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Luka's Story-Paradox	By : Ditmag Category: +M through R > Monster Girl Quest Views: 2709 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: Monster Girl Quest Paradox is the intellectual property of Tortorro Restistance. I make no money from this.

Chapter List
- 25
- 26
- 27
Monte Carlo was basically a slum. Places like this hadn’t existed on the world I’d come from, at least not until modernization. Had makinas done this somehow? No, that didn’t make much sense. Despite the discovery of makina technology, not much had changed compared to my world. It was interesting how living the equivalent of several lifetimes on what I’d previously thought of as Alice’s world had turned it into my world in my head.
But yeah, Monte Carlo was a slum. And from what Sonya told me, not the only one. Places like this were in every region. One of the more notable things about the slum was the lack of monsters. In a world where monsters who could behave in a civilized manner were welcome in nearly all human settlements, the absence of monsters made me curious. Were the people religious? Did the rundown nature of Monte Carlo cause monsters to prefer the wilderness or their own settlements? I had to find out, at least if it wouldn’t take too much time.
Our journey had been uneventful, despite not bringing a large entourage with me. We were getting into the desert region of Sabasa, although technically we hadn’t reached the Safina desert yet Still, it was hot and dry and most monsters preferred the relative comfort of the castle. I had to admit, it was quite a convenience, and would spare us having to stay in Monte Carlo for the night. Due to the lack of monsters in the town, I asked what companions had taken the walk with us to head back into the castle. Too large a footprint in a town like this could attract unwanted attention. That left our core group, myself, Alice, Ilias, and Sonya, to explore Monte Carlo.
“What a dump!” Alice groused. “I bet there’s nothing good to eat here!”
“It constantly amazes me how often we agree,” Ilias laughed. “Let’s just have a look around and then rest outside the city in the comfort of that wonderful castle you have.”
“Shows what you two know,” Sonya chuckled. “Poor towns have some of the best food around, and the kind of food you can’t find anywhere else.”
“Really?!” Alice exclaimed. “Now I’m excited. We must investigate every nook and cranny of this place!”
So that’s what we did. What we found wasn’t very pleasant, the possibility of nice delicacies notwithstanding. The town was apparently controlled by organized crime. Was that the reason it was a slum? I asked Alice. Alice simply shrugged.
“I’m afraid I’m not very knowledgeable about human culture,” the monster lord answered. “Monsters would never live this way. The wild is preferable to this by far, if you have the tools to survive in the wild.”
“I learned all about this in seminary,” Sonya said. “I could go on for days about places like these.”
“Well then, please do,” I said, giving Sonya the floor as we explored. I was so used to relying on Alice for information that I had forgotten that the human with the most expertise on human society was already with me.
“Slums are usually the result of vast economic inequality,” Sonya explained. “In economies where most people are poor, life tends to be agrarian, as we saw in Luddite Village. That’s probably not the best example, because poor villages also tend to have a lot of social trust because everyone is in the same boat. Iliasville and Happiness Village are probably more representative of that than Luddite. Luddite’s been consumed by fanaticism. Most of Ilias Continent contains poor, but stable, agrarian communities. Sentora, on the other hand, has very large cities with ostentatious wealth, as well as small villages that range from affluent, like Lady’s Village, to dirt poor, like… well, like this.”
“Some people are sure living large, though,” Ilias noted, pointing out an extremely posh home towards the east.
“That’s the inequality,” Sonya replied. “As places modernize, people who want more than the simple agrarian life try to make it big in the city. Or at the very least, they want to be in close proximity to the luxuries of the modern world. But not everyone makes it, which draws some of them to underworld activity, looking for easy money. I’m betting this town relies primarily on the black market for its economic activity. If you’re in with the local crime lords, you’re probably doing okay. If you’re not, then you live miserably.”
“If someone isn’t working for the local crime boss,” Alice asked. “Why would anyone stay here?”
“Some were born here and have no real clue how to better themselves,” Sonya continued. “Others are criminals who were chased out of better towns and cities. I’d imagine the authorities don’t come here, so it’s a good place for fugitives to hide out. The lucky ones will be enforcers for the local boss, the ones with no real skills but pickpocketing and mugging little old ladies won’t really have anything to contribute. Then there are those in between, who can get hired for jobs here and there. But that doesn’t really earn them a living.”
“Are the local shopkeepers in with the crime lord?” I asked.
“I’m not an expert on organized crime,” Sonya answered. “But probably not. Most are tolerated because they provide essential services, but probably still have to pay protection money to stay in business. One way for us to find out will be to look at the prices in the shops. If they are low, then the crime lords probably aren’t making them pay much. If they are high, then the crime lords are extorting every penny they can out of the local economy.”
“How would we take these guys down?” I asked.
“Don’t go there, Luka!” Alice warned. “It’s not the mission, it’s way too dangerous, and most importantly, it’s way too complicated.”
“I have to agree, Luka,” Sonya said sadly. “These types of people don’t come at you in a straight on fight. You’re used to fighting monsters and gods and warriors. For all your power, you are flesh and blood. All it takes to end you is a shiv in the gut when you’re not paying attention.”
“And Luka is constantly zoning out,” Alice pointed out.
“It also wouldn’t make life any better here,” Sonya continued. “This IS the local economy. If you took out the local mob, there would just be a power vacuum. It would be very unlikely for it to be filled by good people.”
“I might just be speaking as a monster here,” Alice said. “Maybe this wouldn’t work with humans, but if we monsters had places like this, the only answer for someone angry about it would be to take it over ourselves. Then we would be the power. But as I said, that’s not our mission. We don’t have the years of time to devote to making this a good place.”
“Well, speaking as a goddess, I would never let a place like this exist,” Ilias said. “I’d rain down fire from heaven, or start a plague. The daily iniquities that must happen here would be intolerable had I the omniscience to know about them. These places must have emerged in my absence. For example, what is that young man doing just skulking about like that?”
Indeed, we had wandered into a back alley, where a boy who couldn’t be older than sixteen was hanging around by a well. Despite it not being our mission, Ilias seemed to have a bug up her butt about that boy.
“You there!” Ilias shouted to the boy. “What are you doing, just hanging around and looking suspicious?!”
“Wah!” the boy shrieked In surprise. “Nothing, honest! I’m just a kid!”
“You’re obviously here for a reason,” Sonya pointed out.
“There’s been a succubus in the city!” the boy blurted out. “She lurks in dark alleys waiting to rape men. That’s not why I’m here though!”
“Of course not,” Alice chuckled. “Damned pervert.”
“Am not!” the boy objected.
“Go easy,” I admonished Alice. “he’s just a kid. Kids can’t be perverts. If I’m being generous, you’re a homeless kid and you’re hiding, in case the succubus is hunting tonight.”
“Yeah!” the kid said nervously. “That’s exactly it!”
“Or, if I’m being cynical,” I continued. “You’re a curious kid who wants to know what it’s like to get raped by a succubus.”
“No! That’s not it at all!”
“Let me tell you from experience, kid, what to expect,” I said. “Succubi will give you pleasure beyond anything you’ve ever experienced before. That’s the good news. The bad news is that nothing else will ever match that experience again. You’re what, sixteen, seventeen? Best case scenario is that you have an amazing night and then never have a healthy relationship with a woman again. Even monsters might not be able to help you match what happens tonight. You may not even be able to successfully masturbate anymore.”
“I don’t do that!” the boy objected. “But are you for real? If a succubus rapes you, you can’t jerk off anymore?”
“It happens,” I said. “And these are just the good outcomes.”
“What are the bad outcomes?”
“She kills you. Succubi are notorious for killing their prey. Usually intentionally, but sometimes accidentally due to not realizing their own power.”
“Oh,” the boy said, disappointed. “Well, it’s a good thing I wasn’t planning on getting raped! But you should go. You seem like nice people. I wouldn’t want to see any of you get raped too.”
“Damned pervert,” Alice said again.
I decided that we’d have to come back and check on the kid. If it had been an adult in that alley, I’d simply decide to live and let live. Or die, because a man would know the risks. But a young boy, possibly a virgin, should not be raped by a succubus. It would ruin him on many levels. Young boys should be having nervous makeout sessions in the back seats of cars with young girls. Or whatever the equivalent would be in a medieval slum.
It was close to nightfall, so I found the most interesting looking diner to duck into and get Alice and Ilias some of the local cuisine. Diners were also good places to listen to conversation and get some scuttlebutt on the goings on in a town. Although in a town like this there were probably some subjects that weren’t discussed openly.
Unfortunately, the diner lacked anything interesting. Nevertheless, Alice and Ilias were pleased with what they received, in both cases a large but cheap steak that required prodigious strength to cut due to its toughness. Sonya simply “enjoyed” some watery scrambled eggs, before heading over to a table with some dangerous-looking men drinking beer.
“Sonya, what are you doing?” I whispered.
“I’m a femme fatale spy,” she whispered back conspiratorially. “I’m going to find some things out.”
“Why are you so interested?” Alice asked skeptically. “I just figured we’d leave. Maybe check on that boy again to make sure nothing bad happens to him, but this food isn’t really making it worth it to stay much longer.”
“Something about this town is bugging me,” Sonya said. “I need to find something out.”
“Great,” Alice said, going back to her cheap steak. “Are all humans like that? Always trying to get involved in things that are none of their concern?”
Sonya came back to the table. “Luka, give me money.”
“Money?” I asked. “Why and how much?”
“One hundred gold.”
“Are you out of your mind?!”
“Luka, this is how spying works,” Sonya explained with exaggerated patience. “You pay informants. They are going to tell me stuff that’s risky for them to talk about. So it has to be worth their while.”
“Fine,” I said, reaching into my money bag and handing her about half of its contents. “try not to get ripped off.”
While Sonya went to talk to the men, I kept an eye on the table she was sitting at. Those were some rough looking characters, and they were eyeing her body in ways I didn’t approve of. Sonya was a tough girl. I was sure she could take care of herself. But I was still ready to come to her aid if necessary.
“This is so good!” Ilias said happily, tearing at the steak with her hands, basically giving up on the fork and knife.
“It’s… fine,” Alice said. “I know you’ve had better. I definitely have.”
“Ilias, you eat like someone who has never enjoyed food before,” I said. “I know angels don’t feel pleasure and pain the same way we do, but I thought you tasted food like everyone else.”
“Our senses don’t work the way mortal senses do,” Ilias explained, talking with her mouth full. “This goes back to what I was telling you yesterday about knowing things versus understanding them. I knew that humans had five senses, and so when I created angels I imitated those senses. I also bestowed them upon myself when I adopted my angelic form. My true form is just holy energy. In my angelic form, I can eat food, and I know if the food is of good quality. I know its nutritional value. And my taste buds do tell me that the food is tasty. Promestein isn’t just massaging your ego when she says your food is delicious. But she doesn’t taste food like I can now. I never realized the emotional aspect of it. When food is delicious it doesn’t just taste good. It hits the pleasure centers of your brain. That’s what I’ve been experiencing that I never experienced before. Now I get why so many humans overeat. Eating is just so satisfying!”
“Keep it up and you’ll be a very fat little angel,” Alice chuckled.
“You’re one to talk!”
“My metabolism is ridiculous,” Alice said smugly. “I burn energy too fast to ever get fat.”
That wasn’t completely true. While it wouldn’t be fair to say that my Alice had constantly struggled with her weight, she had gone through periods of being a little chubby, periods which increased in length and frequency as she aged. To be honest, I found chubby Alice to be gorgeous. I actually preferred it to the rail thin version of her I’d met that day in Ilias Village’s forest. So I’d made a point of indulging her appetites, trying to keep some meat on those bones. But every once in awhile she’d get self-conscious and show remarkable discipline at the dinner table for a few days. That was all it took with her metabolism.
“Okay, guys,” Sonya said, sliding into the booth with me. “Here’s what I found out. The Elka company controls not just the underground economy in Monte Carlo, but pretty much all of Sabasa and Natalia. Supposedly they have a patron. Some guy named Lazarus.”
“Lazarus?” I responded with interest. “Hmmm, I wonder who that could be?”
“Get that thought out of your mind, Luka!” Sonya warned. “Uncle Lazarus is just misunderstood. There’s no way he could be leading some kind of organized crime family!”
“Is Lazarus a common name?” Ilias asked. “I don’t recall many people named Lazarus in the world. My memory is faulty, but I still know who is who. That guy over there is named Manuel. The girl sitting next to him is Roberta. She was born here. Manuel was born in Sabasa.”
Alice looked to where Ilias was pointing. “Ilias, if you’ve been gone thirty years, how would you know those people? Both of them are obviously under thirty.”
“I… I don’t know,” Ilias admitted. “Maybe when I had my full power I knew the future, so it doesn’t matter that I’ve been gone? But then how come I don’t know how any of this is going to turn out?”
“What do you know about Lazarus?” I asked Ilias.
“Uncle Lazarus is not the issue here!” Sonya exclaimed.
“Sonya, you know very little about that man!” Ilias admonished. “But I’m not going to say any more because I don’t want to ruin your image of your custodial parent.”
“Well, now I’m curious,” Alice announced, putting the last bit of steak into her mouth. “Scoot, Ilias, I want to ask those men a couple of questions.”
Ilias got out of Alice’s way without complaint. I was quite happy to see that not everything was an argument with those two. I wondered if perhaps Alice was feeling friendlier towards Ilias. Ilias had confided in me that she was beginning to like Alice. If the feeling was mutual, perhaps there was some hope for a better world. I’d learned, however, that while I clearly favored Alice in the ancient conflict between monsters and angels, that did not mean that Alice was the better person in every respect.
Sonya, exasperated, followed Alice to the ruffians’ table. I decided to come along as well in case things got heated. I had a feeling what they were going to tell Sonya. Lazarus was a natural leader, one of the founders of Ilias Kreuz back on my world. I hadn’t heard about any Ilias Kreuz on this one, so organized crime would have been a natural thing for Lazarus to gravitate towards in a different world.
“Excuse me,” Alice was saying to the seedy looking men. “This Lazarus fellow. Where can we find him?”
“Wow, real smooth, Alice,” Sonya said bitterly.
“You some kinda cop or somethin’?” one of the men said suspiciously.
“She’s a kid lamia,” one of the others said. “Ain’t no monster cops. Or kid cops for that matter. Naw, she’s just mouthy. Anyway, it doesn’t matter. Lazarus ain’t here.”
“So then where is he?” Alice asked.
“Probly busy raising that kid of his in some village.”
“Yer stupid,” one of the men laughed. “Everyone knows Lazarus ain’t got no family!”
“Naw, he does!” the original man insisted. “Not a wife and daughter, but some girl he’s been raising. Man, can’t remember that tyke’s name.”
“Sonya, perhaps?” Alice asked sweetly.
“You know, I think that was it!” the man said, snapping his fingers.
“Thank you,” Alice said, returning to the table. “Oh, goddess!” she sang happily. “This place just became mildly interesting!"
Ilias was just finishing up and listened to what Alice told her while Sonya stood there, disgusted but also apprehensive. It occurred to me that Alice had lately seemed a lot more interested in denigrating Sonya than Ilias. What was Alice’s problem with Sonya?
“Sonya,” Ilias said gently. “I don’t know for sure that Lazarus is in charge of the Elka company. But he has the ability, and the loose morals. We should really find out. If only because you need to know now. If you can honestly tell me that you don’t, then let’s leave this place and rest up for the long journey to Sabasa. But if you can’t look me in the eye and say you can leave this place not knowing, then we have to get answers.”
“I…. you’re right, Goddess,” Sonya said sadly. “Now I have to know.”
Ilias got up and hugged Sonya. “Whatever we find out, I support you, okay? I’m always here if you want to talk.”
Alice harrumphed. Okay, now the dynamics of our group were beginning to confuse me. I understood Sonya’s devotion to Ilias. She was raised in the faith. Familiarity had bred a small bit of contempt, as it always does, but Sonya was still conscious of Ilias’ status and still believed in her. What confused me was Ilias’ kindness towards Sonya, and the goddess’ seeming approval of Sonya’s pursuit of me. Was it simply because Sonya was human? I was beginning to miss the relative simplicity of traveling alone with Alice. Heck, by the standards of this group, my relationships with the Four Heavenly Knights, while married to Alice, were models of clarity!
“So shall we head on over to that headquarters and start demanding those answers?” Alice asked eagerly.
“I’m not going to ask some criminals about my Uncle Lazarus,” Sonya said hotly. “Luka, take me to Iliasville. I’m going to ask him myself!”
“You do realize that’s a two week journey, right, Sonya?” I said.
“You do realize you can teleport to anywhere you’ve been before?” Sonya countered. “Idiot.”
Oh yeah.

Truth be told, I had missed Iliasville. The Luka Village, later Luka City, that I had spent centuries knowing, had changed on my world tremendously, so that by the time I was a mere forty years old, I couldn’t recognize the place. Seeing Iliasville as it was on my world had brought me pangs of nostalgia, feelings that were reignited as I teleported us right in front of Lazarus’ house.
“I need to do this alone,” Sonya said. “You’re not family.”
Well, on the bright side, at least Sonya didn’t have me confused for her Luka anymore. She went into the house. Within a few minutes, I heard shouting and crying. When Sonya came back out, she wasn’t looking at me. She handed me a piece of paper. I quickly scanned it. It was a letter of introduction for our group, asking the local Elka company leader to meet with us.
“Sonya,” I said. “I’m sorry you had to find out this way.”
“He’s not really a bad person, Luka,” she said, still not meeting my gaze. “I guess being an adult is complicated. You get mixed up with people. I’m certainly mixed up in some crazy crap right now. Just… take us back, okay?”
Feeling horrible for Sonya, I wrapped her in my arms and brought us back to the front of the Monte Carlo diner. The four of us made our way to the large building at the far east side of the town. Although it wasn’t Ilias Kreuz, and it didn’t have the religious symbols on the building, it gave me similar vibes, right down to the thugs guarding the entrance. I missed Alice being able to do jedi mind tricks on people like that.
“This building is private property!” one of the thugs said. “If you aren’t connected to the company, get lost!”
“We have a letter of introduction from Lazarus,” I said, trying to be polite, knowing I could make short work of these two if I wanted to. Not many people made me want to go on a sealing spree, but the criminal element strongly tempted me. Ilias was right. I hated injustice. I hated organized crime. But for now, it was probably best to do things the diplomatic way. Lazarus had made that possible for us.
“THE Lazarus!?” the thug guard exclaimed. “Let me see that! Huh. No shit… This is the real deal. Come on, I’ll show you to Elka.”
“Elka’s a person?” I asked.
“You didn’t know that? Yeah, the company’s named after him. I guess since you’re connected to the company by family, I can wise you up on a coupla things. Elka’s not a bad guy. He keeps this town safe. Well, mostly. He tolerates some low level, non violent rackets, so long as they pay him tribute. Lately business has been down in that regard, due to that Justice Kaiser bitch.”
“Justice Kaiser?”
“Yeah, some costumed vigilante running around beatin’ on the local hustlers. At first we didn’t take her seriously, she’s just a human chick and all, but don’t let the ridiculous costume fool ya. The lass can fight! She must have monster blood or somethin’. She even went toe to toe with the succubus that’s been prowling around some nights!”
“A human girl going one on one with a succubus?” Alice mused. “That is impressive. Luka, I’d like to find out more about this person.”
“Me too,” Ilias said. “Any human who fights monsters that effectively interests me.”
I was tempted to think that Ilias hadn’t really changed much, but she had warned me that people don’t change overnight, and Ilias was millions of years old. Still, I had to concede that Ilias wasn’t wrong to be supportive of this Justice Kaiser. I also fought bad monsters, and this succubus sounded like she was preying on the local men. I remembered to be sure to check on that boy in the alleyway when we were done here.
We were taken to a room that looked like an office, where another thuggish man sat behind a desk doing paperwork. Was this Elka? If so, I’d expected someone who looked more like a stereotypical mob boss. Maybe a suit and tie. Instead, he just looked like all the others in Monte Carlo.
“Well!” Elka greeted us. “I never expected Lazarus’ family to pay me a visit! Is he still destroying his body with alcohol?”
“I’m afraid so,” Sonya answered sadly. “Why, you don’t strike me as the kind of guy who takes care of his body.”
“Naw, but there are levels. Anyway, what can I do for you? I assume you want information. We know quite a bit cuz we hire adventurers to sell us information that they gather on their quests. Always pays to know what’s goin’ on. The only thing I can’t share with you is information on your uncle’s dealings. You do understand, right?”
Sonya just glared at the man. I cut in.
“Those are probably things we’d be better off learning from Lazarus himself,” I said.
“Do you know anything about Marcellus?” Ilias asked. “I know he was a good friend of Lazarus’.”
“I know OF him, but not much ABOUT him,” Elka admitted. “Marcellus was quite the hero, but he hasn’t been heard from in years.”
“How about a white rabbit?” Alice asked.
“Like, a rabbit girl?”
“Sort of,” Alice explained. “I’m not actually sure she’s even a monster. But she dresses like a white rabbit and fancies herself one.”
“Naw, I got nuthin’. Sorry to disappoint.”
“What exactly can you tell us?” Sonya asked irritably.
“Well, one thing I can tell you is about the war. Sabasa’s leavin’ the alliance. That’s gonna leave Grand Noah open to invasion by Grangold. Its lookin’ pretty bad for Grand Noah. Doesn’t matter to us. We make money either way.”
“So is that your business?” Sonya asked. “Selling arms to both sides?”
“Only to Grand Noah,” Elka said. “even the mob has standards. We also sell huminatarian supplies. Food, medicine. We got magic users as well. We sell their services cheap. In exchange, they get practice. But even though we only help Grand Noah, we can make money whether they win or not. It's just a matter of finding the best rackets.”
“How about this Justice Kaiser person?” I asked. Frankly, I was interested as well, for my own reasons. A costumed vigilante was interesting. Was she like Batman?
“She’s a nuisance, but nothing more. I’ve ordered my men to let her be. Frankly, I don’t like the local thugs she picks on. We tolerate and regulate them because otherwise they’d just run wild. But if she eliminated them from the streets, I wouldn’t shed no tears, know what I’m sayin’?”
“Thank you, sir,” I said politely, and we left. So, not much of use, but we did get a better feel for the situation on Sentora continent. There had been rumors of war, but I wasn’t clear on exactly what was going on. Apparently, Grangold was at war with everyone else, and for some reason Sabasa had dropped out of the alliance. That was bad, since Sabasa was the most powerful kingdom on Sentora. Or good. I couldn’t know which side was on the side of right. Perhaps neither of them, judging by Earth’s history of warfare. Perhaps whatever ended the war fastest was best. In any case, I didn’t plan to get involved if I could help it.
“It’s pretty dark,” Sonya said. “We should really go check on that kid, make sure he’s not still there.”
“I normally wouldn’t care,” Alice said. “But I’ve never liked the way succubi operate. Many monsters kill prey, but most of those monsters aren’t very intelligent. Succubi know exactly what they are doing. For the sake of monster/human relations, I have to make sure she’s not one of those types.”
“Well, then let’s take the short way,” I announced, teleporting us all instantly to the alley where we’d found the boy. I was getting pretty confident with my teleportation powers. Although truth be told, when time wasn’t of the essence, I preferred more traditional modes of travel.
Time was definitely of the essence in this case, however. We appeared in the alleyway to find the boy still next to the well, and he had company. A succubus was leering at him with obvious hunger in her eyes. The first thing that struck me about the succubus was how not attractive she was. Most succubi are knockouts. While this one wasn’t ugly by any means, she was unremarkable, average in almost every way. I understood why she must be operating in a place like Monte Carlo. A succubus like her would be unable to get adequate nutrition in a place more populated with other succubi. The boy wasn’t being choosy, however, his own eyes a mix of fear and anticipation. It had probably been unfair of me to assume he didn’t understand the risks. His eyes told a different story. He knew he might die tonight. But he wanted this, very badly.
“You look delicious,” the succubus said to the boy. “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure to squeeze every last drop out of you. Don’t worry, I won’t kill you. I’ll just give you a taste of heaven, I won’t actually send you there.”
“Guh,” the boy replied, quivering.
“Are you going to cry for help?” the succubus taunted. “Are you going to resist? It doesn’t matter. You’re getting raped tonight no matter what.”
“Should we do something?” Sonya asked.
“Let’s…. wait a bit,” I said reluctantly. “He clearly wants this. I remember what it was like to be a teenager. We’ll intervene if she gets out of control.”
“So we’re going to watch?!” Ilias said in disbelief.
“I’ll watch, you can turn away if you want,” I replied. “I’m just looking out for this boy. He doesn’t want to be saved. He’ll hate us if we save him.”
“Maybe that’s what’s best for him!” Sonya countered.
“You’re probably right,” I conceded. “But you know how it is in a place like this. Most boys in this region, their first time is with a monster, usually not voluntarily. I’d rather he experience this in a safe way, rather than for us to save him tonight and then she just comes back and rapes him tomorrow without us here to bail him out if it gets too rough.”
“I’m tempted to just call you a pervert for wanting to watch,” Alice said. “But your argument is sound. Succubi need to eat, and the boy wants it. It’s not our place to interfere.”
Sonya and Ilias looked as if they might interfere, however, and frankly I didn’t blame them. If they went ahead, I decided I would back them up. I felt morally conflicted myself, given that the boy was likely underage, although I had no idea what the age of consent was in the Sabasan Kingdom.
Sonya and Ilias never got the chance to interfere, however. Appearing out of nowhere was a small, costumed girl. Her costume was incredible! Her cape matched her fiery red hair. Her tights were green at her chest, with white spandex covering her legs. I was instantly in love.
“Haa!!” the heroine shouted.
“Oh no, not you again!” the succubus moaned. “Who the hell are you, anyway?”
“I am an ally of justice!” the costumed girl, Justice Kaiser, replied. “A hero! I am…. Justice Kaiser!”
What she was, was the greatest thing I had ever seen in my life. When I say I was in love, I don’t mean in love as in how I felt about Alice. This was more me being a fanboy, brought up on superheroes as a child and continuing to enjoy comics and superhero movies as an adult. I never thought I’d see one in the flesh. From what we’d heard, her costume wasn’t just cosplaying. She had real powers. I was eager to see what she could do.
“Why do you keep getting in my way?!” the succubus whined.
“My heart and soul shall not forgive villains threatening the weak!” Justice Kaiser pronounced. “Take this! Justice Knuckle!”
With that, Justice Kaiser punched the succubus in the nose. “Ow!” the succubus exclaimed. “Not the face! I make my living with this face!”
“You’ll not make a living at the expense of young boys, villain!”
“I like her,” Ilias said.
“She is so weird,” Sonya said in response.
“Ahh, dammit, just when I was about to eat!” the succubus groused. “Fine, I’ll find another man!”
The succubus flew off into the darkness.
“Damn!” Justice Kaiser cursed. “She has eluded me once more!” She turned to address the boy. “It’s all right, citizen! Evil has left this place. Were you injured?”
“Yeah, directly in my heart,” the boy mewled.
“You there!” Justice Kaiser exclaimed, seeming to address me.
“Are you talking to me?” I asked, confused. Did she have hyper senses? The boy and succubus hadn’t noticed us, I assumed because they had been absorbed in the ancient dance of predator and meal.
“I can see the spirit of justice in your eyes!” the superhero said. “I have high expectations and a request for you!”
“We decline,” Alice replied.
“This isn’t a good place,” Justice Kaiser said conspiratorially, looking around. “Let’s go to my lair of justice to talk about this! It lies over the horizon!”
“Do you mean that house over there?” Sonya asked, pointing to a small home directly in our line of sight.
“Yes! Over the horizon!” Justice Kaiser replied, then flew off Wow.
“I have questions,” Ilias said after a moment where everyone was speechless.
“I do too, but I’d rather not get answers,” Alice said. “We’re done here. It’s late. Let’s get back to the castle.”
“I must meet her,” I said.
“Oh no, Luka, please don’t,” Sonya pleaded. “Nothing good can possibly come of this.”
“But she has a request for me!” I insisted. “It might be an important mission!”
“I confess to some interest,” Ilias said. “But I’m not sure she’s all right in the head.”
“If you are going to insist on this,” Alice said. “Then fine, the ‘Lair of Justice’ is right there. And she did actually hurt a succubus with a punch. For a human, that’s impressive. I guess I want to know how she could do that.”
“Did you sense any magic in her?” Ilias asked.
“I did, but it was weird,” Alice replied. “Almost like… Luka’s. But not quite.”
“Power kinda like mine?” I asked. “Then we have to get more information! She could be important!”
“Ugh, fine,” Alice said. “Let’s get this over with.”
“I am so going to regret this,” Sonya said.
It took us all of two minutes to walk over to her house, where we found Justice Kaiser still in costume, waiting.
“Thanks for coming!” she greeted us. “I’m Justice Kaiser! A hero!”
“No, Justice Kaiser, you’re no hero,” I said solemnly.
“You… you don’t think I’m a hero?” she asked, looking like she might tear up.
“No, you’re a SUPER hero!” I exclaimed. “You’re amazing! You punched a succubus, then you flew… and I love that costume!”
“Thank you so much!” she replied, practically beaming. “Your voice turns into MY power! Now, about that request. Earlier, you saw that succubus Eva, didn’t you?”
“Oh, I didn’t know her name, but yeah, I saw her,” I replied.
“For awhile I’ve been fighting with her, but she keeps escaping. She always runs off to Carlos Hill so I don’t chase her any further.”
“I saw you fly,” Alice observed. “You fly faster than she does. Your magical flight vastly exceeds what she can do with just her wings.”
“This suit gets stuffy with my sweat if I fight too long,” Justice Kaiser replied.
“Then take it off?” Sonya suggested.
“And so, I want you to defeat Eva!” Justice Kaiser continued, ignoring Sonya. “I can’t afford to go chasing after her anymore. As long as I wear this suit I can’t stay outside for very long.”
“Then take it off?” Sonya suggested again.
“I can see you have the spirit of justice blazing in your heart!” the superhero said to me, completely ignoring Sonya yet again.
“Yes!” I agreed. “I have so much justice inside my heart!”
“And me too!” Sylph cheered. “I am the Spirit of Justice! I am... Super Sylph!”
“I also see that you have great skill within you!” Justice Kaiser said.
“Yes!” I agreed again. “I use my power to fight for justice, just like you!”
“My head is starting to hurt,” Alice muttered.
“Surely you’ll be able to bring peace to this town by ridding it of Eva!” Kaiser exclaimed.
“Yes! I will defeat that succubus for you!” I assured her. Maybe I was getting a bit too into this.
“Then once a new hero is born, I will finally be able to take off this suit!”
“In that case, we’ll kick this succubus’ ass!” Sonya said.
“I beg of you, hero!” the superhero said, pretending that Sonya wasn’t even in the room. “Inherit the spirit of justice and defeat Eva!”
“Yes!" I agreed. "But please never stop being a superhero!”
“Well, if you really believe in me that much….”
“Where did you get that crazy power, anyway?” Alice asked.
“I’m afraid that until you are a member of my alliance of justice that I cannot reveal my secrets!”
“I don’t want to know that badly,” Alice said.
As we left her house, Alice was in a foul mood. “Are we seriously going to hunt down this Eva for her?” she asked.
“Now that I’m away from Kaiser’s magnetic presence,” I replied. “It does seem like a bit of a waste of time. But I think we might be able to do some good here, nevertheless. Something about Eva tells me that there’s a story there. We might be able to help her.”
“Please tell me this doesn’t involve feeding yourself to a succubus,” Sonya said. “It seems like every solution to a monster problem involves you feeding yourself to them.”
“Not all!” I said defensively. “I just want to talk to her, find out why she’s here.”
“While succubi can live anywhere,” Alice mused. “This is a rather unusual situation. Luka, did you notice how not gorgeous she is?”
“Yeah, I did notice that,” I admitted. “I’m guessing she’s here because there isn’t much in the way of competition. Desert monsters aren’t all that attractive or safe to mate with. This could just be the best place for her to get access to men. If she was in Natalia, she’d be competing with lovely mermaids. In Grangold, that’s Succubus Central. And Grand Noah has a huge variety of attractive monsters.”
“Okay, so we have our answers,” Alice said. “let’s go back to the castle.”
“No, I said I’d go take care of the situation and I keep my commitments,” I said firmly. “But I can do this alone if you ladies prefer. There shouldn’t be anything on Carlos Hill that I can’t handle with my sword, especially now that I’ve got Sylph.”
“You, alone with a succubus?” Sonya scoffed. “Absolutely not! I’m coming!”
“I suspect it will be Luka who is coming,” Alice cracked. “Because he’s a damned pervert. Can we at least do this tomorrow?”
“No, the night’s still young, and I’m sure this won’t take long,” I replied. ”Carlos Hill is less than an hour away. We’ll take care of things, then teleport back to Kaiser’s house and let her know the situation is resolved. We should be in bed well before midnight.”
“Can you at least assure me that’s the last pointless mission in this town?” Alice asked.
“Yes. I wish I could do something about the Elka company, but I can’t. That will probably have to be a problem for this world’s Luka when I’m gone.”
“Oh, thank the Dark God,” Alice muttered.
“Blasphemy,” Ilias spat.
“Let’s just get this over with,” Alice grumbled

We arrived at Carlos Hill in less than an hour, as predicted. The “hill” was a little larger than I expected, less a hill than a series of peaks and valleys, So hills, perhaps? In any case, we’d have to look around, in the dark. Ilias helped with her holy light, eager to be done with the whole affair. That light attracted unwanted attention, however. A Scylla of some sort, fortunately a lesser species, approached us.
“Arrrr…” she growled, sporting a bandana, a knife in her hand. “Prepare to be boarded, ya scalawags!”
“Is that some kind of threat?” I asked. “Because unless you’ve got friends around, you’re a bit outmatched.”
“A true pirate never flees from a battle, no matter how superior the opponents!” she responded.
“Pirates literally flee at the first sign of adversity,” Alice said derisively. “More importantly, we’re nowhere near water. Is everyone in this region delusional?”
“Arrrr….” The Scylla replied. “I’ll be takin’ that male from you and I’ll be guzzlin’ his semen!”
“This is the stupidest day ever,” Alice said.
“You weren’t in the haunted house until the end,” Sonya responded.
“It couldn’t have been as dumb as this. You know what? Go ahead. Try to rape Luka. Some people just have to learn the hard way.”
“Your mates are trembling in fear!” the Scylla yelled triumphantly. “They’ve abandoned ye!”
“Even my tolerance is pretty low for this nonsense,” I said, drawing my sword.
The Scylla lunged at me with the knife. Now I don’t like to bully anyone, but she wasn’t a kid like the bandits were and she was assaulting me with a deadly weapon. A good sealing would teach her a lesson. I quickly and easily parried her knife thrust, disarming her. My counterattack opened an energy leeching cut on her torso. She cried out in pain and surprise. I immediately felt terrible, having just felt how much that hurt from Heinrich’s version of Angel Halo.
“Why are you so horrible!?” the Scylla cried.
“Did you not just try to stab him and then rape him?” Sonya asked angrily.
“Yeah, yeah,” Alice said hurriedly. “Let’s skip to the part where she joins our party, eats our food, and feeds off of our men.”
“Men?” the Scylla asked hopefully. “As in, plural? Do you have a ship, too?”
“Just…. Just please, join our party,” Alice insisted. “And stop talking.”
“In that case, you have a new ally! I’m not much of a fighter, but I’m great in the kitchen!”
“Oh, that’s good, I can use the help!” I said.
“I’m always for adding people who have a use,” Alice agreed. “But as punishment, you’re going to have to live with that cut for the rest of the night. Since it’s not a real cut, it will heal perfectly by morning. But you deserve to live with the pain for trying to rape Luka, and more importantly, for being an idiot.”
“It’s not that bad,” the Scylla insisted. “I’ll manage. I was just surprised, is all.”
As I said before, I’m a brave man, or like to consider myself a brave man, but I do not handle pain well. Monsters, on the other hand, seemed to have incredible pain tolerance.
“Hey, maybe you can help,” I said. “Do you know about a succubus named Eva living around here?”
“Sure,” the Scylla shrugged. “She’s over that way. I’ll take you to her. I’m Sunny, by the way.”
Sunny didn’t have to lead us far. We saw the campfire up ahead. Eva was sitting next to it. It was getting a little on the chilly side as we got deeper into the night. Seeing us, Eva leapt up in surprise.
“You guys came all the way out here to look for me?!” Eva said in disbelief. “In a place like this?! Why does this shit always happen to me?! I just want to eat!”
“Don’t worry, Eva,” I assured her. “We were sent by Justice Kaiser, but I don’t use the same methods she does. I don’t assume you’re bad. I’ve known a lot of succubi. I know how bad the cravings are for your kind.”
“I don’t want your sympathy!” she said indignantly. “I just want to be left alone. I don’t hunt unwilling men.”
“You said you were going to rape him, whether he resisted or cried for help,” Ilias growled.
“That was just play acting!” Eva protested. “Men get more excited if I scare them a little! He was into it!”
“That may be so, but you’re scaring the people of the town,” I said. “You need to go hunt somewhere else.”
“There is nowhere else! Have you looked at me! I’m…. average! A succubus can’t be average! My breasts are like… C cups! My lips are thin! My eyes are brown and unremarkable! Even my legs aren’t sexy!”
“You’re too hard on yourself,” I insisted. “you may not be beautiful by succubus standards, but you’re still easy on the eyes.”
“Thank you, but don’t you see how hard it is for me? Everywhere I go, I get driven off, or I can’t eat enough because there’s too much competition. This was the first place where they accepted me and there’s plenty to eat. At least until that stupid hero started getting in the way!”
“If they accept you, why are you camping out in such an awful place?” Sonya asked.
“I guess ‘accept’ is a strong word,” Eva admitted. “It’s more that there are plenty of willing males, and the people there have never bothered to hunt me down. That place has much bigger problems than a lone succubus draining men without killing them.”
“Why don’t you come with us?” I asked. “We’re on a quest and could use a powerful monster like yourself. You’d be fed as much as you wanted.”
“Luka, you can’t be serious!” Sonya yelled. “A succubus?!”
“Luka, I’ve tolerated your monster loving ways up till now,” Ilias said. “And I have to admit, my burning hatred of monsters has mellowed somewhat to a simmer. But a succubus? There is no monster more obscene.”
“Alice, help me out here?” I pleaded.
“Sorry, Luka,” the monster lord replied, shaking her head. “You are the leader, so the choice is ultimately yours. But understand what this means. Succubi are ravenous. Unlike most monsters, semen is their primary food source. They can’t live without it. Other foods can barely keep them alive. Any other monster race can live without semen, although they can’t thrive without it. Succubi die of starvation without semen, even if they have plenty of other food to eat. She’d have to be fed every day.”
“Well, we have other men in the castle,” I said. “last I checked, they are loving life right now. Life is about to get ten times better.”
“Those men are weak,” Alice pointed out. “They won’t be able to sate her. They are all older. Why do you think she was hunting young ones? Young men are the tastiest, and the most nutritious.”
“They can at least help, so I don’t have to feed her daily!” I insisted.
“Boy, you really want a succubus on our team, don’t you?” Sonya asked, clearly quite cross at me.
“She’s powerful! She’d be the best addition to our team since Nanabi!”
“Yeah, about that…” Eva interrupted. “I’m a lover, not a fighter. I’m not really good at fighting.”
“I realize succubi don’t fight much in the traditional sense,” I said. “But your pleasure attacks are so potent, it’s almost a waste of time for you to do the kicking and punching and stabbing thing.”
“I’m afraid I’m not too great at pleasure attacks either. I talk about raping men, but I’ve never been able to actually subdue one who wasn’t willing.”
“Wow,” Alice said. “So your not raping men isn’t based on any moral principle, it’s based on the fact that you can’t successfully rape a man.”
“If it’s any consolation,” Sunny said. “I’ve never been able to rape a man either.”
“The talent level in this party is dropping,” Sonya said glumly.
“Well, the leader says I’m in, so I’m in,” Eva said, packing her four possession in a small bag. “So let’s go meet these men you were telling me about. I’m starved!”
“The nerve of that girl!” Ilias raged.
“Who even does that?!” Sonya chimed in.
“Please tell me you have some use,” Alice said.
“Well, I’m pretty good at a lot of different things,” Eva replied. “I know some nursing. Back when I lived in succubus village, I would steal semen by caring for injured men and just happen to be a little vigorous when giving them a sponge bath. I can also cook a little. The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, so I’ve managed to get some semen from men by feeding them in return. I’m pretty good at stealing stuff. I’m an ace pickpocket. I did a little dancing in the nude clubs once upon a time…”
“So basically, you can do a few things here and there,” Alice said. “Nothing we don’t already have, and better. Great. Fine. Whatever. Let’s just go home. At least the men will get a well deserved thrill. The monsters say they are sweethearts.”
“So it’s settled then!” I said happily. “Sunny, Eva, it’s late so we need to teleport back to town real quick while I let Justice Kaiser know you won’t be a problem anymore. Are you two okay with that?”
“Sure,” they both said.
With but a thought, we were all standing in front of Justice Kaiser’s Lair of Justice again. We knocked on the door and my favorite superhero in the whole world answered.
“You!” Kaiser exclaimed, staring at Eva.
“It’s okay,” I assured her. “I defeated her and she’s agreed to be good now. As a matter of fact, she’s joining our quest!”
“What kind of quest are you on?” Kaiser asked curiously. “What kind of quest needs a succubus?”
“I’m afraid it’s a quest to save the universe. We need all the help we can get. With that in mind, is there any chance I can talk you into joining us?”
“Oh goddess, please no!” Sonya cried.
“Well if the entire universe is at stake, how can a superhero say no?!” Kaiser exclaimed. “I’m afraid I’m only good for short battles, but I stand ready whenever you need me! Since I’m on your team now, you can call me Juska when I’m in civilian garb! But please, around those not in our alliance of justice, please call me by my code name.”
“Well then, welcome to the Alliance of Justice, Juska!” I said happily. “But we need to talk about that code name. Justice Kaiser sounds an awful lot like Juska. It’s not a good idea to have your superhero name be so close to your real name. Have you considered Captain Justice? Or Super Scarlet?”
“Oooh, both are so cool! I briefly considered calling myself Scarlet Samurai, but I don’t use a sword, so it doesn’t really fit. How about…?”
“Ilias, if you want to kill me now, I won’t resist you,” Alice said.
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