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Luka's Story-Paradox	By : Ditmag Category: +M through R > Monster Girl Quest Views: 2711 -:- 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
- 73
- 74
- 75
I elected not to stay in Ilias Village for the night. There was little overt hostility. As a matter of fact, a couple of monsters patted me on the back. Word spread as fast in Ilias Village as always, I noted. Still, as powerful as I was, I couldn’t protect myself in my sleep and the inns of Ilias Village were not very secure. The locks on the doors were almost useless in every version of Ilias Village I’d ever seen, and that included the inn my counterpart had run on what I was beginning to think of as Paradox world.
I also decided not to call Saja to give me a lift to Iliasburg. I didn’t want to spend too much time on Monster World. After all, my friends were waiting for me. They knew to expect me to be gone for a few days, but if I literally walked all over this world while exploring it I’d be gone two months, minimum. That wouldn’t do. But for the relatively short, safe, and pleasant trip to Iliasburg, I decided it would be better to do it the traditional way, to relax and collect my thoughts about what I’d seen so far.
Real life is complicated. I had expected something more akin to Ariana’s world, or the histories I’d read in the castle library. A world where monsters dominated and enslaved all of humanity, allowing only a few kingdoms to have some bare automony, and that coming at the cost of paying tribute to the monsters by offering up thousands of male sacrifices every year. On Ariana’s world it had been called the “culling”, a word which declared humans to be nothing more than livestock. All the existence of human kingdoms did was spare monsters the need to cultivate their flocks themselves.
But this world, at least at first glance, was basically as Saja described it. Everyone was free. In practice, that meant monster domination, but it also meant that humans weren’t required to meekly accept their fates. If they were strong, or had numbers, they could fight back. However, the right to fight back didn’t imply lack of social consequences for exercising that right. Many monsters regarded humans actually being effective at fighting them to be “heroes”, a word with racist connotations, much as “crusader” might have for Muslims back on Earth. I realized that the monsters of Ilias Village had quickly developed very diverse and complex views around what I had done. Some saw it as me simply rising to the defense of a boy against a couple of monsters who were behaving badly. The right to take what you want doesn’t imply that one SHOULD take what they want. Other monsters saw it more as a classic case of a strong human picking on relatively weak monsters because he hated monsters. And others had mixed feelings. I wondered if other towns and cities would have similar dynamics. I could not be someone I wasn’t. I had to fight injustice when it was right in front of me.
So, with that in mind, I went to a camping store to buy supplies for the one day I’d spend out in the field. The store owner was a monster, and quite courteous, eager to take my money, especially since it was obvious I was leaving town. Or maybe I was just getting paranoid. Regardless, I bought some high quality supplies and stocked up on food at another store, with a human manager who was very positively disposed towards me and gave me steep discounts on my purchases. He confided that he had a young son as well, and he hoped for better for his son than for his first time to be getting dragged into the woods by a wolf girl.
I hit the road, setting a very fast pace. I was in pretty decent shape again, not nearly as ripped as on my first journey, due to lounging around the castle too much while Alice traveled, but I’d still gotten enough exercise to be able to easily handle the distance to Iliasburg in less than twenty-four hours. It was early evening and I decided I’d walk about five hours before putting up a tent to rest. If this world was like other worlds, there would be threats, but nothing serious for someone like me, even if I was caught by surprise in my sleep. Just so long as the monster in question didn’t have murderous intent and the stealth to knife me in my sleep. The only deadly monsters in this region were ropers, and they weren’t subtle that way. I’d simply wake up already wrapped up, and break out.
The walk was pleasant, as were the travelers I passed. The humans traveled in groups of three or more for safety against monster attacks. Monsters I encountered were polite and friendly and abundant, and had good manners as well. While “total freedom to rape” wasn’t something I could support, I had to admit it was better than a world in which monsters felt forced to rape to survive and reproduce because Ilias had placed men basically off limits to them in an effort to wipe them out. Most monsters used that freedom responsibly. Why rape, when you can ask ten men and at least five will say yes? The system seemed to work, mostly.
I realized as I made camp that I hadn’t traveled alone in a very long time. Centuries, in fact. It felt kinda good, actually. My loner instincts had never gone away, despite my marriages and having a ridiculous number of friends and acquaintances. I felt more relaxed than I’d felt in seemingly lifetimes, just appreciating the smells of the forest and the solitude. I took a deep breath and just let myself become one with nature. Ahhh…..
“Are you gonna make me some food, or what?!”
“Wah!!!!” I screamed, jumping back. I knew that voice, and she was on my list of the people I most didn’t want traveling with me when I was already enjoying myself so much.
“Boy, you’re jumpy,” Alicetroemeria said. “Also clueless. I was using my best invisibility spell to avoid detection back in the village, but while we were walking I went to the most basic. You didn’t detect me at all, did you? Don’t you have Sylph? You should have heard me on the wind.”
Supposedly, that was a passive ability of having Sylph with me, kind of like a Spider Sense. I’d gotten quite good at listening to it on my first journey, but had let the skill atrophy badly later. In fact, I had heard someone close as I traveled, but it didn’t feel threatening and I assumed it was just the locals. After all, monsters were more abundant in the forest than I’d ever seen on any version of this world, so hearing monsters just walking around wasn’t alarming in and of itself.
“I guess I did hear you,” I said. “I just didn’t know you were you.”
“Or that you were being followed? Boy, you suck at this.”
“How did you get here anyway? I thought everyone was blocked from traveling to this world but me? And even I had to be guided in due to the inaccessibility of the Tartarus itself.”
“I’m tethered to you, remember?” Alicetroemeria reminded me. “There’s nowhere you can go that I can’t follow.”
“I also thought you were going to be a team player from now on and not follow me where you’re not supposed to,” I reminded her in turn.
“Oh, did you tell me not to come with you to Monster World?” Alicetroemeria asked pointedly.
“I… I guess I didn’t,” I admitted. “I just assumed you couldn’t.”
“Let me tell you how a tethering spell works, genius. It means that no matter where you are, even if it’s another dimension, universe, planet, anything short of the land of death, I can go where you are with nothing more than a thought. Since I could, I did. This idea of a world where the monsters won the Great Monster Wars intrigues me. I had to see it.”
“Well, since you’re here, give me your thoughts on what you’ve seen so far,” I prodded.
“It’s not the way I would have done things,” she shrugged. “but I guess it works for them. I’m a hard woman because my world is a hard place. Heaven is always plotting to destroy us all and inciting humans to deny us sustenance and the stronger ones the goddess sends to murder us. Since that isn’t a factor here, I guess they feel they can rule with a lighter touch.”
I nodded. That made sense. It was also a rationalization, of course. On Ariana’s world, Ilias had been prevented from direct intervention in the world, which meant that the only way humans could hurt monsters was through spreading the faith and motivating humans to put the teachings they learned in the churches into action. But this world had Ilias churches as well, and the monsters didn’t consider them a threat. In the end, Black Alice had chosen to rule the way she did because she was a megalomaniac. Another factor was that monsters being terrible to humans radicalized humans and increased the Ilias faith’s numbers. I had to admit that Monster World seemed to be fairly even keeled. The humans were dominated by the monsters, but had enough freedom and safety to not be radicalized by it in large numbers.
“So you saw the incident in the restaurant?” I asked.
“I did, and that was fun!” she giggled. “I don’t really care that those wolf girls tried to rape that boy. I just enjoyed seeing you finally show some balls. You going all alpha on them made me hot. But I’m more hungry than hot now. You gonna cook, or what?”
It was getting late, so I began making us a small meal before we turned in for the night. Assuming we didn’t oversleep, and there was nothing to slow me down the rest of the way, we’d reach Iliasburg by late afternoon. I decided to reconcile myself to Black Alice’s presence. She was an ally, of sorts, and as much as I enjoyed traveling alone, I would probably need allies at some point if things got hairy. And Black Alice was probably my most powerful ally. Assuming she didn’t decide that she liked Makai so much that she wanted to side with them. Which would turn her into an enemy if I chose not to.
“So you liked seeing me ‘go alpha’, as you said, huh?” I asked as I served her some chicken and potatoes and beans.
“I sure did,” she replied, taking her first bite and making a face as if she was having sex. “Wow, you’re amazing at this. Yeah, that was pretty manly of you. That’s one of the big differences between you and Heinrich. He’s an alpha. You’re not even a beta. You’re a classic bottom. Except when you get all self-righteous, then the evildoers better watch out! Must be how you beat my counterparts.”
“Just because I only strike in anger when I have a really good reason to be angry doesn’t mean I’m a bottom,” I argued, not really convinced myself. When your only relationships are with monsters, it just becomes instinctive to be submissive most of the time.
“You’re an interesting guy,” she admitted. “I think I’m going to like getting some quality time with you. You’re a series of contradictions. Unbelievably old for a human, yet in many ways you’re still a child. Strong, but useless at times. Determined to fight for what’s right, but you seem to prefer persuasion to violence. There’s so much of Heinrich in you, and yet the more I watch you the more I realize you’re nothing like him. Heinrich’s utterly predictable. You’re not. Do you know he has stupid catchphrases?”
“Heinrich has catchphrases?” I chuckled. “Like what? I always thought I should have something snappy to say, but I can never think of anything.”
“Catchphrases are stupid. I just use variations on ‘Die!’. ‘Die for me!’, or ‘Die, motherfucker!’, or ‘Suffer and die!’”
“Very on brand,” I admitted.
“Heinrich sounds a lot like your Juska sometimes,” she continued. “’For Ilias!’ makes me particularly ill. ‘You’ve sucked your last human dry, monster!’ just makes me cringe. But the worst, the absolute worst is, ‘That was your last supper, fiend!’”
I thought those were pretty cool, actually, but I decided to just nod and agree with Alicetroemeria to save myself from ridicule.
“So you and Heinrich….” I said. “Nothing has happened between you? DIdn’t you say you were trying to get him in bed?”
“I’ll take him anywhere he’ll let me!” she laughed, biting off another large piece of chicken.
“Let you? That really doesn’t sound like any Black Alice I know. When I was traveling with a Monster Lord, she admitted that she wouldn’t have taken no for an answer from me.”
“Oh, if I was traveling with someone like you, you would have been getting raped every night for sure! But Heinrich… I want him to want me. Don’t you dare look at me like that! It’s not anything like that!”
“Sure it isn’t,” I chuckled.
“It’s not!” Alicetroemeria protested hotly. “I’m simply trying to corrupt him. If I just rape him, he’s still innocent. He’s still loyal to Ilias. I want him to chuck that stupid goddess and fuck a monster of his own free will.”
“That’s gonna be kind of tough, since he thinks you’re a ‘perfectly ordinary mage’,” I said, using my fingers to make quotes.
“I’ll reveal my true nature when I think he’s ready. Meanwhile, I’m trying to make him question his stupid beliefs. He thinks that the problems in the world are all because of monsters. It’s a simplistic, childish view of the world. He’s making progress. He’s seen that there are bad humans and good monsters.”
“And what are you?” I asked. “It seems counterproductive to show him that not all monsters are bad, and then you reveal yourself as the ultimate bad monster.”
“Maybe you don’t know me like you think you do,” she said, taking her first bite of potatoes. “Holy shit! How can potatoes be so good!? Gimme more!”
I smiled and scooped more into her plate. She dug in eagerly.
“So are you trying to tell me you’re not evil?” I asked.
“What is evil?” Alicetroemeria asked rhetorically. “Sure, I’m evil, because that’s how I market myself in the world. If people don’t fear you, they don’t respect you. Do you think I’m the first Monster Lord to keep the humans in line through fear? Or has history treated me poorly because I was the best at it?”
“So you’re not evil, you just want people to think you are, so you do evil things to make sure people think you’re evil. You know what that makes you?”
“I don’t worry about concepts of good and evil,” she replied. “I worry about what works. I worry about what my subjects need. Did you know that I’m one of the most popular monster lords ever? I hear that your Alice was never very popular with the monsters.”
That hit close to home. Alice indeed would never have won an election to that position had the monster world been democratic. One thing I’d read was that Black Alice was very good to her subordinates. So long as they obeyed. The succubi in particular held Black Alice in high regard.
“You know, when Alice and I went on our original journey, she tried to pretend she was kinda bad,” I said. “She never hid that she was a monster from me, but she did hide the fact that she was the Monster Lord, for as long as she could, which wasn’t long.”
“You figured it out?” Alicetroemeria asked.
“I think you know me better than that,” I laughed.
“Someone blabbed,” she nodded with a smile.
“Yes, Tamamo did.”
“Of course. She probably saw parallels between what Alice was doing with you and what I was doing with Heinrich.”
“I never thought of it that way,” I admitted. “Anyway, it wasn’t until late on our journey that she admitted that she believed in the same ideas of coexistence that I did. She’d called those ideas stupid and immature, and wanted to show me that the world didn’t work that way. She said that I’d come to hate monsters.”
“If she believed in the same thing you did, why would she pretend otherwise?” Alicetroemeria asked. “That makes no sense. I hide who I am and play around with Heinrich because I want him to see things more as I do. But you already saw things as Alice did. Why would she want to change that?”
“She was trying to find a reason to change her own mind. She wanted to believe humans were terrible, and felt that if she traveled with someone like me who actually had no problem with monsters, that I’d come to hate them and that would prove that humanity was irredeemable and should be crushed.”
“Wow, that’s hardcore. She doesn’t seem like the type.”
“She’s not,” I clarified. “She never would have actually been that kind of Monster Lord. It’s hard to explain and I frankly don’t want to reveal something that personal about her to someone like you, but suffice to say that she had guilt issues and felt that she needed to do something. But she really didn’t want to do that thing, so she was trying to give herself a reason to not have to.”
“Nothing about that makes any kind of sense.”
“I guess it doesn’t,” I admitted. “The point is, Alice was trying to make me think worse of monsters, despite the fact that what she wanted was for monsters and humans to get along better. It only made sense because she had a personal, ulterior motive for doing what she was doing. You’re trying to get Heinrich to think BETTER of monsters, even though you want monsters to dominate humanity. The point is that your actions don’t make sense either unless you have an ulterior motive as well. So I don’t suppose you’ll just be open with me and tell me now, will you?”
“Maybe I’m just having fun with him,” she shrugged.
“I don’t buy it. You also seem a lot more sane than I would have expected. I’ve met your counterparts. They’re batshit crazy. But you’re not. You pretend to be unpredictable and a little touched in the head, but as you say, I’m kinda old. I’ve seen a lot of crazy in my time. You’re not crazy. You’ve got a plan.”
“Maybe I do,” she acknowledged. “But if I do, it’s none of your business. You’ll just have to read the history books.”
“So getting slain and then working for Ilias was your plan all along?” I asked.
“Not exactly…. I admit that’s…. not what I had in mind. At first. I’m still thinking about whether that’s better than what I intended. All that power…. It’s tempting, you know? But on the other hand, is the party any good? That’s why I haven’t left you yet. There’s still a lot more I need to know. Not many people get to see their own possible future. It wasn’t at all what I envisioned, but maybe it’s my destiny. To be the ultimate being. But is it fun or lonely? A party isn’t fun if you’re the only one in attendance.”
“So what was the original plan, Eight? It’s just you and me here. I’ll keep it a secret if you want me to.”
“It’s getting late, Luka,” Alicetroemeria said abruptly. “I’m not revealing my entire evil plan to you on our first night alone together. But I do fuck on the first date. And your lust is pretty high. I can smell it and I know every monster within miles can smell it. You want me to take care of that for you?”
“Why, are you hungry? That kind of hungry?”
“No, I ate this morning.”
“One of the men at the castle?” I asked. “I thought that was dangerous for the men!?”
“I lied,” she said breezily. “I have plenty of control. I just wanted to blackmail you into doing something you didn’t want to do.”
“Is that what the second time was about?” I asked, remembering how she’d demanded to be allowed to put me into critical ecstasy before I entered her castle, even though she had actually expected me to fight and wanted me to fight.
“You figured it out,” she confirmed. “But this time I’m offering only because you need it and we’re traveling companions. All you have to do is ask and I’ll do it anyway you want me to.”
“I’m not asking,” I said firmly. “I’d rather wait until we get to Iliasburg anyway. If you do me tonight I’ll be slower tomorrow and I want to get there before dark.”
“Suit yourself,” she said. “Give me a sleeping bag. I’m royalty. I don’t sleep on the bare ground.”
“I don’t like it much either,” I admitted. “And since you didn’t choose to reveal yourself before I bought supplies, I only have one.”
“So that means you’re going to be a gentleman and give me the sleeping bag while you sleep on the ground,” she concluded.
“The whole idea of gender roles is that men are stronger and so do arduous things because it’s less of a hardship for them,” I said. “You’re physically stronger than me. Much stronger. Your body is adapted for wilderness. Mine isn’t. So don’t play the chivalry card with me. I’m taking the sleeping bag, you can take your lamia form and wrap around a tree. Alice is royalty and that’s her preferred way to sleep outdoors.”
“I’m both pissed at your lack of manners and happy that you stood up to me,” Alicetroemeria said. “So we’ll compromise. You’re skinny. I’m skinny. We’ll sleep in it together.”
“Fine,” I said, just happy that she wouldn’t be angry all night. Alicetroemeria could make my life very difficult if she chose. Best to keep her happy, although that didn’t mean I was going to kowtow to her every desire.
“Wow, you agreed to that fast!” she laughed.
I unrolled the sleeping bag and placed it on the ground. I climbed in. She giggled and squeezed in next to me.
“I’m not going to feel anything weird in here, am I?” I asked, worried about those tentacles having a mind of their own.
“I’m in human form. Completely. All you’re going to feel tonight is my soft, warm, feminine body. I actually like my human form best. It really makes me feel beautiful. My monster form is for business. This form is for pleasure. And my hybrid form… well, that’s for a little of both. But maybe it’s me who should be worried about getting poked with things tonight.”
“What do you m-? Oh,” I said. I can be slow sometimes. “I’ll just face away from you.”
“Not yet,” she said, snuggling into the crook of my arm. “You can turn around once I’ve fallen asleep.”
“Yes, your majesty,” I said sarcastically.
“Good boy.”
We lay there under the stars, cuddled up tightly in the small sleeping bag. My ardour died down, replaced by comfort and contentment. I wasn’t normally a back sleeper, but I was tired and comfortable. I might just fall asleep in this position, I thought. My arm would probably be all pins and needles when I awakened, but it was a small price to pay to make her comfy for the night. Alicetroemeria in a good mood was better for my mission than an irritated, petulant Alicetroemeria.
Just as I was about to fall asleep,I felt her lick my shoulder. Then she gnawed on me lightly.
“Excuse me? What are you doing?” I asked.
“I’m voring you,” she explained matter of factly.
“Vor-?! In human form? Can you even do that?!”
“I’ve never tried before,” she said, continuing to lick and gnaw.
“Are you being serious now?”
“No, I’m not being serious,” she giggled. “It would take me days to eat you this way. Could be fun though. Just lick you like an ice cream cone until you’re all gone.”
And, there went my contentment, replaced by a raging hard-on. She was impossible. Her hand reached down and grasped it.
“Ooh, does being vored turn you on?” she asked. “Such a pathetic man. But I’ll do whatever you want. Ask me.”
“No,” I replied.
“Hmph,” she said, and rolled over. “At least hold me and keep me warm.”
Surprisingly, I fell asleep pretty quickly spooning with her. She did as well. Black Alice was a tough one to figure, I had to admit. Was she insulted that I’d resisted her temptations, or was it some kind of test of my will? I realized that I was traveling with a woman even more complicated than my Alice.

We awakened refreshed, a bit later in the morning than I’d planned. I made breakfast quickly and then broke camp for the day’s journey. Alicetroemeria was even less helpful than Alice had been. Alice really only did one job on our travels: she helped repack our stuff. I had to carry it all, even though she was stronger. Alicetroemeria didn’t even do that. Instead, she waited with obvious impatience as I did it myself. She spent her time looking around aimlessly. At least until her eyes went up to the sky as a shadow fell over the campsite.
“Whoa…” she said, staring upwards.
I followed her gaze and understood why she’d reacted that way. The rock floating above us, moving across the sky and temporarily blocking out the Sun, was obviously the asteroid Tamamo had spoken of. One of my primary missions was to find out what that thing was and what it was for. Alicetroemeria stated the obvious.
“I’m guessing that’s what you’re supposed to be taking a look at,” she observed.
“Is there any way you can get me up there?” I asked.
“Right now? No. I have no idea of the scale of that thing. It looks like it’s low, but the sheer size of it might be deceiving me. But if I see it coming next time, maybe. I’d need to cast some diagnostic spells. I’d have to know the distance and size of the asteroid before I could teleport us there. Otherwise we’d either materialize in midair or splatter on the bottom of that thing. And that’s assuming there are no spells protecting it from interlopers like us. That’s another thing I’d have to find out.”
“Well, I can already tell you it’s higher than we think it is,” I said.
“Did you cast a spell or something?” Alicetroemeria asked.
“No, it’s simple physics,” I explained. “Given its obviously huge mass, we should be feeling some gravitational pull from it.”
“Look at you, the educated guy,” she said approvingly. “You’re just full of surprises. I never learned much about physics. I ate my physics tutor. He was a lot more delicious than he was interesting.”
“Weren’t you just talking about how you’d need to know its distance and size before teleporting us there?” I asked. “From what I understand, you can’t do magic very well without science.”
“They do often go hand in hand,” she shrugged. “And I know more than most. But your observation about the gravity is one I would have missed. So good job there. Anyway, it seems to have passed. Let’s keep an eye out for it in the future. It’s in a pretty fast orbit. I’m sure we’ll see it again. One thing I will say, whoever pulled that thing into a stable orbit that low has some serious magic and physics knowledge.”
“Tamamo,” I said grimly. “She’s the only monster who could pull that off.”
I finished packing up and we headed for Iliasburg. As most days on Ilias Continent were, it was a perfect day. It was one reason why I’d indulged myself in walking instead of a faster mode of travel. On Sentora I’d certainly opt for speed, given the harsher climates on most of the continent. Not to mention the much greater distances. That reminded me that I had a companion who could teleport.
“Hey, Eight, Saja said she would take me wherever I wanted, but I’d prefer not to have her as my keeper,” I said. “You have ways of getting us to places a lot faster than walking, don’t you?”
“Yeah, yeah, no problem,” Alicetroemeria replied. “Like you, I can’t just teleport anywhere. I have to have familiarity with where I’m going, or it has to be line of sight. But I can fly, and we can ‘hop’, so to speak. I can teleport us a few miles ahead, then do it again and again until we reach our destination. You could do it too if you tried.”
“I think I did do something like that, just in a different way,” I said. “I was told to not try to go to the place, but to try to bring it to me, if that makes sense.”
“It’s a mental trick used to teach intermediate magicians rudimentary teleportation. But yeah, I don’t like long walks. I’ve been doing that forever with Heinrich. He’s sooooo slow. He wants to stop and smell the flowers every ten minutes. Do you know we’ve been on the road for eight months?”
“Eight months?! Alice and I saw the whole world in two!”
“You walk with a purpose. Heinrich’s on an urgent mission to slay the Monster Lord and he walks as if he’s just out for a stroll. And oooh, look at that tree! I’ve never seen a tree like that before! Oooh, a rabbit. Can we eat it? I ask. No! It’s too cute! He says, so he has to spend the next hour feeding it and making friends with it.”
“I don’t know, it sounds like a guy who enjoys and values life,” I said. “Maybe he believes it’s not the destination, but the journey that matters.”
“That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.”
We arrived at our own destination, Iliasburg, only a little behind schedule. The sun was just beginning to set, creating a lovely twilight sky as we entered the city limits. As I expected, Iliasburg was a modern metropolis, although not as modern as the Iliasburg back on my world in my older years. There were no cars on the streets, so the combustion engine must not have been invented yet. But electricity seemed abundant and the buildings looked like the buildings one would find in any modern Earth city.
“I guess you’ve never seen a city of the future, have you, Eight?” I asked. “Well, you are in for a treat! Eight?”
Alicetroemeria was nowhere in sight. Now where had she run off to? As I looked around, I figured it out. She was pulling that vintage Alice disappearing act. The reason was Saja, who had appeared before us as we entered the city’s outskirts.
“Did you enjoy your walk, Worldbreaker?” Saja asked pleasantly.
“I did, actually,” I replied. “And please call me Luka. I don’t break worlds.”
“You cannot evade your destiny, Luka. The prophecies do not lie. You will break worlds. What is left unforetold is whether the first world you break will be ours, or our adversaries’.”
“Uh huh…. So have you been watching me this whole time?”
“I am a very busy woman, Luka,” Saja huffed. “I was relieved that you did not want me to be your guide during the entirety of your journey here. Of course, I will do so if at any time you desire my presence. I also remain at your beck and call should you have need of me.”
“That didn’t really answer my question. I knew your counterpart. You’re unfailingly honest, but when you choose to be dishonest, you usually do it through evasion rather than outright lies.”
“I am not watching you constantly, but yes, I am checking on you every few hours,” Saja admitted. “I was present for the incident in the diner. I also saw you by the campfire with your companion, who seems to believe that she can hide from an Ancestor.”
“Dammit!” Alicetroemeria cursed, reappearing next to me. “It was worth a try.”
“You’re a powerful one, child,” Saja said. “Not that I’m surprised, given your counterpart here.”
“My counterpart is here?! Can I meet her?!” Alicetroemeria asked excitedly.
“She has been dead for five hundred years,” Saja said coolly. “Her ambition exceeded her grasp.”
“Do I ever get to win?!” Alicetroemeria whined.
“Make better choices than your counterpart, and perhaps you will have a different fate,” Saja replied.
“So you saw that ‘incident’ in the diner, huh?” I asked. “Do you have anything you want to say about that?”
“What is there to say?” Saja said noncommittally. “They sought to take what they had the strength to take. Someone stronger stopped them. That is the way of things.”
“So survival of the fittest?” I asked. “No rules, just do whatever you want, no matter who it hurts?”
“The strong rule the weak,” Saja replied. “You can try to devise any system of laws you desire, but that will always be true. I do not know what your world was like before you were taken from it, but if it was a better one it was because YOU made it that way by virtue of your strength. Should you become our ally, you can remain here and use your strength to mold this world into what you think it should be. But never forget that it will only remain as you wish it as long as you are strong enough to shape your reality as you see fit. As for rules, we have rules. Most of them are self enforcing. These are the best rules of all. If someone is doing something that is offensive to the community, the community takes care of it. That day it was you who taught the wolves a lesson. Had it not been you, eventually your minotaur companion might have done it. If their actions became so egregrious that they offended the entire community, the community as a whole would have dealt with them.”
“It seems what the community was most upset by was me intervening,” I said angrily. “I had to leave town because I was told a monster might try to kill me in my sleep.”
“Our society is built on freedom,” Saja replied. “The Goddess Ilias tried to control every aspect of our lives. She created hostility between humans and monsters for her own evil ends. By destroying her, we broke the chains of oppression that bound man and monster alike. I will admit there are monsters who do things to the weak that are unconscionable. I have often dealt with them myself. But even the humans are happy. We all live in prosperity and peace. The few criminals who prey on the innocent are simply the price we pay for freedom.”
“You call them criminals, yet there are no laws against the things they do,” I pointed out.
“I am not here to debate our system with you,” Saja said through clenched teeth.
“Then why are you here?”
Saja reached into a small pouch at her side and handed me a piece of paper. Puzzled, I unfolded it. On the piece of paper was an address.
“This is an address,” I said.
“We truly want you as an ally, Worldb-.. Luka,” Saja said. “I recognize that you were offended by what you saw in that diner. I’m afraid you may see other things that offend you while you are here. But I also believe that when you look at the situation as a whole, that you will see the superiority of our system compared to the one you will find on our adversaries’ world. That address is where you will find evidence of that superiority. And… it will make you happy.”
“Okay, I’ll check this out, then. Thank you, Saja.”
“It seems that you have transportation handled for the rest of your journey,” Saja said. “I will continue to check on you periodically throughout the day. I do this because you are not yet an ally to be trusted, and for your own safety. As always, should you require me, simply call my name.”
With that, Saja vanished. I turned to Alicetroemeria.
“Is there any way you can tell when she’s watching us?” I asked.
“Not a chance,” Alicetroemeria answered, shaking her head. “That’s an Ancestor. I’m not used to feeling like nothing. I can’t see her, but she can see me…. I don’t like it. We’d better behave ourselves.”
“That depends on what I see that ‘offends’ me, as she said. I can’t just ignore injustice.”
“Well, I’ll watch, but otherwise you’re on your own. I’m not fighting Ancestors for you.”
So it was like that. I was traveling with Alice all over again. Not that I blamed her. Battling gods and Ancestors and Archangels was part of my job description, not hers.
“Well, let’s go get something to eat, then check out this address,” I said.
To my great joy, fast food had been invented. I decided to try out a place called Burger Lord. Alicetroemeria was enthusiastic about the idea. She marveled at the quirky look of the inside of the restaurant and gawked at the electronic screens keeping track of orders. The food made her happy as well. It was cheap and I had lots of gold, so I got her twenty hamburgers and eight large fries. I went easy on the soda since I didn’t want a caffeinated Black Alice running around Iliasburg.
After dinner, we went to the address on the little piece of paper Saja had handed me. The address was a condo building in midtown. Alicetroemeria got to experience another modern wonder, the elevator, which took us to the twelfth floor. We walked down the hall to the unit number on the piece of paper, unit 1214. I knocked twice.
The door was answered by a large, older minotaur. I recognized her immediately. Odette!
“Luka!” Odette cried joyfully, scooping me into her arms and crushing me against her enormous breasts.
“Odette, is it really you?” I asked. “Or just a counterpart?”
I felt stupid for asking that, since I’d already been told that all souls that died on the Paradox world went straight to this one assuming there was a counterpart to merge with. But it was still hard to believe that my favorite kitchen helper was alive and well.
“I’m both, actually,” Odette said. “Why don’t you come in? I have cherry colas in the refrigerator. I know those are your favorite. Can I get you anything, Alicetroemeria?”
“Something a little stiffer than soda,” Alicetroemeria answered. “If you get my drift.”
“I have just the thing,” Odette smiled, winking. “Come on in and relax.”
Odette’s condo was fairly luxurious. We sat down on the plush couch while our host went to make us drinks.
“I have to admit, I could get used to this place,” Alicetroemeria said. “Thanks for not taking me back to the boring world.”
“To be honest, I’m glad someone I know is with me,” I said. “Even if it is you.”
Alicetroemeria made as if to bite me for saying that, but stopped when Odette returned with our drinks. I sipped mine and sighed in satisfaction. Perfect blend of cherry and cola. Alicetroemeria grimaced at the taste of her drink but then smiled.
“I like this!” Alicetroemeria exclaimed. “It’s got kick!”
“It’s called a Fireball,” Odette said. “Bourbon mixed with cinnamon.”
“This world rules!”
“It’s…. all right,” Odette said nervously.
“So you merged with your counterpart here,” I said. “but it seems like you're just my Odette. Is your personality dominant?”
“No, it’s not like that at all,” Odette replied. “It turned out that personality-wise there was almost no difference between us. It was a very smooth merger. Adjusting to two sets of memories was difficult, but neither of us lived very interesting lives. The one thing that was amazing was that now I have two sets of skills. My counterpart couldn’t cook. She’s an actuary at a large firm downtown. Sorry, I still get confused. I’M an actuary at a large firm downtown. I guess the merger hasn’t been completely seamless.”
“Well, you seem to be in a better place now,” I observed, realizing how unfortunate my wording was given how she had gotten here.
“Yes…. It’s…. fine.”
“Was it bad, Odette?” I asked.
“Are you referring to dying? No, no, it wasn’t bad at all. I was bitten, my head started to swim, and then I was here. It’s just been an adjustment. This world is so different. I like my work, and I like that I save money now by being able to cook my own food. And I never enjoyed cooking before! Oh wait, I loved cooking. Oh, it’s so confusing! I can’t imagine how it must be when your personalities are completely different!”
I realized that Odette’s problem was the other Luka’s main reason for not merging completely with me. It would probably confuse both of us when that kind of confusion could get us killed. And sent… where? Was there a Luka here? I had to guess not, otherwise why send for me? So where would we go if we died?
“We also lost Regina in that battle,” I said. “Do you know if she’s doing well here?”
“No, no, I… I haven’t heard anything about her. I didn’t even know she died. I guess she’d be in Sabasa if she merged with her counterpart here.”
“We’ll definitely be stopping by Sabasa then. So, what don’t you like about this world? What’s Iliasburg like? Have you seen any other places yet?”
“Oh, no, no, I’m far too busy,” Odette said. “My counterpart… I built a life here. My job is good. I’m respected. It allows me to have a lot of nice things like this condo. But this world is…. I don’t know how to describe it…. Soulless? Most people are nice, I guess, but everyone’s just trying to climb the ladder of success and satisfy their every desire, whether that’s material, or their appetites…. And some people aren’t nice about the way they do it. There’s very little authority here. The humans have police, but the monsters don’t always recognize human authority even though this is a human city, and the police aren’t strong enough to stop the lawbreakers…. I’ve seen some things that make me ashamed to be a monster. And I’ve never felt that way before.”
“What kind of things?” I asked, fearing the answer.
“Lots of rapes,” she answered. “Even a few devourings. The police ignore the rapes, but murder they take very seriously. That usually leads to violence. The humans don’t put monsters in prison. They can’t capture them or hold them. So they have to kill the ones that do terrible things like eat people. But most monsters get away with it.”
“Do other monsters ever do anything about it?”
“Sometimes. Many monsters as you know have human children. Back in our world, human children were usually left with human parents, but in this world monster moms love their children whether they are monsters or human males. And they don’t take kindly to their sons getting raped or eaten. Which leads to violent incidents between monsters as well. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not like I walk down the street and see a rape every day. Most people here are good, and most days are peaceful. But in the time I’ve been here, I’ve seen a few incidents that shocked me. It’s not right that these criminals only get dealt with through vigilantism or police execution. And more often than not, they don't face justice at all.”
“Thank you for those thoughts, Odette,” I said gratefully. It was about what I’d expected. Just like Ilias Village, but turned up a few notches because it was the big city. The fact that the human authorities did take action was a major difference, but then maybe the constable I’d seen ignoring the wolf girls in the diner might have intervened had they been out for blood.
“So, will you two be staying the night?” Odette asked hopefully. “I have a guest bedroom. It even has two beds. Unless you two like sleeping together. No judgments. I still remember what I did to you in the kitchen that day.”
“Oh, do tell!” Alicetroemeria said eagerly.
“Well, you know Luka and how much he likes blowjobs,” Odette began. “But I wanted to spice things up. So I did, literally, by using kitchen ingredients-“
“Yeah, let’s talk about that another time,” I interrupted. “Eight and I are a little tired from our travels. We really should be turning in.”
“I have to admit that drink has made me a little drowsy,” Alicetroemeria acknowledged. “What’s the plan for tomorrow, Luka?”
“To be honest, I don’t know,” I admitted. “Odette, do you have any suggestions for what we should see next?”
“Oh my, that depends…” Odette said, wringing her hands uncomfortably. “Why are you here, exactly?”
“I was invited here by the Ancestors to see this world. They want me to join them. They have plans to save everyone, or at least almost everyone, and want me to lend my power to that cause.”
“Oh..” Odette replied uncertainly. Despite being a monster, she didn’t seem at all enthusiastic about me partnering up with the powers that be on Makai. That spoke volumes. “Then I think there’s something you should see. I haven’t been there myself. I’ve never left this city, at least not since I… merged. Even my memories of living on this world don’t extend beyond this continent. But if you go to San Ilia… I think San Ilia more than any other city will help you decide what you think of this world.”
“San Ilia?” I asked. “Okay. What should I expect to find there?”
“Just…. You should see it for yourself. Experience it for yourself. You shouldn’t be in any real danger. You’re strong. But whether or not what you see is a good thing in your eyes or a bad thing, will make your decision a lot easier.”
Okay, that was something to go on, although I would have preferred to know what I was getting into. But I was used to the idea now that there were some things that had to be seen for oneself rather than simply having someone tell you about it. Especially someone like Odette who had not actually been there herself. San Ilia it was!
“Thank you, Odette,” I said. “Thank you for everything. For being an amazing help in the kitchen, for giving us valuable information, and most importantly for being a kind soul. I really hope you come to enjoy this new life of yours. You deserve to be happy.”
“Thank you so much, Luka,” Odette said, flashing me her enormous smile. “You’re a good man, too. I really hope you find happiness as well. But… I’m embarrassed to bring this up right now, even though I’ve…. Done things to you.”
“Oh, are you hungry Odette?”
“No, no, nothing like that,” Odette replied. “That kind of eating is no problem here. There are districts where men gather to be fed upon. I was just there two days ago. It’s one reason I find rape to be so inexcusable here. But where you’re going in San Ilia…. You’ll be very vulnerable in your current state.”
“I tried to tell him….” Alicetroemeria said. “But nooo….. too much pride to ask me.”
“Would you drain me, Odette?” I asked, just to get Alicetroemeria’s goat. The look she gave me told me that I’d succeeded.
“What the fuck?!” Alicetroemeria exclaimed.
“Why of course I’ll drain you, Luka!” Odette said joyfully. “I won’t eat the semen. I have to watch my weight. This world is very shallow when it comes to appearance, especially in the workplace. But no one is better at milking than I am. Go ahead and get comfortable and take your pants off.”
“I can’t believe this!” Alicetroemeria exclaimed. “You’ve got a Monster Lord with you and you want a handjob from a minotaur?!”
“It’s not about how great you feel or your power or your looks, Eight,” I said. “You know what feels better than even the most skilled techniques from a powerful monster? Being lovingly touched by someone who likes you and cares about you.”
“Are you being serious right now?! I’m not your fucking girlfriend!”
“You’re not even a friend,” I said. “Odette is a very dear friend. Become a real friend, Eight, and I’ll ask you to pleasure me. Until then, you have to ask me.”
“That will never happen! I can have any man I want”
I wanted to say “except Heinrich”, but that might have caused a violent incident and wrecked Odette’s lovely condo. It might have also gotten me viciously raped and I wasn’t willing to use maximum force against Alicetroemeria to prevent it. I actually was beginning to regret making her angry. I’d already told myself not to do that, but in the moment I hadn’t been able to restrain myself.
Odette knelt down in front of my naked body. “I’m very efficient with my hands. It won’t be as good as what I did to you before, but it will get the job done and you can get to bed. Now, let me think, what can I use for lubricant?”
“Allow me,” Alicetroemeria said, laughing. I wasn’t sure that I trusted her sudden mood change.
“Oh, would you be so kind?” Odette asked. “My mouth is a little dry. I don’t think I can generate enough saliva to do this right.”
“If there’s one thing I have a lot of, it’s spit!” Alicetroemeria said enthusiastically.
Odette held out her hand. “You’re gonna want to use two hands for this,” Alicetroemeria warned.
Odette shrugged and held out both hands, cupped to receive Alicetroemeria’s saliva. Alicetroemeria hocked loudly. She shook her head. “Sorry, gotta reach deep for the good stuff,” Alicetroemeria said. Her body bucked as if she was heaving. Nothing came out of her mouth yet. Odette raised an eyebrow.
“Don’t worry, it’s coming!” Alicetroemeria said.
I heard a deep rumble in her stomach, much louder than anything one would realistically ever hear from a human stomach. Alicetroemeria looked as if she was about to cough up a hairball. Either that, or spew green vomit like Linda Blair in the Exorcist. The rumbling sound moved up her chest. Finally, she spit a massive glop of what looked like green phlegm into Odette’s hands. There was so much of it that half of it dripped in large viscous drops onto Odette’s clean floor. Odette sighed.
“Oh wow, that was a good one,” Alicetroemeria said, clearly relieved. “I’ve needed to clear that out for awhile. Wow! I feel so much better!”
“Is this stuff even safe?” Odette asked. “It looks like phlegm but there’s… black goo in here as well.”
“It came from the depths of my stomach,” Alicetroemeria said.
“More like the depths of hell,” Odette commented. “So is this stuff safe, or not?”
“It’s perfectly safe,” Alicetroemeria said. “As long as you wash it thoroughly off your hands and his body once you’re done.”
“Is my floor changing color?” Odette asked.
“That’ll wash off. I think.”
Odette sighed again and began applying the disgusting phlegm to my penis, then began stroking firmly. My initial disgust changed to amazement. This was the best lubricant ever! I just needed to not look at it. Or smell it. I looked over at Alicetroemeria, who was smirking at me. There must be some kind of universal Fateburn smirk, because all Fateburns just have the most condescending smirks I’ve ever seen.
“Good, huh?” Alicetroemeria asked. “Looks like you’re getting pleasured by me anyway.”
“It’s the best of both worlds,” Odette observed. “My loving hands, your powerful…. Goop. Your sexual magic is very strong. My hands are enjoying this almost as much as his penis. I might have to use it on myself.”
“I… would limit that to external use only,” Alicetroemeria cautioned.
Odette’s technique was strong and efficient, as promised. She drained me dry, getting my seed all over her body. She didn’t complain since she was going to have to wash herself anyway to get Black Alice’s toxic phlegm off of her. In fact, Odette carried my near unconscious form into the bathtub with her and washed both of us. Odette lived to serve those she loved. It was so wonderful to see her again. To be honest, if Odette had enthusiastically endorsed the idea of me siding with Makai, my journey on that world might have ended that night. I would have gone home first thing in the morning and told my companions of my decision. But Odette’s conflictedness and advice to go to San Ilia aroused my curiousity. I still needed to gather more information.
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