, and few monsters had done it. The match hadn't been called because as soon as Alma Elma had turned her back, Luka had begun to stir. At first, it had just appeared to be more twitching. But then, he'd kipped up, making it clear that he was far from finished. But the officials didn't like the glowing eyes one bit.

"Is he using magic?" the referee asked. "I can't tell."

"Sensors show no magic being used," the replay official said. "At least nothing we can detect."

"It's gotta be magic!" the ref responded. "No human just gets up from that and then starts blocking punches that fast!"

"I can't call it!" the replay official said, throwing up his hands. "There are just too many gray areas with this sort of thing! If it doesn't set off the sensors, it's not magic! Maybe it's some new elemental trick we don't know about, or something innate to him. Maybe he's part monster."

"I guess he's gotta be given how good he's been doing."

Luka didn't follow up and take advantage of Alma Elma going down. Instead, he just continued to stand there and stare at her. Alma Elma got to her feet and began running around Luka in circles. Luka didn't even move, nor did his eyes follow her. She darted in for another punch. She never connected. Luka's arm merely extended, exactly at the point where she chose to be to deliver her own blow. She ran right into his clenched fist and went down again.

"What… What is happening?" Emma asked Ben.

"I have no idea," Ben replied.

"I know his power is involved somehow…. But how? I've never heard of him doing anything like this before!"

Ben looked across the field towards Alice, who was still standing, as disbelieving as everyone else.

Alma Elma's tail inhaled Luka's penis. He didn't even try to stop her. He simply continued to stare as she pumped with her tail mouth, draining his energy. If anything, the succubus was more unnerved by his reaction than she had been by his strange ability to hit her even while she was moving fast. Most men moaned and writhed when her tail sucked them. Luka only stared straight at her. His penis was responding though, so Alma Elma kept it up.

Just when she thought she was about to get him to come again, and hopefully end this thing, Luka's whole body suddenly lit up, almost as bright as a small star. The crowd turned away, shielding their eyes. Alma Elma was thrown all the way to the far wall, bouncing off of it hard and collapsing in a heap.

In the official's booth, there was no longer any doubt.

"Call it!" the replay official ordered.

The ref came out onto the field and signaled the disqualification.

"Worst…. Queen's Cup…. Ever," Alma Elma said, struggling to get to her feet.

Luka was still standing there, naked as before, just looking at her.

"I knew you were dangerous, boy," Alma Elma said through gritted teeth, tasting the unfamiliar taste of her own blood. "I may not have proven that you're a bad man, but I've proven what you're capable of. Come to the castle, Luka-boy! I dare you! In the meantime, I'll have something special prepared!"

Luka gave no sign that he heard her. Frustrated, she flew off, headed back to the castle to brief her fellow Knights. They would all have to make preparations. This was no ordinary human.

Alice watched as Alma Elma flew off. She couldn't say she was surprised at her actions, but they had still been shocking. At least Luka seemed to have recovered. Sort of. But then, as if his strings had been cut, Luka collapsed back to the ground, and lay still.

Emma and Ben watched as Luka was carried in a stretcher off the field. Using Luka's power the way Ilias had taught her, Emma rendered Ben and herself invisible and followed. Inside the locker room, medics checked Luka over thoroughly, but found nothing physically wrong with him. Alma Elma had not sought to drain him dry. In fact, he'd only ejaculated one time. All of his vitals were within healthy ranges. There were no significant physical injuries, just the minor strains and bruises that come from coliseum competition. The only thing damaged was his mind. The brain itself was physically healthy. But that made it even more difficult to remedy his situation. How do you cure someone who has been driven mad by pleasure?

Emma didn't know, but she intended to try, if only she could get a few minutes alone with Luka. She had never used her power to heal injures of the psyche, but she had heard that Luka had self-healed from precisely this situation, after the Six Ancestors had repeatedly raped him until his mind had broken from the extreme pleasure. So she knew that his power was capable of it. A quick telepathic conversation with Ilias had confirmed that it was their best bet. Ilias could try if Emma failed. Ilias also had one other card to play: embracing Luka with her true form, which Ilias contended could heal any trauma. But was this true trauma? The look on Luka's catatonic face didn't look like a man traumatized at all. In fact, it was almost comical, as if he'd been hit with the Joker's deadly laughing gas.

The medics informed Alice that he was very much alive and healthy, but that nothing in their knowledge of medicine could help him. He would either recover on his own, or he would be like that for the rest of his life. Alice asked them if he could still hear and feel things. They informed her that Luka probably could, but that he would not be able to understand what he was hearing or feeling, or likely be able to remember them when or if he recovered. But, they stressed, no one really knows. He might understand everything we are saying right now, they said. If you kiss him, he might know it's you, and might even respond a little. If you squeeze his hand, he might squeeze back. He was not in a coma. He was in a state between consciousness and unconsciousness.

When the medics left, Alice was left alone with Luka. Ben had tears in his eyes, but Emma was merely impatient. She wanted Alice to leave so that she could try to heal Luka. But Alice wasn't going anywhere for awhile. She was motivated by feelings for Luka that she didn't fully understand. She sat next to his makeshift gurney and held his hand.

"This is my fault, Luka," Alice said. "I tried to get you to forfeit, but I didn't tell you why, because damn it, part of me thought that Alma Elma might be right about you! Oh, don't look at me that way, Luka!"

Emma frowned. Luka wasn't looking at her any particular way. Emma decided to chalk Alice's behavior up to grief and guilt.

"I know you aren't the man she thinks you are," Alice continued. "But I also wasn't sure that you were the man I thought you were. I had to know. You made me a promise, but I was taught that humans make promises all the time that they never intend to keep. I thought that being a man, there was no way you'd be able to resist Alma Elma. But… you did. You never submitted to her. I misjudged you, and now…. And now you might as well be dead!"

Emma didn't like her tone just then. She knew that while Alice wasn't a wanton murderer, she was the type to take a life if she felt someone would be better off dead than alive. She briefly feared that Alice might try to smother Luka, or eat him, but instead, she simply continued to hold his hand.

"Oh, Eden, her pain!" Ilias lamented. "I've seen that pain so many times, but I understand it so much better now!"

"I'm sorry, goddess," Eden said sincerely. "Do not despair. Emma is there. She will try to revive him."

"It'll be awhile," Ilias sighed. "Alice won't leave his side for some time. Dammit! Those two….. monsters!"

"Perhaps now they'll leave," Eden said. "Once they leave, you will be free to rewind time. This will never have happened."

"It doesn't work that way, Eden," Ilias said sadly. "If I rewind time after they've left, I rewind time to them being here again. It creates a paradox. I can only rewind time starting at the point they leave. If Emma or I can't cure Luka…. Then my plan is a failure. And then all that will be left to me is revenge."

Ilias passed her hand over the scrying pool to focus on Tamamo and Sariela. They had left the coliseum and were heading to a nearby hotel, if Ilias' admittedly sketchy reading of their thoughts was accurate. It wasn't as easy to read powerful beings as it was mere humans or weaker monsters. They were like open books to the goddess.

But Ilias could read enough. To her surprise, Tamamo seemed conflicted. She evidently hadn't envisioned this specific result. Sariela, on the other hand was thrilled, laughing and talking endlessly about how great it was that Luka had been hurt so badly. Ilias' heart filled with righteous anger. She didn't forgive Tamamo either, despite the kitsune's doubts. Tamamo's resentment of Luka had led her to this point. She'd had no right to cross the gulf between worlds just to get revenge! Luka was out of her life! She should have been satisfied with that!

"I'm going to end this," Ilias said with determination. "I can't undo what's been done, but I can make sure they don't hurt him again."

"Ilias, you musn't!" Eden pleaded. "You heard Promestein! They have a device that can destroy you!"

"I don't care anymore!"

"Ilias, please! You are more important than the mortals! Their lives are brief, insignificant! You are a creator of worlds! What happens to this world if you die? Don't risk yourself for them!"

"Oh, Eden," Ilias said, the weight of who the goddess used to be weighing on her conscience. "You're repeating back to me the very things I taught you. But if you could only see the things I've seen through weak, mortal eyes! Tamamo and Sariela hurt my friends! I care about Luka and Alice more than I've ever cared about anyone! Even you! And I'm sorry about that, because you've always served me loyally and you deserve better! And I promise you Eden, I WILL do better by you, and Micaela, and Lucifina, and all of my angels!"

"Ilias, I love this new you, I really do," Eden said, tears in her eyes. "But I can't lose you again! I've been your hand for centuries. You've always used me when you wanted someone punished! Let me smite those two for you! Let me take the risk! I would die for you, Ilias! But I don't know if I can live if you're gone!"

"You can, Eden," Ilias said gently. "You have no idea how strong you really are. On another world, Luka's world, Eden became the goddess, and by all accounts you were a better goddess than I was. And you yourself held down the fort for thirty years while my counterpart was trying to hold existence together. I love you so much for being willing to go down there and punish those two for me. And not that long ago, I would have sent you down there with barely a thought for your safety. But I care about you now, Eden. And you're no match for those two even if they didn't have a weapon. And I won't risk more of my angels by sending you down with Micaela and Lucifina. They aren't ready for that caliber of opponent yet. I'm done letting my subordinates take those risks for me. So what I'm going to do now, is I'm going to take a minute, work up my courage, dust off my clit, and go down there and BEAT THE LIVING HELL OUT OF THOSE BITCHES BEFORE I SEND THEM TO A RANDOM WORLD SO FAR AWAY THEY"LL NEVER FUCKING FIND THEIR WAY BACK!!!"

"Please, Ilias, at least let me help you! Together we can…"

"No, Eden. Here's what I need you to do. Go down there, discreetly, and see if you can help Emma with Luka. You have some ability to heal mental and emotional damage. If Emma can't heal him…. Make love to him or something. It might work."

"I will do as you command, goddess. If my body can heal him, I will give it to him without reservation or inhibition."

"Thank you, Eden. Now, go. Discreetly! My plan isn't ruined yet! Don't reveal yourself to Alice!"

Eden vanished, heading down to the surface to see to Luka. Ilias smiled slightly. She'd risked her life before, when she was mortal. She'd done it for her friends. She realized that she should have acted as soon as she saw the interlopers. But she'd just recovered her full glory, and realized now that she had been afraid to lose it. And because of her cowardice, her friends had been hurt. She realized that it was her fault as much as it was her enemies'. It was time to be brave again.

What she didn't tell Eden was the real reason she had sent her away: because she knew if Eden remained in heaven, she'd watch the battle in the scrying pool. Ilias didn't want her to experience the trauma of seeing her goddess die. Well, if I die, the goddess thought. At least I went out doing right by my friends. If there's a higher power than me out there, I hope that counts for something.

"Did you see his face?!" Sariela chortled, mimicking Luka's orgasm face. "I mean, I saw it close up a few times, but never with such severe contortions! That succubus is truly a talent!"

"Yeah, I saw," Tamamo said listlessly.

"Tamamo!" Sariela scolded. "Is this not what you came here to do? To gain vengeance? Did you forget how Luka ruined your face?"

"I haven't forgotten, and you're right. I'm glad Luka's mind has been broken. And I have to admit it was kinda funny. I was just surprised, that's all. I was looking to break Alice and Luka up, but I didn't think it would happen that way."

"So are you satisfied now?"

"I am," Tamamo said. "Luka and I are square now."

"Well, Luka and I are most definitely not 'square,'" Sariela replied angrily. "I believe he can still feel, even if he can't understand or respond to what he's feeling. As soon as I get the chance, I'm stealing him and taking him back with me, where I'll torture him with my agony sex night after night."

"No. You won't," Tamamo said quietly, grabbing Sariela by the shoulders and shaking her. "I'm a pretty vicious bitch, but you're pure evil! Sadistic beyond anything I've ever seen before!"

"I am what I was made to be," Sariela replied evenly. "But…. Since you have been a most helpful ally, I will respect your wishes not to see more pain inflicted upon him."

"Good," Tamamo said. "Then you won't mind if I take him back with me instead of you."

"What? Why?"

"I still need to show him my gratitude," Tamamo said. "And I'll show him, night after night, with sex that feels good, not sex that hurts! Wow, that's sick! Who does that to their sexual magic? I can't think of anything more profane than that!"

"I thought it was creative."

"And I'll take good care of him. I'll spoon fed him three times a day. I'll dress him in nice clothes. He'll be my living doll. In that way I pay him back both for hurting me and saving me."

Sariela just stared, speechless. "And I'm supposedly the twisted one," the angel said. "Whatever. Enjoy your drooling doll."

They walked on, through the dark alleyways of Grand Noah. This was a seedy neighborhood, but beings such as they had nothing to fear from common thugs. And since they were no longer in disguise, no common thug would be dumb enough to accost them. Even the most ignorant men knew that the more tails a fox had, the stronger she was. And Sariela, an angel dressed in black, was scary enough in her own way.

Sariela began laughing again. "What's so funny, now?" Tamamo asked.

"Sorry," she replied. "I was just thinking about his face again. Priceless!"

Tamamo chuckled herself. Luka's orgasm face was hilarious.

Their laughter was cut off by lightning from the sky, lancing down to strike the two of them. Sariela's clothing was instantly charred. Tamamo's fur stood up, all over her body.

"Owwww..." Tamamo said.

Sariela didn't feel pain the way monsters did, but she could tell that she was hurt. She could also tell that one of Tamamo's tails was on fire.

"Tamamo… you're tail…"

"WAAAHHH!!!!!"" Tamamo screamed, desperately beating her tail against the ground. "I hate being on fire!"

"Well you better get used to it, you fluffy fucker!" Ilias's voice boomed.

Ilias descended into the alleyway on a pillar of holy fire, lightning crackling all around her. As impressive as it was, she was actually holding back, to avoid damage to the apartment buildings on either side of the alley. Still, Sariela was awestruck.

Tamamo was less impressed, lashing out with several tails as soon as she'd put out the fire on her fourth fluffiest. Her tail slammed hard against an invisible barrier. Ilias blasted her with a thin beam of holy magic. The beam went right through Tamamo's chest, only just missing her heart. Not that it would have killed someone like the Ancestor so easily. But Ilias wasn't out to kill them. At least not quickly.

"You hurt my friends!" Ilias shouted, practically shaking, as she called down more lightning from the sky to scorch her enemies.

Tamamo tried to retaliate with a fireball. Ilias didn't even bother to put up a shield. The fireball impacted harmlessly against her holy body. She's not immune to my attacks, Tamamo thought. But she might as well be. She's so strong now!

Tamamo was fighting, but Sariela was just cowering. Annoyed, Tamamo called to Sariela.

"Sariela! Get the thing! We need the thing!"

Sariela broke out of her paralysis and fumbled through her spell components pouch, where she had been keeping the device they'd stolen from Promestein. Ilias grabbed Tamamo with a restraint spell and threw the fox several blocks away. Ilias advanced on Sariela.

"Don't come any closer!" Sariela yelled. "I can destroy you!"

"Why haven't you already?" Ilias taunted. "You forget that I can see your emotions. You can't do it, can you? As much as you hate me, you know that I'm also your Ilias from Angel World. We merged. I am her and she is me. And you love that Ilias. You've always craved her approval. You thought you could destroy me if it came to that, but now that you see me in person, you can't. So make it easy on yourself. As much as I want revenge right now for what you did, what I really need is you off my world and for you to leave Luka and Alice alone. You've had your revenge. Now give me that device and get the fuck off my world!"

"No!" Sariela raged, her fortitude returning. Ilias noticed as well. "My revenge is not complete! Because I hate you as much as I hate Luka! You aren't my goddess! You took over my goddess! You destroyed her! My goddess would never love…. Monsters! She was pure, and just!"

"Sariela, I am still her. I know things about you that the Ilias you hate could never have known. I created you, Sariela. And I love you. But you're doing a very bad thing, and it has to stop."

"You're a liar!" Sariela screamed. "My Ilias is gone! Subsumed into your perverted psyche!"

"No," Ilias said gently. "I didn't take her over. We merged. When we became a part of each other, we saw the world anew through each other's eyes. It only seems like the Ilias you hate is dominant because I've already been where she was. That hatred, that self-righteousness, what did that get us? The world's largest prison, half of the inmates guilty only of not loving me enough? Look at me, Sariela. I'm your goddess. You are in rebellion right now. Give me the device, and this can still end well for you. I only need you to leave. If you go, I won't seek revenge. I just need you two off my world so that I can try to mitigate the harm you've caused."

"You don't fool me, Ilias!" Sariela said angrily. "You're negotiating with me only because I have my finger on this button!"

"No, Sariela. I'm negotiating with you because I can see inside your heart. You don't want to destroy me. You crave my love. You always have, Sariela. Do the right thing now, and maybe we can rebuild our relationship in time. Luka's taught me a lot about forgiveness. But I'm not Luka. My patience isn't limitless. You need to decide, now. If you keep pointing that thing at me, I'll have to hurt you."

Sariela hesitated. Ilias continued to focus on her mind. As a powerful archangel, her mind was not the open book for Ilias that a human mind was. But she could see enough to know that she was conflicted. Ilias could also see that this whole thing was as much about her issues with her goddess as her beef with Luka. She hadn't been completely honest with Tamamo about that.

Ilias tried to scan the device with her senses. As usual Promestein's engineering was beyond even her goddess. Ilias had made Promestein out of the smartest part of her essence, because Ilias didn't want to be bothered with such things anymore. But that meant that she could only dimly tell what the device was for. It sealed holy energy somehow. Ilias returned her focus to Sariela. She didn't like what she saw. Sariela was beginning to lean towards using it. That couldn't be permitted.

Ilias reacted a split second before Sariela's finger pressed the button. The goddess targeted the device with an electrical surge, seeing that its components were quite delicate. The device sparked and broke apart in Sariela's hands. A massive energy surge from the device lanced towards Ilias. In that split second, Ilias realized that she had miscalculated. She had underestimated Promestein. Of course Promestein wouldn't design a device that could be so easily disabled! The device was designed to trigger if it was attacked with magic.

The goddess' last thought before the device's magic hit her was that she had so desperately wished to finally be a hero.

Tamamo staggered back into the alley, looking pretty badly injured. Her beauty was marred by Ilias' attacks and her uncontrolled flight across the neighborhood. She knew she would heal quickly, however. She always did. Her current injuries were nothing compared to her other battle wounds.

Sariela was holding the remnants of the device in her hand, just staring at the pieces. Had she destroyed the goddess? Tamamo hoped so. The device was no longer of any use to them and clearly they weren't strong enough to take Ilias on.

Then Tamamo saw the body on the ground. Ilias? No, it was too big. A pedestrian who had stumbled onto a battle between a goddess, an angel, and an ancestor? Humans' magic blindness never ceased to amaze Tamamo. A human just waltzing into an alley where immortals were fighting was typical of that pathetic species.

Then the body started to stir. Sariela snapped out of her paralysis and dropped the remnants of the device. She knelt down to check on the large figure on the ground. Tamamo noticed for the first time through her sense of smell that the figure on the ground was indeed a human, and male. Delicious smelling too.

"Unh…" the man groaned. "Where am I?"

"You…. I don't understand," Sariela stuttered. "What is your name?"

"My name?" the man asked, confused. "I don't know who I am. Wait, I think I know my name at least. El… Elias? Yes, I think I'm Elias."

"Goddess!!!" Sariela gasped, backing away. "That device didn't kill Ilias, it simply sealed her holy energy. And translated her into… into this."

"That's Ilias?" Tamamo asked. "But…. In the body of a man?"

"Yes, yes, I read about this," Sariela said, thinking quickly. "At the very end of the book. She took on a male form to lure monsters into pleasure her."

"I like it," Tamamo said. "This version of the goddess is actually pretty cool. But I guess we'd better kill him while he's in a weak form. I don't want to have to fight HER again."

"No!" Sariela shouted, grabbing the tail Tamamo was about to use to snap the man's neck. Sariela grabbed Tamamo and whispered to her.

"We can't kill him!" she whispered fiercely. "Ilias' holy energy is sealed inside his body! I can sense it."

Tamamo concentrated. "You're right! It's hard to see, but if you know what to look for…"

"Exactly. So if we kill him, that holy energy will be free, and return to heaven. Where Ilias will reform. And come back down here a very irate goddess."

"So what do we do? Just leave him here? I guess he's safe in Grand Noah."

"Perhaps," Sariela replied, then turned towards Elias, who had finally regained his feet.

"Elias!" Sariela said warmly. "So you don't have any idea who you are?"

"I… I think…. I think I'm a hero," he said shakily.

"Well that's not good," Tamamo said. "I'm a monster. Are you going to attack me, hero?"

"Attack you?" Elias asked. "No! No, not that kind of hero! I'm the kind of hero who loves everyone. I do nice things for monsters, humans, angels, anybody! Sure, I fight evil, but…. Are you evil?"

"Bad to the bone, buddy!" Tamamo laughed. Sariela kicked her. "I mean, I'm a sweet little fox girl!"

"Well, I mean you must be!" Elias exclaimed. "Otherwise, why would you be hanging around with an angel? Do you need feeding, fair fox?"

"Is he being serious?" Tamamo asked Sariela.

"I think he's remembering the reason Ilias created that body in the first place," Sariela whispered. "He actually thinks he's really this hero who wants coexistence and feeds himself to monsters."

"Well that's really bad if we want to keep him alive!" Tamamo pointed out.

"I'll have to reprogram him then," Sariela said. "Elias! Behold!"

Elias got down to one knee, in awe of the angel, who had begun to glow with holy fire.

"What is your command, holy one?" Elias asked.

"Ilias has been most pleased with your deeds, even if you don't remember them," Sariela said. "Keep doing what you are doing, but she has a very important mission for you, which she will reveal to you later. For now, simply keep doing good deeds and most importantly, stay alive. I know that your every instinct says to feed yourself to any monster that will eat you, but you need to avoid letting yourself be consumed. Do you understand?"

"I understand completely, blessed angel. I serve the goddess as you do. I will obey."

"Yeah, feed yourself only to nice monsters, like me," Tamamo suggested.

"Of course!" Elias replied. "You're the most beautiful fox I've ever seen! Why, I'd be honored for you to have some of my semen!"

"Be gentle, Tamamo," Sariela warned.

"I know how to be gentle, Sariela!" Tamamo said grumpily.

The next thing Elias saw were tails coming at him from all angles.

"Wow, that hit the spot!" Tamamo said. "Ilias built that body well. I'm not sure he needed a penis that large, but it sure delivers a lot of incredibly delicious semen!"

"And the best part is, he was still standing afterwards!" Sariela said. "That is very, very good. I was worried that he would be too trusting and offer a monster his semen that would trick him into submitting and then eat him anyway. While he is not immune to critical ecstasy, it takes a lot to bring him down. If he can still stand after an ancestor makes him come a few times, he has nothing to fear from weaker monsters."

"So what now?" Tamamo asked.

"Now, we go back to our hotel as planned," Sariela answered. "Tomorrow, we fulfill Ilias' wish and get off this world. With Luka. I'll let you keep him if you want. Just keep him off this world. I don't want Ilias to undo all that we have accomplished."

"Sounds good," Tamamo said. "That tasty Elias semen made my mouth water at the idea of having Luka's semen available to me whenever I want it, for decades to come."