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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
- 38
- 39
- 40
We reached Grand Noah before noon the next day. The city was clearly on a wartime footing. Sonya remarked that it was good that we acquired solid intelligence in Fiona, because asking questions in Grand Noah given the mood of the city would have drawn suspicion. A city at war sees spies and traitors everywhere. We kept the group small: Ilias, Alice, myself, Sonya, and Sara. Our monster companions were welcome to leave the castle and enter the city on their own or in pairs, and under strict instructions to keep a low profile. Since all that most wanted to do was shop(with our party treasury), we hoped there would be no issue.
Seeing the queen required Sara playing the royal card. No one was allowed in the castle who wasn’t authorized. Sara got us past the guards with ease. We were hustled into the throne room to speak with the queen. She was exactly as I remembered her so many years ago. Older, middle aged, but with an elegant, mature beauty that appealed to me even more now than it did back then, when she had half-jokingly talked of marrying the great hero who had saved her kingdom. Unlike with Sara, there had never been any affection between us, only respect.
“Welcome to my palace, Queen Sara,” the Queen of Grand Noah said formally. “I’m glad to see you overcame the troubles you were going through.”
“It’s good to see you again as well,” Sara replied graciously. “Sadly, everything Sabasa suffered was due to my own inadequacies.”
“I heard that you abdicated the throne, but then your parliament reinstated you as queen?”
“That’s right. I still enjoy the loving support of the people of Sabasa. Our country is now a constitutional monarchy, with a parliament and a queen.”
Oh? I hadn’t heard that she was still queen. No wonder she was a ticket to see any monarch we wanted to see!
“So what brings you here, along with your heroic companions?” the queen of Grand Noah asked.
“Ah, so you have heard of them,” Sara replied. “They’ve done some great things, exploring Tartarus Rifts and saving villages. And of course unbrainwashing a very embarrassed queen. We are here because we wish to explore Grand Noah’s Tartarus Rift. But I have heard that the Tartarus is guarded, so we seek your permission to access it.”
“Obviously, permission is granted,” the Queen replied.
“A moment, your majesty,” A woman in a wizard’s outfit said.
“Do you have an objection, Mephisto?”
Actually, Mephisto was more than a woman. She was barely hiding that she was a monster A very powerful monster, resembling a lamia, but as far as I could recall, only a distant cousin of lamias. I could tell that Alice and Ilias were getting very bad vibes from Mephisto. I was as well.
“I wouldn’t presume to second guess your decisions, your majesty,” Mephisto said. “However, please allow me to introduce myself to the hero Luka and his companions. I am Mephisto, magical advisor to Grand Noah. I handle magical education and provide counsel to her majesty, the Queen.”
“I am the Monster Lord, Alipheese the Sixteenth,” Alice said in turn.
“And I am your goddess, Ilias the First and Only and Greatest and-“
“She gets the point,” Alice admonished.
“And I guess I’m Luka, you know Queen Sara, and this is…. Well, Sonya. The Brave.”
Sonya blushed at that. I guessed that with everyone having a glorious title, Sonya couldn’t be left out.
“Pleased to meet you, heroes,” Mephisto said. “Now about joining the Esta investigation team… Needless to say, the Esta incident is of utmost concern to our country, especially given the rumors that it may have been the result of a covert military operation by Grangold. In light of that, I wonder if we should involve outsiders in the investigation so casually.”
“In other words,” the queen responded. “You oppose adding them to the investigation team?”
“Oppose, no. I merely think it necessary for them to demonstrate their talents.”
“We have the greatest scientist in the world on our team,” I said. “If you’d like, I’ll go fetch her now.”
“That will not be necessary. We have plenty of intellectual capacity on the investigation team. What has been lacking is power. So you must prove your combat prowess. It just so happens that the Queen’s Cup is being held in the colosseum three days from now. Why don’t you participate in the tournament and show us what you can do?”
“Um….” Sara started to say. “Your majesty, while I am the Queen of Sabasa, Luka is the leader of our party. I will leave the decision up to him.”
“We’re in,” I said without hesitation. I hadn’t wanted to participate, but had recognized that there might be a need to follow the correct history. Having another reason to do it made my decision obvious. I was committed.
“Oh,” Sara said, surprised. “Then we have no objections.”
“Excellent,” Mephisto said. “Is that satisfactory to you, your Majesty?”
“It is,” the queen said. “Win the Queen’s Cup, and I shall permit you to join the investigation team.”

Outside the castle, Ilias and Alice were not happy.
“I don’t trust that yoma at all,” Alice said irritably.
“Once again we are in agreement, Alice,” Ilias added. “She’s clearly up to no good. She wanted you in that tournament, Luka. Do you think you can win?”
“I did last time, and I’m a lot more than I was then,” I answered. “Let’s go and register.”
For the first time, I actually paid attention, looking for monsters I recognized as traveling with us. Sure enough, I spotted Barbun and Mary checking out the sights. They noticed us as well and waved.
We found the registration building exactly where it had been the first time I’d entered the tournament. I signed up and was handed a sheet of paper with the rules. Most of them were familiar. No magic, although elemental powers weren’t considered magic. No intentional killing blows. The minimum penalty for that was a lifetime ban from the tournament, arrest and a murder charge if the blow was particularly malicious. No magic weapons, that fell under the “no magic” rule. But there was one major difference. There wasn’t just a singles tournament. There was also a team tournament this year, with the rules for the team tournament listed under the rules for singles.
“Hey guys,” I said. “When the queen said we had to win the Queens Cup, did she mean only the singles tournament?”
“If she did, she didn’t say that,” Sara replied. “Is there something other than the singles tournament?”
“Yeah, right here, it has rules for teams. Similar to the rules for singles as far as no magic, no magic weapons, and no killing. There’s a requirement that at least one person on each team must be a human.”
“How many to a team?” Sonya asked with interest.
“Four.”
“We should enter a team as well as having Luka compete individually,” Ilias said. “There’s a Queen’s Cup for both events. We have to win the Queen’s Cup. Singular. Having two chances at it would improve our odds.”
“My club will sing as it strikes down our enemies!” Sonya said happily. “I am so in!”
“How annoying,” Alice said. “But even in this form, I don’t think there is anyone who could replace me, so I will compete. Sonya is obviously our human teammate. That leaves two slots to fill. Ilias, you’re currently the most powerful next to Luka. I assume you will join us?”
“Absolutely!” Ilias said with glee. “A chance to smite monsters and the people will cheer me? Why would I ever miss that chance? Since I can’t use holy magic, I can use my bow. And of course these fists of fury!”
“So we need a fourth member,” Alice said. “Sara, are you interested?”
“I’m torn,” Sara replied. “I really want to do this. I love swordplay. But I’m not sure it’s appropriate for the queen of Sabasa to compete.”
“The Monster Lord and Goddess are competing,” Sonya pointed out.
“True. I guess when you put it that way, it’s no problem. Let’s go register, then!”
We went back to the registration table to register a team into the tournament. The disinterested woman handling the process looked up.
“Team name?” she asked with utter boredom.
“The Royals!” Sonya replied.
“Good for you. Tournament’s in three days. Brackets are posted in the town square and at the coliseum the day before.”

That left us three days to spend in Grand Noah. I had no problem with that. Grand Noah on my first journey had been my time of greatest happiness with Alice. Before the tournament had been almost like a honeymoon, with Alice and I seeing plays, sampling all kinds of good foods, and spending time together, for the first time on our journey free of worries. I’d entered the tournament simply to test my skills and perhaps make the queen happy, since a human hadn’t won in a very long time.
The tournament itself had been a traumatic experience which has been covered at length. But I’d won, and more importantly, proved myself to Alice, which took our relationship to the next level. While I recuperated from my battle with Alma Elma, we did even more plays, ate even more foods, saw even more sights. If Sabasa was the military capitol of Sentora, Grangold its economic capitol, and San Ilia its religious capitol, Grand Noah was the cultural capitol. With the exception of Alma Elma’s appearance, it was the greatest week of my life up to that point.
One of the charms of seeing Grand Noah as it was once again was showing Alice all of the things we’d experienced together the first time. Since there were differences due to how the Great Distaster had altered recent history, there were still suprises for me as well. There were restaurants that hadn’t existed before, plays that hadn’t been written before. I also made a point of taking other companions out, sometimes singly, sometimes in groups. Without a sexual element involved, it didn’t seem to cause the same jealousy issues. They all simply loved spending time with me, at least the ones who were interested in that sort of thing. The kitsunes preferred to travel in their own group, except for Nanabi, who wanted some Luka time because we had never really talked about our history.
The night before the tournament involved a very intense training session where I fought Nanabi, while our team of four practiced team maneuvers, supervised by the expert in team combat, Flippy. My own combat abilities always seemed to increase as the stakes did, so I mastered Nanabi fairly easily. Which was good, because if she’d beaten me she almost certainly would have done things to me, and then I wouldn’t have been able to take her out.
So that last night was spent out on the town with Nanabi, enjoying the night life. It was one of the rare times I’d ever seen her cover her breasts. One of the kitsunes had bought her a Grand Noah T-shirt meant for tourists. While going naked was permitted in Grand Noah, it was not the norm, and Nanabi didn’t want to attract undo attention. She needed no pants or dress, since her fur provided adequate cover for the rest of her body.
As we took in the sights and sampled the foods, I told her of how I’d worked with her counterpart for many years, and how we’d remained close long after that. Nanabi had lived to a grand old age of three hundred, longer than average for her race. I told her of our first battle in the treasure cave, how differently it had gone, and why. She was enraptured by my tales, especially curious about living in a technological world and helping to build it, given her love of science.
When we got back to the castle, inadvisably late, Nanabi gave me a huge hug, wrapping her arms and at least three tails around me.
“That’s to make up for knocking you down when you tried to hug me in the treasure cave,” she said.
“You couldn’t have known,” I replied.
“And this,” Nanabi said, kissing me tenderly. “Is for a wonderful night. I can honestly say I’ve never had so much fun.”
“Wow,” I said, stunned. “You never kissed me before.”
“And this,” she said, a tail slipping down my pants, caressing me with her ultra soft fur. “is for telling me that I wasn’t foolish for loving science rather than combat or magic. I always questioned whether I was doing the right thing by concentrating on that in my studies.”
“Guh,” I replied, her sensual eye contact arousing me so much that I came in my pants. Nanabi removed those pants and lifted me up, staring at me semen covered penis.
“And this is because I’m hungry,” she said, shoving my dick in her mouth, tenderly and softly eating the semen off of it, then continuing to suck to coax out a second load.

The first day’s matches began early in the morning. According to the rules there was no spectating of tournaments one was participating in. But that meant that I could watch all of the Royals’ matches, and they could watch all of mine. The Royals, our team, fought two matches in the first half of the day, easily rolling over the opposition. I was a little concerned, as their teamwork left something to be desired.
I had two matches as well, both later in the afternoon, one against a human opponent who was ridiculously yeas and quite disappointed that he didn’t draw a monster. Obviously one of the men who entered just to get raped in front of an audience. The other match was against a young dragonkin warrior. For about two minutes, it was a thrilling sword exhibition that had the coliseum on its feet. Then I started hitting her at will, causing her to give up. Really, I could have ended the fight by summoning Sylph early, but knew how much pride dragonkin warriors had in their swordfighting. She had come to cross swords and it seemed unfair to deny her. She did have questions, however.
“Why were you beating me with a dull sword?” she asked after conceding.
“I have a thing about drawing blood,” I explained. “And they wouldn’t let me use my sealing sword.”
“A human shouldn’t have been able to beat me even with a magic sword! The fact that you bested me with a mere training sword…. Incredible!”

“Wow, that was an easy first day!” Sonya said happily. “You looked great out there, Luka! How did we look?”
“You want my honest assessment?” I asked. Sonya frowned.
“I thought we did good,” she whined. “We did do good, right guys?”
Ilias and Sara said nothing. Alice was blunt as usual. “You charging at the enemy swinging that ridiculous club of yours won’t work against the tougher opposition,” Alice said. “Do that tomorrow in the round of 8, and your clothes will be off your body in a second. The monsters have to go easy on the human opponents because of the no-kill rule, so that means they’ll focus pleasure attacks on you. So if you want to get violated in front of twenty thousand people, keep doing what you’re doing.”
“In fairness, Alice,” Sara said, coming to Sonya’s defense. “None of us were executing any of the team maneuvers Flippy taught us.”
“Maybe we need to practice tonight,” Ilias said.
“No, we’re already tired, and we already know what we’re supposed to do. We just have to do it. Let’s chalk that first day up to being overly enthusiastic. That was definitely what was going on with Sonya. Tomorrow, let’s use sound strategy and tactics. We’re the Royals, after all. We should be disciplined, always under control.”
“How do you think I did, Alice?” I asked.
“I wouldn’t know,” she replied. “I was busy getting refreshments when your fights came up. They were over so quickly that I didn’t see anything.”
“I watched, and I thought you were quite good, Luka,” Sara said.
“You really shouldn’t have held back against that dragonkin, though,” Ilias noted. “I know you have a history with dragonkin, but this is not a mere contest for us. You have to win. That two minutes you spent playing with her was two minutes in which she could have gotten lucky. As good as you are, there are a lot of holes in your technique. You are quite hittable, and your human body is soft and vulnerable. So next time, summon those two infernal spirits and end it quickly.”
I promised that I would. Instead of going back to the castle, we all stayed at the competitors’ inn. It was pretty nice, although not posh like the Sutherland in Iliasburg. I slept alone, Alice deciding that even though I seemed to be one hundred percent the morning after getting drained, that could be deceiving. I’d feel fine and then I’d zig when I should have zagged during a battle and lose. So there would be no playing with me during the tournament.

The round of 8 began in the early afternoon, first with the teams. I realized that I would not be facing the same opponents I had faced the first time while watching the team contests. One team was led by a dullahan I recognized. Another was led by a cerberus. Both went on to the next round with relative ease. Both had also been my opponents when I had entered the Queens Cup back on my world. Due to the change in format, they had evidently chosen the team events, which left my opponents a mystery. Oh well, it was fairer that way, I thought.
Third were the Royals, who came out to loud cheers. While Sonya’s tactics may have been poor according to her teammates, the crowd loved her enthusiasm and bravery. Then I saw their opponents: the human didn’t seem like much. A standard warrior type, wearing as much armor as he could plausibly get away with, but loose fitting so that when it got ripped off he wouldn’t be injured in the process. I’d seen him fight in the earlier rounds and he was inferior to Sonya. He wouldn’t be much of a problem.
His monster teammates were another matter. A minotaurus girl who was actually rather lithe for her race, but no less powerful. Her thin form simply meant that she had speed to go with her power. An elf, as skilled with a bow as anyone I’d ever seen, provided backup and also lethal speed if anyone got too close. But the most frightening and dangerous was a praying mantis girl, who towered over everyone on the field.
I prayed that Sonya wouldn’t try charging that group. I breathed a sigh of relief when she didn’t. The combat started out quite well for our side. Ilias was quicker on the draw than the elf, putting two small arrows into her before the elf could even get one out of her quiver. The male, clearly a backup archer, nocked one of his own, but hit nothing. The minotaurus and the mantis girl charged our much smaller group. Alice, Sonya, and Sara tried to form a wall to stop the charge, while Ilias continued to fire rapidly. Her small arrows were accurate, but didn’t even faze the two powerful monsters bearing down on my friends. Sara’s sword thrust was knocked aside easily by the minotaurus girl, and Sonya’s clubbing blow landed, but merely annoyed the mantis, who knocked her out of the way, seeking to get at Ilias.
Ilias tried to bolt like a quarterback trying to scramble. The opposing team had been built for speed, however, and despite the mantis’ size she was very fast in pursuit. The mantis caught Ilias be her robe and picked her up in her pincers. In a real fight, the next step would likely have been tearing Ilias limb from limb. I never found out what the mantis would do in the context of a nonlethal competition, however, because Alice’s tail struck the mantis in the back so hard that it cracked her exoskeleton. Enraged, the mantis dropped Ilias and turned to face the little lamia who had dared to hurt her. That face got a knuckle sandwich for her troubles as Alice wound up and decked the insect. Even in small form, Alice’s punches were incredibly powerful.
I shifted my focus to Sonya, who was engaged in a clubbing battle with the minotaurus girl that Sonya was getting the worst of. With a sickening crack, the monster’s club impacted Sonya’s head, knocking her out, blood clearly visible in her hair. The crowd gasped and I got to my feet, ready to run down and heal her. Doing so was perfectly legal under the rules. Safety came first. But once she was attended to by a healer not in the competition, she was out.
Alice faced off with the minotaurus while Ilias rushed to Sonya. Healing magic wasn’t legal, although it wasn’t an instant disqualification the way offensive magic was. But it would mean that both Sonya and Ilias would be considered out of the fight. That didn’t mean all was lost, however. Sara hadn’t been hurt badly and seeing that Alice was holding her own against the minotaurus, went after the human male. He pulled out a short sword and he and Sara engaged in some pretty exciting swordplay which drew cheers from the crowd. They were clearly rooting for Sara, who most of the crowd knew was the queen of Sabasa. But I’d underestimated the man. He’d never had to face serious combat in the first two contests his team had been in, but he was quite good with a sword.
His time was running out, however, as Alice connected with a punch to the minotaurus girl’s gut that staggered her and knocked the wind out of her, followed by a tail strike to the head that sent her to the ground, groaning. That would leave the man facing both Sara and Alice. Since the man was using a sword, Alice drew her rapier and slithered to Sara’s aid.
Sara didn’t see Alice coming, however, and she was beginning to get frustrated. Tied up with the much more skilled than expected human who had outlasted his monster teammates, Sara changed strategy. Dropping her sword, she grabbed him by the hair and planted a deep kiss on his mouth. As her succubus magic flowed through his body, he dropped his own sword, his knees buckling. He went down, Sara not letting go of him as she kept the liplock on and began undoing his armor, trying to reach the bare skin underneath. He wasn’t resisting any further. The match was effectively over.
The crowd wasn’t so much stunned at the result as stunned at Sara’s tactics. Normally a match ending in rape would be cheered lustily by the crowd, but I don’t think that’s what the fans wanted from the queen. It was so quiet, in fact, that I could hear the lewd smacking noises as Sara continued to kiss her opponent’s body, clearly moving toward his groin. When Alice arrived a few seconds later, the match was declared over. The Royals had won. Alice pulled Sara off of the man, urging her to get a hold of herself. Sara, looking confused, gazed out at the silent crowd. Then Sara raised her arms in triumph and after some hesitation, the crowd cheered.

“Disqualified?!” Ilias raged back in the locker room. “What kind of fucking bullshit is that!? We followed all the rules!”
“You had an undeclared monster on your team,” the male referee explained patiently.
“What?! Sara?! Are you fucking kidding me?! Why the fuck does it matter?! Sonya’s completely human! The rules only say that we need one human on the team!”
“Queen Sara registered as human and appeared to be human to her opponents,” the ref replied. “Tricking the only human on the other team into thinking he was engaged in a fair sword battle with a fellow human, when he was actually in danger of a pleasure attack of great potency is at best poor sportsmanship. At worst, it was an intentional deception designed to gain an unfair advantage in the competition. My judgment stands. Thank you for your participation in the Queen’s Cup, ladies.”
“Oh, fuck off, ref!” Ilias yelled at his back.
“Is it true that you registered as human, Sara?” Alice asked. “You do realize that you’re a monster now, right?”
“I… I don’t know!” Sara whined. “The choices on the form were human, monster, or angel. I asked If there was an ‘other’ box, but they told me I had to pick one. I feel human. I don’t get cravings, not since Luka cured me.”
“Don’t beat yourself up, Sara,” I said. “It was a legitimate pleasure attack. Your team got qualified on a technicality. There’s no way you could have known that your unique identity would cause problems.”
“Sara, Luka’s right,” Ilias said. “I’m super pissed off right now, but not at you. I just think that’s a bullshit interpretation of the rules. We got screwed!”
“Most importantly, that means our chances to investigate that Tartarus with the queen’s blessing rest on you, Luka,” Alice said. “Do you feel confident?”
“I think so,” I replied, not really sounding confident at all. “It depends on who my opposition is. All I know is that it won’t be the same opposition I faced back in my world. The two fighers I faced in the round of 8 and the semis were in the team event.”
“Well, if you’re worried about Alma Elma, don’t be,” Alice said. “I was watching for her in the early rounds. I know you aren’t allowed to watch the singles matches so I did for you. No Alma Elma. I didn’t see anyone you couldn’t handle, either. So go out there and win it for us, okay, Luka?”
“I’ll do my best!” I assured them. Knowing Alma Elma wasn’t here made me feel so much better. It felt weird, though. On my first journey, it seemed like I was always encountering Heavenly Knights wherever I went. On this journey they were nowhere to be found. What were the Heavenly Knights doing? Were they aware of my presence yet?
As I made my way out of the locker toom towards the gate for my first match of the day, I remembered something.
“Hey, Ilias?”
“Yes, Luka?”
“Thank you for not threatening to murder the ref and imprison his soul for ten thousand years.”
“i….” Ilias paused, shocked. “Wait,did I just curse him out and not threaten him and his descendants? What is happening to me?!”
Smiling, I walked to the entranceway to await my first match of the day, the quarterfinal match. In case you haven’t read, or have forgotten how the Queen’s Cup works, we don’t know who our opponents are until they are announced. Well, that’s mostly true. The brackets with names are posted, and I knew that I was facing someone by the name of Minamo. Since Minamo was a first time entrant, there weren’t even rumors about her. My companions would know who she was, being permitted to watch the individual events as I had watched the team events, but they were honorably sticking to the rules by not telling me what to expect. I had a pretty good idea. Minamo was clearly a Yamatai name, which meant either a kitsune or a lamia in all likelihood.
First, the announcer introduced me, to loud cheers from the crowd. Since the crowd was mostly human, I had quickly become a fan favorite. The crowd was also cheering the possibility of a long, drawn out rape, which is what many of them came to see more than the fighting. I hoped to disappoint them in that regard.
The announcer introduced Minamo, who came out of the entranceway in full battle gear, armed with two katanas. She was a kitsune, although an unusual one. She was more heavyset than average, rippling with muscle. She wore a mask to cover her eyes. She had three tails, indicating a moderately powerful member of her race. I recognized what she was immediately, having spent many centuries living in Yamatai with my beloved Tamamo. This was a ninja. I hoped that my practice up to that point would be enough, along with my two spirits. In my prime, I could have taken on three kitsune ninjas. But that was many centuries in my past, when I sparred with Granberia on a daily basis. For the first time in the tournament, I wondered if I was ready.
Wordlessly, Minamo bowed to me, then a horn sounded indicating the beginning of combat. She chose to take a defensive position, challenging the lowly human she faced to show what he had. I obliged with what wasn’t even close to my best attack, a Granberia-style finisher that was way too slow to have much of a chance of hitting. I had always been a better counter attacker than a pure attacker. I wanted to see if she would leave me an opening in the process of countering my attack.
Minamo was a pro. She not only easily parried my strike with one katana, she cut me with her second katana. Yee-ouch!! Blood ran down my sliced shirt, ruining it. I had more, but I was getting tired of losing expensive clothing! Minamo didn’t follow up, waiting with both swords drawn for my next move.
My next move was to prematurely summon Sylph and Gnome. Sensing that I was using elemental powers and not even reacting to it due to her extraordinary discipline, she summoned her own earthpower. I attacked and the main phase of the match began.
Now you might be thinking, I’ve got Sylph, right? How can even a kitsune ninja stand a chance? It’s true that Sylph alone is too much for most monsters to handle, and I can count on my fingers the number of humans that could ever hit me while I’m “playing with the wind”. To the human eye, I can barely be seen due to my amazing speed. But a fox is another matter. Foxes learned to use earthpower precisely because they were already fast, and also relatively weak. Using earthpower allowed them to keep most of their speed, but vastly increase their hitting power and their ability to take blows. Add that to their incredible reflexes and hyper senses, and all my speed did was make me competitive.
The crowd was enraptured as we attacked and counterattacked and parried, the sounds of swords clashing at least twice per second, along with the audible swish of clean misses. Using a training sword was a disadvantage for me. I was basically bludgeoning her instead of cutting her when I connected, and I connected frequently. Our earth powers cancelled each other out, allowing my hits to injure her, while her hits still cut me. I was beginning to feel like I was fighting Granberia. I was getting seriously sliced up. Fortunately, there would be no scarring this time. In fact, I would be healed between matches and back to one hundred percent in time for my semifinal if I defeated Minamo. That’s why unlike in human fighting tournaments, exits due to injury were rare. One could suffer injuries during combat and be healed within an hour.
I realized that I could not win just slapping her with a training sword. I would have to force her to submit. Ninjas had weak grappling skills, although they knew plenty of escapes and counters. I would probably only get one good chance to take her by surprise and gain a quick submission. I dropped my sword as soon as she was only slightly off balance parrying a purposefully awkward attack from me and shot in and speared her down. Instead of trying to escape, she welcomed the change in tactics, also releasing her swords and wrapping all three tails around me to hold me in place. A very effective version of the guard, customized for a fox’s natural advantages.
I’ve been in many guards in my life, even before I’d been transported to a strange world. It’s a very uncomfortable position, whether you’re on top or bottom. Another dude has his legs wrapped around you and your movement is limited. You have to expend a large amount of energy to continue attacking, because you have to lunge forward to try to connect with anything solid to your opponent’s head. If you want a submission it’s even tougher, because you’re locked up with this person and a battle of strength and speed has turned into a game of chess. But being wrapped up in a kitsune’s guard is not awkward or uncomfortable at all. In fact, most men wrapped up that way would see no reason to continue fighting. Minamo was playing that card for all it was worth, holding me tightly and grinding against me. Since I was clothed, I was in no danger of an orgasm, but she clearly was hoping I’d surrender, at which point she would reward me with all manner of pleasures, right in front of a cheering crowd.
I don’t mean to brag again, but I am no ordinary man. Even Tamamo couldn’t get me to surrender that way. A three tailed kitsune wasn’t about to succeed where Tamamo had consistently failed. The crowd grew noticeably restless however as the fight ground to a halt for the next few minutes. Scattered chants of “Rape! Rape!” started, but quickly subsided as Minamo and I continued to subtly jockey for position on the ground, but not in a particularly exciting way. Finally, I heard some scattered boos and shouts of “Fight!” by frustrated fans.
I felt Minamo attempt to shift. I knew what was coming. She was going to use her strength to turn me around and mount me. The tradeoff for that move is that she had to loosen her grip on me and bring her face closer to where I could reach it. Summong up Gnome again, who I had let rest while I was in Minamo’s guard, I raised my body up and began raining down blows on Minamo’s head. I never liked punching women, even monster women who were much stronger than me, but this was competition. As a warrior, if anything, I believed she would welcome it. While she may have appreciated being in a good fight, no one likes getting hit in the face in the moment, so she did what a lot of inexperienced grapplers do: she turned over onto her stomach, conceding her back to me. Ten seconds later, it was over, as I locked in a choke and she signaled her surrender.
Rising up as the crowd roared, Mnamo bowed to me and removed her mask, exposing the face of a particularly lovely representative of her species. She flashed me a sweet smile and complimented me on my victory.
“Never in my life would I have expected to be defeated by a human,” Minamo said, speaking for the first time. “You wield the elements and can resist my pleasure attacks. It has been an honor to do battle with you!”
She bowed again, this time deeply, as the crowd applauded her honorable concession. I showed my appreciation the traditional Earth way, by shaking her hand. She was apparently familiar with the custom and gripped my hand firmly. We each turned and returned to the locker rooms.
“Way to go, Luka!” Sonya exulted, hugging me. I winced, which reminded her to get to healing my wounds, as if the blood all over her own outfit didn’t tip her off.
“You did good, Luka, but I’m going to have to put my foot down now,” Alice warned. “You’re taking a sword out there for the next match. A real one. We can’t afford to lose and you won’t kill your opponent. At this level they are too powerful for you to kill accidentally.”
“Alice, you know I can’t do that,” I whined.
“You can, and you will!” Ilias yelled. “And not just because I love to see you hurt monsters. You were dominating her at one point in that match and with a real sword you would have defeated her! We need to win! You can’t hold back anymore! It’s bad enough that you can’t use your power here! Use the fucking sword, Luka!”
“I’ve seen your next opponent,” Sonya said. “I can’t tell you who it is, but you’re going to lose if you try to go out there with a training sword again. Grappling won’t work either.”
“Careful, Sonya, that’s revealing too much,” Sara warned. “You’re skating close to getting him disqualified. But your friends are right, Luka. It’s only a competition. Here, take my sword.”
Sara handed me her fine blade. It had superb balance and was made of very high quality steel, probably the best most humans had access to. Not dragonsteel, but even most monsters didn’t have access to that. I had made a promise to myself that I would never draw blood again, but I couldn’t ignore the advice of my companions when they were unanimous. If my opponent was that tough, I would lose if I didn’t use a real sword. And I couldn’t lose if we wanted to explore that rift, at least with the Queen’s blessing.
The other quarterfinal matches went on while Sonya and Ilias tended to my wounds. It was such a luxury having companions with healing powers! I couldn’t even get sympathy very often on my original journey! Sonya and Ilias did good work, fixing me up so that I didn’t even look like I’d been wounded just an hour before. I still felt lingering pain, however. Not so much that I worried about being hampered, but just enough that I whined about it. That earned me a “Nut up!” from Ilias.
Two hours later, I was informed that my next match would begin. I was eager and apprehensive at the same time, wondering who I could be fighting that my friends would make me take a real sword out. Then I saw her. An angel of the purest white wielding a sword a large as the one Granberia carried. I recognized her immediately. Valkyrie!
As I walked to the center of the arena to meet my opponent, however, I noticed that she didn’t quite look like Valkyrie. Very similar, but her face was a little different. Her features were somewhat gentler than the features of my old enemy.
So a quick recap if you don’t know the history between Valkyrie and I. I first met the warrior angel in the battle in the Monster Lord’s castle that opened the Ilias War, as it became known. Despite her reputation and legend, she wasn’t in Granberia’s league, probably due to the fact that she couldn’t be harmed by anything except Angel Halo. Hard to learn how to fight well when you’re never really at risk. So I dominated her and she spent the rest of the war, and some time after, sealed in Angel Halo, along with her friend, Cupid. They were unsealed shortly after my wedding.
They didn’t take that experience well and plotted their revenge for some time, and eventually got it in two different timelines. While that ended our feud, we were never friends. They tolerated me since Ilias and Eden loved me(Well, Eden loved me, I was never quite sure about Ilias), but I didn’t exchange more than a few words with either of them after that.
“Excuse me, are you Valkyrie by any chance?” I asked politely.
“I am A Valkyrie,” the angel replied. “I was the only one on the surface when the Great Disaster occurred. Do I know you? Where would you have met another of my kind?”
“I haven’t met you. Sorry for the confusion. I did meet a valkyrie angel some time ago.”
“Oh? You don’t look to be over thirty. But then again, you don’t look like you should be in the semifinals of this tournament either. There is apparently more to you than meets the eye. I would look into your soul, but I have lost that power. I am greatly diminished since Heaven disappeared.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” I said sincerely. “Since you are simply one of many valkyries, would you tell me your name?”
“I call myself Victoria. I did not have a name in Heaven, but when I was stranded on the surface I chose to adopt a human name.”
Our conversation was cut off by the blaring of the horn. Not missing a beat, she swung her giant sword at me, attempting to end the fight quickly. It was the same move I’d tried to use on Minamo, and it went about as well for Victoria as it had for me. I countered and wounded her slightly. She didn’t even grimace, probably because angels don’t feel pain the same way mortals do, although I did see that I had done damage. Apparently angels were not immune to normal attacks since the disappearance of Heaven. I guess that made sense. Otherwise, the competition would have been unfair. The rules specifically forbade invincible opponents.
I was far more impressed with Victoria’s abilities than I had been with my original world’s Valkyrie. Victoria had lived with vulnerability for the past thirty years and had honed her skills underthreat of injury. She was extremely quick, to the point where I had to summon Sylph right at the beginning, and even stronger than she was quick, forcing me to also summon Gnome. That portended a back and forth battle, since I would have a clear advantage while my spirits were summoned, but be at a disadvantage while they were resting.
For five minutes, Sylph and Gnome enabled me to dominate Victoria. Despite the fact I was using a real sword, my cuts drew no blood, which made me feel a little better. In fact, my normal sword(actually, Sara’s sword, I was just borrowing it) seemed to behave in similar fashion to Angel Halo. The cuts leeched out her power, seemed to weaken her, as her essence leaked out of the wounds.
Sylph gave out first. Shortly afterwards, Gnome followed. Victoria, like Minamo, could sense when I had my spirits up and when I didn’t, and with renewed energy, she pressed the attack. Now I was on the defensive, and getting hit. In one respect, the Queens Cup isn’t really a fair tournament, at least not for judging who is the better real life fighter. I should have been killed by at least two of the blows Victoria hit me with, but since she was forbidden to strike a killing blow intentionally, she held back, avoiding striking too hard at vital points. Without Gnome, my body was very soft and vulnerable. As it was, I knew it would take more than just an hour of healing to fix what Victoria had done to me. My blood was all over the ground and I was growing weaker. But Victoria was also tiring. She had been wounded and her put her all into defeating me while Sylph and Gnome were sitting on the proverbial bench.
Without even asking, which was starting to become a habit with those two, Sylph and Gnome roared back into my heart. Victoria immediately noticed the change and tried one last desperate offensive. But as fast and powerful as she was, and as much as she had weakened me, I was too much for her. I struck a vicious blow at her neck that I feared may have been too much. It was, but not to the point where her life was at risk. But it was enough to make Victoria decide that it was time to give in.
Both us collapsed to the ground after she surrendered as the crowd roared, impressed by the sword duel. With a grunt of effort, she rolled over towards me and whispered in my ear.
“You are incredible, my friend,” she said, her sweet breath caressing my ear, almost making me forget my pain. “I believe you will be the winner tomorrow. I can’t tell you who you are fighting, but I don’t think that she can stand against you. I faced her last year in the finals and defeated her.”
“Oh wow,” I said weakly. “Are you saying I just beat last year’s champion?”
“You have indeed,” Victoria said, smiling. “It would honor me if I could present you with the Queens Cup myself. It has often been a tradition for the previous year’s victor to present it if she has been defeated by the new champion.”
Medics with stretchers arrived and carefully lifted each of us into them. I was rushed back to the locker room for healing. I would need it. Had I been left there, I probably would have died from blood loss. The match was over, so I was allowed to heal myself, but it never even occurred to me to attempt it. I chuckled to myself thinking that had I been alone in the wilderness I might have died of stupidity. That would have given Alice a good laugh.
I was healed up sufficiently in the locker room to walk on my own again, although I was still very weak. Since getting back to the Pocket Castle outside of town would have been a lot for me, we stayed at the hotel the competitors were staying at. All competitors were permitted to stay for free, and since it was just me, tomorrow’s opponent, and the team finalists left, there were enough rooms available to give my companions rooms. Ilias and Sonya stayed in my room to continue working on me, while Alice and Sara each had their own. Sara, as befitting her status, received the finest room in the hotel. Alice probably should have received such a room, but she hadn’t advertised the fact that she was the Monster Lord and in any case didn’t care how nice the room she slept in was. As she always told me, they all look the same with your eyes closed.

The day of the finals had come. Between Sonya and Ilias’ ministrations and a good night’s sleep, I felt as if I could beat anyone. My companions and I stood in the entryway awaiting the announcement of the final match. Since it was the final match, there was a lot more fanfare. Saki had joined us in the entryway for reasons I couldn’t imagine. A lot of my friends from the castle had been in the stands for the tournament, Saki included. But why was she in the entryway? The answer came a few moments later.
“And now, worldwide superstar, Saki-chan!” the announcer yelled. A few scattered cheers broke out, indicating that Saki was probably not yet a worldwide superstar. It didn’t diminish Saki’s spirits in the slightest, however, as she ran out onto the field with a microphone in hand. A microphone attached to nothing. By that point I understood that the mic was strictly for show. Her voice could magically project itself to suit any venue. She even brought her own background music!
When Saki arrived in the middle of the arena, the music began. It started with a steady beat, almost in time with a heartbeat. When the guitars kicked in, I recognized the song immediately. It was one that I had taught her: Eye of the Tiger. She knew it was a favorite of mine and I had to admit it was appropriate for a fighting tournament. The fans had never heard the song before. They were enraptured. Probably not because they were into rock music, or even open minded about listening to new styles of music, but because Saki’s magic also seduced a crowd. I feared the stands might collapse, the place was rocking so hard, fans in a frenzy all over the coliseum. It was a good thing she was only doing one song. Sonya seemed to think the song was hilarious. I looked at her questioningly.
“I guess I can tell you now, since you’ll find out in just a second anyway,” Sonya giggled, whispering in my ear. “Your finals opponent is a tiger girl!”
I grinned at that. It was also a relief. Tiger girls are tough as nails, probably the most dangerous beast short of an eight tailed kitsune, but a valkyrie was tougher. I knew I couldn’t afford to get too confident, but Victoria was probably right that I would be favored in the final round.
Mephisto joined us in the entryway. “Congratulations on making it so far, hero Luka,” she said smarmily. “In the finals, just as in the true history.”
“What the hell do you know about that?” Ilias asked angrily.
“I know what you know,” Mephisto replied mildly. “Or in any case, I know what you SHOULD know. Don’t you remember what happened here, Ilias?”
“Of course I don’t remember!” the goddess retorted angrily. “I lost most of my memory!”
“Oh, how interesting! Perhaps the announcement of your opponent will jog your memory, goddess.”
“Ladies and gentleman!” the announcer shouted. “There has been a substitution due to injury! Due to insufficient healing from her last battle, Konan will not be able to compete in the finals!”
“What the fuck?!” Ilias exclaimed. “Under the rules, that means Luka is the winner! Konan forfeited! You can’t have someone just enter the competition in the finals!”
“Why am I suddenly getting a very bad feeling?” Alice asked no one in particular.
“The Queen has the authority to alter the rules for the good of the tournament,” Mephisto said mildly. “Since we are at war, this tournament is essential for morale. It wouldn’t do for the final match to not take place. No Queens Cup has ever ended with a forfeit. Can you imagine how it would affect the populace if this was the first?”
“This is highly irregular,” Sara said. “How did the Queen decide who was worthy to compete in the finals. Surely it couldn’t be one of the losers!”
“Nor would someone who hasn’t competed make any sense!” Alice added.
“No, but someone who has won the Queens’ Cup in the past, but had declined to compete lately, would be undoubtedly qualified, don’t you think?” Mephisto asked with a thin smile.
Oh, God. I knew exactly who Mephisto was talking about. Ilias realized it as well, her memory suddenly coming back to her. I could relate, having been in a similar position on my first adventure.
“Alma Elma,” Ilias breathed.
“Come again?” Alice asked. “You can’t be ser-“
“Replacing Konan, a previous Queens’ Cup champion…. Kyuba!!!!!”
The crowd, initially deflated, erupted and began a Kyuba chant. I strained to see the other entranceway. Alma Elma came out, causing the chants to grow even louder. My heart leaped into my chest, not just out of fear that I might lose, but due to emotion as well. I’d missed her so much it hurt more than any of the wounds Valkyrie or Minamo had inflicted on me.
When my name was announced, I numbly walked out to meet my long lost friend. I realized intellectually that this Alma Elma wasn’t her. My Alma Elma had died many centuries ago. But still, seeing her in all her beauty and seductiveness, knowing the real person behind her breezy attitude, it still felt as if I knew her.
We met in the center of the field. Impulsively, I hugged her.
“Oh, a fan?” she said, slightly confused.
“You could say that,” I replied, releasing her and backing away again.
“Well, the honor is all yours, of course,” she laughed. “And the pleasure will be all yours as well. If you’ve seen me in action, you know what awaits you after your defeat. Since you like me so much, I’ll be sure to give you my very best.”
“Alma Elma, why did you decide to compete?” I asked.
“Ara, so you know who I am? Have I raped you before? You seem like a pretty nice guy. I don’t normally rape nice guys. Except here of course. It’s practically mandatory!”
“It’s hard to explain,” I said for the umpteenth time. “It’s just….. good to see you again, Alma Elma.”
“Aw, you’re sweet, even though I’m sure I don’t know who you are. If you’re trying to get me to use my extra special techniques on you, you’ve succeeded. You know what else would help? Get rid of that sword. Let’s just wrestle, our sweaty bodies rubbing together. Wouldn’t that be nice?”
I dropped the sword. “What the fuck are you doing?!” I heard behind me. I didn’t need to recognize the voice to know that was Ilias. I didn’t care. I would sooner lose than cut Alma Elma. But I didn’t intend to lose. I had a plan.
The horn blew and we were off. And I say we were off because Alma Elma wasn’t playing around, which is saying something. I summoned Sylph a split second faster than she could power up her own wind, so that when she flew at me, expecting to take me down and rape me right away, I was no longer there. Alma Elma and I stood at the center of the arena once again, this time in each other’s starting positions.
“Oho!” Alma Elma said in surprise. “So I see Luka-boy likes to play with the wind, too! This just got a lot more fun!”
We raced around the arena, fans nearly hurting their necks trying to follow the action. I was faster. I caught Alma Elma from behind and dragged her down, causing us to slide through the grass. I realized then that I should have asked Eva, Sara, or Saki to practice with me. Not fighting, but simply holding onto a succubus. Just skin to skin contact could cause immense levels of arousal, and Alma Elma’s magic was stronger than an average succubus in that respect.
“Are you trying to take me from behind, Luka-boy, or is that another sword?” Alma Elma laughed, grinding her butt against my still clothed groin. I was laying on the ground, Alma Elma with her back to me, on top of me, as I tried to lock in a choke. For all of Alma Elma’s power, she had a delicate neck. No other man could take her out that way because she was too fast and her sexual magic too powerful for such intimate contact. As we struggled on the ground, I could tell that she was becoming increasingly alarmed that I wasn’t already succumbing to all the grinding. I knew that she understood real fighting as much as anyone, which meant that she knew exactly what I was doing and how to counter it. She wriggled around and managed to turn, facing me while still on top of me.
“Quite the skilled grappler,” Alma Elma said, clearly impressed. “But you never really had a chance once you caught me.”
She planted her lips on mine, intending to do to me what Sara had done to an opponent in the match that got our team disqualified. Now I’m not even all that into kissing, but whatever Alma Elma wants to do to you, you’re going to be into it if she decides you’re going to be into it. As her tongue explored my mouth, I slackened briefly, my resolve failing. Thinking she had already won, she ripped my shirt off and began kissing and licking my chest, working her way down to my crotch, already getting ready to remove my pants and strike a killing…er… blow. The fans stood up in anticipation. I stood up as well, much to Alma Elma’s consternation. She had counted her chickens before they were hatched, concentrating on pleasuring me without restraining me sufficiently.
“What kind of man are you?!” Alma Elma asked in frustration.
“Don’t be frustrated, Alma Elma,” I said, using the same breezy tone she did. “We’ve only been at it a couple of minutes. Surely you aren’t tried yet.”
“Not even close, Luka-boy!” she said, coming at me again. This time I didn’t budge. I called up Gnome, causing Alma Elma to slam into me, an immovable object. The succubus fell back onto the ground, dazed. I dove after her and put her in a vicious armlock, the same one I used to defeat Granberia a long time ago, in our first battle.
“Oh the pain, oh the pain!” Alma Elma exclaimed mockingly. Twisting her arm and body in a way I’d never seen before, she worked her way out of the armlock, taking my pants with her in the process, leaving me naked. The crowd cheered again. “Kyuba” chants threatened to blow the roof off the place, had it not been an open air coliseum.
“Well If you’re that eager to take your clothes off, Luka-boy, it wouldn’t be fair for me to be all covered up, now would it?” Alma Elma asked, disrobing quickly. The fans, mostly the male fans, cheered. Alma Elma briefly acknowledged their affection, bouncing her tits up and down to loud approval.
I took on a fighting stance once her attention was back on me. She circled me warily, ready for any surprises I might spring. She was a Heavenly Knight. Her lack of seriousness was mainly a façade. She had not reached the top of the monster heap by playing around when it was necessary to be serious. I’d already shown her that I couldn’t be beaten as easily as her previous opponents. She had to adapt.
I jabbed at her. She dodged easily, no longer playing with the wind, but still having more than enougn natural speed to be nearly impossible for even me to hit. I hadn’t intended to hit her anyway. I couldn’t bear to strike that lovely face that had haunted my dreams for most of my life. I was trying to bring out her secret techniques. Not the sexual techniques, but her fighting techniques. She preferred to keep those hidden from the public eye, even from her fellow Heavenly Knights. I knew I could take advantage of that reluctance.
I jabbed again, and of course missed again. But instead of trying to take me down and have her way with me, she jabbed back, connecting solidly with my jaw. It was just a love tap, but I knew I’d need some healing for that one. I tried again, and missed again, which brought more retaliation, this time a palm to my eye. That would leave a shiner if not healed.
“C’mon, Luka-boy,” she teased. “I’m sure this isn’t the fight you want to have with me. Wouldn’t you much rather lose to my mouth or my breasts than my fist?”
“Maybe I’ll beat you and rape you, afterwards,” I said, not meaning a word of it. Not only could I never do that, I knew that what seemed fun and games when it was reversed, would shock and appall the crowd, making me an instant villain.
“Maybe I misjudged you,” Alma Elma said, her light smile disappearing. “Maybe you’re not a nice guy.”
Another jab bloodied my nose. I dodged a follow up hook and countered to her body. If she even felt it, she gave no sight.
“So if I rape you after the match, that’s bad, but if you rape me, it’s entertainment?” I asked, swinging and missing.
“I don’t make the rules,” she shrugged.
“Like the rules that say a succubus can’t be a fighter?” I asked.
Alma Elma paused, surprised. “Who the hell are y-“
I summoned up Sylph and Gnome and took Alma Elma down again, locking a choke in. She was a Heavenly Knight, though, It was not going to be that easy. She wriggled free, wrapping her tail and her arms around me, working her way back down to my penis. That was exactly what I wanted. Not for the reason you’re thinking, honest! As my penis disappeared down her throat, I wrapped my legs around her head, using all of Gnome’s power to hold on. I’d tried a trick like this with Cindy. It had failed because Cindy didn’t breathe through her mouth, nor did choking her stop her resperation. She had gills. Alma Elma did not.
No man should have been able to apply that much strength with the queen succubus blowing them. Nevertheless, she focused on making me come, believing that as bad as the situation was for her, critical ecstasy would end my resistance. In that she was wrong as well. I tightened the hold even further, trying to make her give up or pass out. Determined not to lose, she passed out. Just as she passed out, I came into her mouth, feeling the critical ecastasy wash over me. Had I won? The referee didn’t seem sure. To help him make his decision, I released Alma Elma and shakily got to my feet before collapsing again. That was enough for the ref.
“The winner is…. Luka!”
The crowd erupted, satisfied that the human hero had won, but that they had also seen him get sexually assaulted. I checked on Alma Elma. She was breathing steadily, semen dribbling out of her mouth. She began to stir.
“Wha? Did I win?” she asked.
“I’m afraid not, Alma Elma,” I said.
Alma Elma shot to her feet. “You tricked me!” she raged.
“How did I trick you?! Yeah, I knew more about you than anyone else should know, and maybe I did sucker you into trying to beat me in an impractical way, but… okay, maybe I did trick you.”
“The way I see it, the tournament is over. That means I don’t have to hold back. How do you want to die, Luka?”
Yikes. This was a side of Alma Elma I’d forgotten. Before she’d gotten to know me, she was a killer. Only of bad men, but she was pretty steamed at me at the moment.
“That’s enough playing around for you, traitor,” I heard Mephisto say. She had walked onto the field while Alma Elma and I were facing off post-match. Alma Elma turned to size up the intruder.
“You are Grand Noah’s magical advisor, are you not?” Alma Elma asked.”It appears I’ve been tricked by more than just you, Luka-boy. Looks like you’re off the hook. I can’t imagine someone like you would be in on a plot to lure me here.”
“We can’t let a betrayer like you have free reign,” Mephisto said. “As such, this is their command.”
“Well, I feel stupid now. This whole tournament was a trap for me. You even hyped up a skilled young hero.”
“You flatter yourself a bit much, succubus. While I did indeed seek to trap you here, the tournament has occurred for other reasons and I convinced the hero to enter for other reasons still.”
“I’m sorry to disappoint you, but I didn’t give my all when fighting Luka-boy here,” Alma Elma chuckled. “I’m sure he knows that. Don’t you, stranger who knows entirely too much about me?”
“Yes, Alma Elma,” I confirmed. “I know that you are as formidable a physical fighter as you are a sexual one. If you used both against me to the best of your ability, I would lose, especially now that I’m in a mild critical ecstasy.”
“Mild?” Alma Elma laughed. “Boy, you are strong. But you’re correct. You couldn’t possibly beat me now, even if Mephisto helped you. Even if your whole team helped you.”
“It is true that Luka cannot beat you as he is now,” Mephisto said. “Of course I wasn’t foolish enough to put all of my faith in him. He wouldn’t have been willing to go as far as necessary in any case. He is far too gentle a soul.”
“Oh?” Alma Elma asked, reappraising me. “I guess I was tricked even further. You had me going there for a moment, Luka-boy, thinking you were not a nice guy.”
“That’s why I arranged for a bit of help,” Mephisto said.
My friends had made their way out onto the arena floor. Just as they arrived, a very familiar figure teleported in. Granberia.
“Granberia…” I croaked. Next to Alice, there was no one I had more of an emotional connection to than Granberia. But at the moment, her eyes were cold.
“Don’t you dare try to hug her, Luka!” Alice scolded.
“No way!” Ilias exclaimed. “G-Granberia?!”
“Alma Elma!” Granberia shouted. “Why did you betray the Monster Lord?”
“I betrayed no one,” Alma Elma replied. “The Monster Lord I pledged my loyalty to is not the one currently on the throne. I chose to let the wind blow as it pleases.”
“Then I shall cut you down where you stand!” Granberia said, drawing her blade.
“Well this isn’t fair,” Alma Elma said. “Finally challenging me when I’m not at my best?”
“I agree,” I said, stepping in between Alma Elma and Granberia. “If you want Alma Elma, you’ll have to get through me first.”
“Oh, the plot thickens!” Alma Elma exclaimed. “I wasn’t sure if you‘d been in on this, but it seems clear now that Mephisto used you just as she used me.”
“Don’t be stupid, human,” Granberia warned. “I am not in a merciful mood. This is a monster matter. You’re already in critical ecstasy. A warrior as valiant as you should not throw your life away for a traitor.”
“Hello!” Alice spoke up. “Yoo hoo, Granberia! Monster Lord here! You know, the one you pledged your loyalty to?”
“I do not recognize you,” Granberia replied.
“Oh, you can’t be that stupid! Wait, maybe you can.”
“Do not insult me, child. I am not in the mood.”
“Looks like she’s determined to make an ass of herself in front of all these people,” Alma Elma said. “I can’t do anything about that, but I can do something about your critical ecstasy.”
Alma Elma put her hands on me. Energy flooded back into my body. I’d forgotten that she was capable of reversing critical ecstasy. She had done something similar for me in our first coliseum battle. I held out my hand to Alice, who returned Angel Halo to me. I faced my old friend with renewed determination. Something about Granberia always got my fighting spirit up. Especially when the stakes mattered, as they did now.
The crowd had not expected a bonus match. Granberia raised her sword, challenging me, daring me to attack. I did, and the battle was joined.
I’ve said before that Granberia defeated me nine times out of ten in our sparring sessions, and that was when I was in my prime. In fights that actually mattered, our record was even, at two wins apiece. But I had advantages in this battle. First, I knew her tactics inside and out, and she knew little to nothing about me. Second, I could use my power as backup. This was no longer a tournament match. Third, she clearly didn’t believe in what she was doing. I knew Grannberia. Unlike Alma Elma, she was not a killer. She had a secret just like her best friend did. Hers was that she had never killed anyone before, despite all of the legends of how she had slain a thousand men in one battle. I knew that she would do it because she was ordered to, but it would hamper her fighting spirit to be forced to do something that she hated doing. Whoever had ordered her to kill her best friend instead of capturing her didn’t know Granberia at all.
As a result, while the fight wasn’t easy, the result was a foregone conclusion. Granberia lay at my feet, defeated, weakened to the point of being unable to stand by Angel Halo.
“Guh…” she croaked. “Dammit! How did I lose to a human?!”
“That’s what I want to know!” Alma Elma said in astonishment. “I was all set to help you out but it looks like you didn’t even need me! As for how you lost, the answer to that is obvious, Granberry. This man knows us, all of our strengths and weaknesses.”
“Even so,” Mephisto said, also clearly surprised. “I was not told to expect this. Clearly we underestimated the hero.”
“Maybe you should try your hand at defeating me,” Alma Elma suggested.
“I am known all over the world, but even I am no match for a Heavenly Knight, much less a hero who is capable of defeating two of them in one day. I must withdraw.”
With that, Mephisto teleported out. I reached down to help Granberia to her feet. To my dismay, she gruffly rejected my hand and struggled to her feet herself. I had to accept that the circumstances of our fight were different from the ones we’d had on my original adventure. In the past, she had fought me for the joy of battle, and grew closer to me with each one, whether she won or lost. But today I had simply gotten in her way, and she was clearly resentful.
“Alma Elma,” Granberia said, completely ignoring me. “Why won’t you obey the Monster Lord? Come back to the castle and I’ll even help smooth things over for you!”
“Sorry, Granberry!” Alma Elma replied breezily. “The wind is a free and fickle thing. Besides, I’m not a fan of the Monster Lord’s methods. I hate to disappoint, but I won’t be having anything to do with that plan.”
“How long can you keep up that position?” Granberia countered. “The world is already on the edge of ruin. You can’t run from your responsibilities, Alma Elma. You are a Heavenly Knight!”
“Are you done?” Alma Elma asked. “Perhaps you need to do some thinking yourself. You don’t have to obey a Monster Lord just because she sits on the throne.”
“You have won today, or more accurately, your human pet has won the day,” Granberia said, and then finally acknowledged me. “We will be seeing each other again, boy. And now that I’ve seen you fight, you won’t have an advantage over me.”
Granberia vanished, leaving us all on the arena floor and a very confused crowd in her wake.
“Granberry is so stern,” Alma Elma laughed. “I wish she’d loosen up and be more carefree. Anyway, congratulations on your championship, Luka-boy. I take back what I said earlier. You’re a real stand up guy. I’ve never met a man who could withstand even my kiss, much less a blowjob. I wonder how well you’d hold up against my pussy?”
“Let’s talk about what’s actually important, you walking obscenity!” Alice exclaimed. “Are you in revolt against my mother?”
“Nothing so grand as that. The wind is the wind, simply blowing as it pleases. And right now it’s calling me to be somewhere else. Later!”
“Alma Elma, wait!” I yelled, to no avail. My long lost friend was gone. After wondering why I hadn’t met a Heavenly Knight yet, I had met and fought two in one day. Yet I felt empty. There had been no affection from either, and neither had joined us as I would have hoped.
“That girl,” Alice said, shaking her head. “So unreliable. But at least we know she’s not doing my mother’s bidding.”
Nevertheless, it was a win, and a much more decisive win than I had achieved the first time I’d fought Alma Elma in the arena. It had also been less of an ordeal, and for that I was thankful.
“It’s like she wasn’t even curious about how you knew her,” Sonya groused.
“Oh, she’s curious,” Alice said. “We’ll be seeing more of her for certain. And Granberia as well. For better or worse, Luka, you now have the attention of the Heavenly Knights. That means you also have the attention of my mother.”
That sent a chill down my spine. I had no relationship with Alice’s mother. I knew nothing about her. Alice had lost her in my world when she was young, and had rarely spoken of what little she remembered. Things were only getting more complicated.
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Luka's Story-Paradox