Heaven was abuzz with activity.


    Today was the day, the day of all days. No other dare was as revered, as sacred, as this one. For it was Ilias''s Birthday. Every Angel, if not otherwise preoccupied with their respective jobs, spent every second they could kneeling or prostrating in prayer to the Goddess. All around Heaven and Earth, Angels were proclaiming their loyalty and admiration for their Mother.


    Well, most of them at least.


    In the Ninth Level of Heaven, reserved for the common drone Angels, was a large collection of marble buildings.


    They were very plain, square-shaped structures made for housing all of the Angels of the lowest and largest Level of Heaven. In these complexes was a small unit set aside for one of the few specialized Angels that are still regulated to the lowest level, due to her powers only being a couple notches above that of a regular Angel.


    The room was marked above its gray marble door with a golden plaquette that held a carving of a heart with an arrow through its middle. Below that was a somewhat faded engraving that read this:


    Cupid:


    Angel of Love


    Being one of Ilias''s oldest Angels, Cupid held claim to her own living quarters for billions of years, being nearly as old as the Seraphs themselves. Though when Cupid first received this honor, she had been a much more respectable Angel who used this privilege to help better herself in her station.


    However, nowadays Cupid uses her private quarters in a rather different manner than worship.


    Inside the unit was a single room, as even a specialized Angel needed no more than a room for sleeping and praying. The carpeting was a light pink that clashed heavily with the usual blue and white associated with Ilias. The walls were decorated with bright pink tapestries that had various designs of golden hearts, most of them with arrows through them.


    At the end of the room farthest from the door, was Cupid''s sleeping quarters. It was cut off by dark red curtains that fell from the ceiling to the floor, surrounding her bed on all sides. Behind these curtains was a large heart-shaped bed adorned with dark red silk bedsheets that were currently tangled and disarranged, kicked around wildly by the current occupant. Also lying around the bed and floor haphazardly was a collection of fluffy pink and red heart-shaped pillows.


    Lying half-covered amongst the discarded pillows and sheets was Cupid herself, drenched in sweat and face red in frustration. Her blonde hair was disheveled and strewn about on the bed under her. Her dress''s top was covering only part of her glistening flesh as one shoulder strap was completely off and most of the buttons were undone. Her left-hand pawing at the exposed breast in an attempt to elevate her pleasure.


    The other hand, naturally, was beneath the hiked-up skirt of her dress mauling at her labia in desperation. The Angel of Love''s legs were hiked, lifting her lower body off the bed in a physical showing of her attempts to reach the apex of release.


    "F-F-Fuck!" Cupid shouted before she collapsed, her body going limp. However, it was not because she had finished. Her crumbling was due to sheer exhaustion, as Cupid had been at the very edge of a climax for hours.


    The Angel of Love gasped, the strained fighting for breath filling the otherwise quiet room. A tight, infuriated sneer comes to her face, the Angel of Love grabbing hold of a nearby pillow and throwing it through the curtain and across the room.


    "Damn it!" The Angel flailed and kicked around in a fit, "Damn it, DAMN IT!" Cupid''s cursing grew louder as she beat at her bed, much like an angry child when denied their favorite toy. It was a sad state of affairs for the Angel of Love, as for weeks now she had been unable to orgasm. Her issues, strangely enough, had started once her fantasies during these sessions started to revolve around Luka.


    For the longest time - quite literally millions of years - Cupid had used the consummations of her targets as fantasies for masturbation. It was a simple process. Each new couple she brought together would become the next material for the coming weeks until she was given a new set of Humans to bring together. However, ever since Luka started getting into his teens, she began having fantasies about him and her.


    At first, it was a revelation! Those climaxes had been the best she had ever had, wracking her entire body with pleasure. Quickly, Cupid stopped bothering with imaging regular Humans having sex as those releases started to become less and less intense. Then, even her Luka-centered sessions started to weaken more and more until she finally found herself plateauing completely.


    Simply masturbating wasn''t enough.


    "I-I..." Cupid huffed, "...I can''t stand this anymore." She sat up, a look of tired frustration on her face. "I need to have him, I''ve been denied for far too long!" The Angel of Love rose from her bed, standing barefoot on the red carpet as she adjusted her dress.


    It was more complicated than that, as getting the boy wasn''t as easy as just swooping in and snatching him up, as evident by past events. Today would be much too difficult as all of the Archangels will be in Ilias Village to witness Luka''s Baptism. There would be too many eyes watching the boy for her to attempt such a thing.


    Though was about to change, as after Luka''s Baptism by Ilias he would be sent into the World to become her Prophet. ''And after he leaves the safety of Ilias Village, he''ll become my little loverboy!~'' The thought brought Cupid into a fit of giggles. In her mind, Luka would be easy pickings for her. An innocent boy like him would easily be at the mercy of her allure.


    How could he resist her temptations? Monsters do it every day to young vulnerable boys like him, surely Cupid could do the same with ease! And then, when she has him powerless under her, it won''t take long for her to get what she wants.


    Knock knock


    Cupid flinched, jerking her head towards her door. ''Who the Hell is that!?'' She quickly turned to the bed, frenzy trying to find her discarded underwear as the knocking continued.


    "Just a minute!" The Angel of Love yelled, slipping her mostly dry panties back on as she hobbled over to the door. Cupid peeked through after cracking it open, her eyes widening at who was there.


    Standing before her, dressed in her pure white Angel robes, was the newly Archangel Valkyrie. Cupid''s pink eyed gaze meet the blue eyed gaze of the former War Angel.


    "Greetings, Sister Cupid." Valkyrie greeted. The Angel of Love stared at her superior, looking up and down the white-haired Archangel in confusion. Valkyrie, either not picking up on Cupid''s disorientation or not caring for it, continued on. "I''ve heard talk of you missing appointments on Earth recently. Is this true?"


    Cupid''s mouth opened and closed repeatedly, lost for words as the Archangel watched her with a questioning expression. "...Eh, yeeeaah?"


    Valkyrie shook her head slowly, "Cupid, this is very disappointing. All Angel''s responsibilities are important, and yours is no exception. You''re very pivotal in helping increase the population of Ilias''s Human followers and that needs to remain maintained."


    Cupid''s face became increasingly befuddled as Valkyrie continued until she finally replied. "Did you, come here just to lecture me?"


    Valkyrie stood furrowed her eyebrows, "Not to lecture, no. You can call this a wellness check. As the most recently appointed Archangel, it is a privilege for me to maintain morale by uplifting the other Angels. This, in turn, helps make sure all Angels are steadfast in their duties."


    A smirk appeared on Cupid''s face upon hearing this, the Angel of Love''s posture turning relaxed as she leaned against the doorframe. "Oh, I get it now. Valkyrie, if you really want to shadow me that bad, all ya gotta do is ask." Cupid leaned in close, her next words coming out in a whisper, "I can find you a reeeeeal nice show if you want one that bad."


    The white-haired Archangel scoffed, "You really must stop your lecherous thoughts, Cupid. Technically, as I am an Archangel now, I should be reporting your behavior to Archangel Ariel."


    Cupid''s entire body flinched at the mention of the Leader of the Archangels, her demeanor flipping in an instant. "Woah-ho-hooo, wait, wait!" The Angel of Love grabbed hold of Valkyrie by her arm, "Now, now, there''s no reason to do anything like that! I mean, we''ve been friends for sooooo long now, can''t ya just let this little hiccup slide?" Valkyrie gently pulled her arm away, removing it from Cupid''s grip.


    "I will be overlooking this error for now, though not because we are friends." Valkyrie straightened out her sleeve, never removing her gaze from Cupid. "I''m doing it because I know that you can do better than this; I''ve been around for as long as you, and at one point you were as virtuous as any other Angel of Ilias."


    The Archangel put a hand on the distressed Cupid''s shoulder, "All I ask is that you do your job, Cupid. No more, no less. Trust that I only want the best for you. That is why I will not be telling Archangel Ariel of this." Valkyrie turned to leave, though not without providing one last glance back.


    "Take care, Cupid." Valkyrie then walked away, leaving a shaken Angel of Love behind in the doorway. Said Angel gritted her teeth, closing the door somewhat sharply with a huff.


    Once inside, Cupid leaned back-first against the door with a steeled expression. ''I guess I''ll have to be more careful moving forward, having Valkyrie nag on me is much more preferred than Ariel. That bitch is always looking for an excuse to fuck up a perfectly fine day. She''s a sadist, I swear.''


    Cupid let out a long sigh, closing her eyes for a moment. All the previous frustration seemed to fade, as a smile grew on the face of the Angel of Love. She opened her eyes, scanning the room in front of her before she found what she was looking for. ''But even she won''t be able to keep me from getting what I want...''


    She sauntered confidently across the room, eyeing something sitting on a pillowed pedestal in the corner. ''...Nobody will, not when I have this...'' Cupid picked up her bow and arrow, watching the heart-shaped arrow tip shine in the low lighting of her bedroom. ''...I''ll have that boy, even if I have to make him fuck me.''


    The Angel of Love''s depraved laughs vibrated through the room with an uncharacteristically sinister edge.


    <hr noshade="noshade" size="1">


    On the opposite side of Heaven - at the very top - the Goddess Ilias sat on her throne, waiting.


    Her face was that of calm, serenity even. But her body told a different story. Her left leg was bouncing up and down rapidly in an attempt to release the nervous energy inside of her. Her right hand, the scars already being covered in preparation for the day, was drumming frantically on her throne''s armrest as the left hand played with a lock of her long blonde hair. Today was the day to end all days.


    Ilias''s birthday had come around once again, and Luka was of age to be Baptized.


    Come noontime, when the sun was at its highest, the Goddess would descend from the Heavens to Ilias Village where Luka would be waiting in her Temple. Then, she would officially send off the boy, beginning his quest to save the World in her name. Ilias was excited, more so than she had ever been before. Not since Heinrich Hein had there been anybody more fit to serve her.


    Except, where Heinrich had ultimately failed and rebelled against Ilias, Luka would not.


    He couldn''t, in her mind. Luka prayed to her, had been attending Mass, and as far as Ilias knew, held the Goddess in high regard. So, therefore, everything should go off without a hitch. Ilias Baptizes him, sends Luka off, he kills the Monster Lord, and then Glory will be obtained in her name as she finally reigns supreme over Heaven and Earth!


    Why, then, was she uneasy?


    It felt as if Ilias''s intestines were being raveled, then unraveled, then re-raveled over and over again. She stood from her throne, stepping down from the marble chair to walk off her nerves as she felt her composure crumbling. The Goddess didn''t need to peer outside to see that the sun was not even a quarter of the way in the sky, a number of hours still needed to pass before it would reach midday.


    Much like she had two years prior before appearing in Luka''s dream, Ilias summoned up a full-body mirror from the clouds to inspect herself. Like the last time, the Goddess made sure to micromanage all details of her appearance. "Everything is perfect, everything will go perfect, everything will be perfect. Perfect for Earth, perfect for me, and perfect for him."


    However, Ilias''s speech to herself fell flat as the Goddess felt her own words to be somewhat empty. Something about it all was flawed. She could feel it.


    Ilias frowned at her own reflection, suddenly feeling as though her appearance was unsatisfactory. For one of the few times in her life, the Goddess felt unsure of herself. This doubt caused her to quickly turn the mirror away with a wave of her hand, making it disappear from her throne room as quickly as she had brought it there.


    "This is utter nonsense!" The Goddess exclaimed, stomping her way back to her marble throne. "Luka has steadfastly accepted me since this began. Surely, he will continue doing so! Without any doubt, when I descend to Baptize him, everything will fall in place as is should..."


    Ilias turned, reclining back into her chair with a look of annoyance. "...There is no reason for me to be so worried about this. I should be happy! Glad, even! My Prophet is about to be finalized; the World will know Ilias as its one true ruler. So WHY then am I so AFRAID!?" Her yell rang through the highest level of Heaven like thunder, yet nothing came in response to her question.


    As always, she was alone in her search for an answer.


    Which, unbeknownst to even herself, was what held a cold grip on her heart so tightly.


    "There is nothing for me to fear, there is nothing for me to worry about. Once I have Luka, there will be nothing else for me to fear." Ilias said, but her words still rang hollow.


    If only Ilias knew, that today would mark the beginning of the end of her ambitions. As the very focal point of her obsessions, Luka himself would ultimately be the one to tear down her dreams of conquest.


    <hr noshade="noshade" size="1">


    The soon-to-be Prophet in question was in his home, having awoken much earlier in the day before the fledging rays of morning had peaked over the horizon when the sky was still dark.


    The summer sun was now peaking over the rolling hills and forests, bringing daytime to the village of piety. The last two years had been certainly strange to the boy. Ever since Ilias had come to him in a dream proclaiming to him that he would be her Prophet, the direction his life had been heading had been much different than what he ever thought possible.


    The morning after being visited by Ilias had already been a confusing one when, disappointingly, Luka had found that his guest Sofia seemingly disappeared in the night.


    It had upset him as the boy had become quite fond of the girl; however, he had been given little time to feel sorrowful for the loss, as he quickly made the horrifying discovery that a third of Ilias Village had perished that same night from an unknown illness and that another third of them were suffering its effects as they battled for survival.


    Luka, despite how he had been treated, had been quick to help.


    However, it had not been enough.


    Efforts on all sides were for naught, as all the sick villagers who were still alive passed in the coming weeks. Luka remembered vividly how dark those last days had been, up until the very last ill man - the very Reverend of the Temple of Ilias himself - was so afflicted with pain that he couldn''t even leave his bed to spearhead Sunday Mass.


    It had been a depressing time, watching the Reverand''s son try and preach in his elderly Father''s place. In the end, nobody even knew what this fatal illness was as all the doctors in Ilias Village were struck down early into the epidemic.


    As awful as it was to admit, this event really helped Luka turn a new leaf in his hometown. He wasn''t sure if it was because he became so much more involved in the goings-on made him more familiar, or if perhaps his attempts to help whenever possible simply made those who survived fonder of him. Either way, Luka actually began to be treated more fairly around the Village.


    Although, even with this positive change in status, Luka still found himself as something of a loner. At this point, the purple-haired boy had gotten used to it. So most of Luka''s time was spent at home, only leaving to buy groceries, attend Mass, and do the occasional odd job around the village for money.


    Case in point, Luka was currently sweeping the wooden floor of the kitchen, humming a small tune as he did so. Only a few hairs taller than he was two years prior, the boy fit the brown tunic and black pants a bit better than he had in the past. Luka wasn''t the most gracefully with the broom, but he got the job done well enough, especially considering the storm of emotions brewing beneath his calm facade.


    When Luka had awakened from a dreamless sleep, feeling uncommonly sluggish from the weight resting on his mind, he lacked any interest in leaving his mattress. For nearly half an hour he had simply laid in bed, having trouble finding the energy to move from his position and start his day. It wasn''t until sun rays started to lighten his window that he sat up, feeling as if his head was a burlap bag of sand.


    Luka had eventually gotten better dressed, untangling his hair with a brush and washing his throat out with a cold glass of water. However, the purple-haired boy''s spirit had remained crestfallen throughout the morning even as he partook in his favorite morning chores. Even gardening hadn''t lifted his dour mood, as he had half-heartedly trimmed the hedges, giving up halfway in his efforts to retreat into his home.


    The reason for the young man''s restless morning? It was the Goddess Ilias''s birthday, and come noon, it will be time for his Baptism. The finalization of his Prophethood.


    And he did not feel ready.


    The two years of knowing what was to come hadn''t helped Luka at all; as fear clung to his mind like a cancer, casting his heart into an abyss of suffocating dread. No amount of preparation from the two years beforehand felt as if they mattered now, bringing even more doubt to his entire situation.


    But Luka couldn''t back down, not when Ilias herself would be coming today to send him off! He couldn''t disappoint her, not when she had put so much faith in him. How could he turn away from her like that? The thought alone was completely out of the question, Luka would be letting down perhaps the most important figure in all of the World!


    The soon-to-be Prophet scrunched up his face, conflict brewing even deeper in his mind as he had to, yet again, abandon another chore before he had finished it. Luka leaned the broom against the kitchen wall, unsatisfied but unable to focus enough to finish. The purple-haired boy pulled up a chair, falling curtly into it as he folded his arms onto the table. Another more conflicting, question plagued his mind. One that was somehow even more difficult for him to grasp.


    Would his parents approve of all this?


    With his Father, Luka wasn''t sure. He was somewhat aware of the fact that his Father had been something of a Hero in his youth, although Marcellus never spoke of those times with his son. Luka had many fond memories of his Father but knew little about what the man believed about the World.


    Dying when Luka was still too young to properly understand, Marcellus had never gotten the opportunity to instill much in the way of ideals in Luka.


    With his Mother, Luka had a very strong belief that she cared little for the Goddess, as she never attended Mass or encouraged Luka to do so. Therefore, the boy had the troubling feeling that his Mother would''ve been distraught to know what he was doing now. But he couldn''t know for sure, as she too had passed before they could ever talk more deeply about such things.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    So now, the conflicted boy sat alone in a house of a past he could not reclaim, living unsure of the present, and terrified of his future. Luka leaned away from the table, reclining wearily on the back of the chair as he stared at nothing, his troubled thoughts offering no comfort as he contemplated the weight that was soon to be on his shoulders. However, this moment of reflection would be halted in its tracks by a truly rare event.


    "MONSTER!"


    Luka jumped from his seat in reaction to a distant but shrill scream, slamming his right knee into the table''s bottom in the process. He hissed, grabbing the now bruised kneecap in frustration before what he heard finally registered in his mind. ''Hold on, there''s a Monster here!?'' The boy could hardly believe it, a Monster being in Ilias Village? It was unheard of!


    Luka hobbled towards his front door, hurrying his pace when he began to hear more screams outside. However, he stopped just short of his front door, freezing by the small closet next to the entrance of his home. There was a hesitance in Luka''s gaze as he turned to look at the closet. The boy opened the door, pulling the ever-hanging cape with a hand.


    He inspected the sword and gloves hidden behind the cape with reluctance but reached out to grab them anyways.


    The brown gloves fit his hands better than they had before, only somewhat loose now. Luka gulped, grabbing a hold of the hilt of the silver blade with one hand, then the other, raising it up to point towards the ceiling. The blade wasn''t as heavy as it was before, though the boy was sure that he looked a bit awkward while holding it. The purple-haired boy stepped out of the closet, shakily adjusting his grip on the weapon.


    Luka''s chest felt tight as he stood there, not feeling much more confident than he had two years prior. However, another shriek rang out and garnered his attention.


    "HELP, SOMEONE HELP!"


    Luka cringed, knowing very well that the number of able-bodied fighters in Ilias Village was few and far between ever since the mysterious illness that had hit the town. If he didn''t get out there to face this Monster, it may be too late before anyone else can.


    Psyching himself up, Luka held his Father''s sword in his left hand, wrenching open his front door with his right. Outside, he could see Townsfolk running away from his house and closer to the heart of the Village. ''The Monster must be only just reaching the village then. I hope it hasn''t attacked anyone yet...''


    Luka dashed out, running past the retreating people, some of them looking back at him with incredulous looks as he ran towards the direction of the attacking Monster.


    Luka cursed himself while running down the dirt path, only then realizing that he hadn''t changed into his boots yet and was running with his sandals on. He had put himself in a very uncomfortable position, but couldn''t turn around to fix his mistake, not now. ''Not when lives could be at stake! Who knows what awful things this Monster could be doing right now?''


    <hr noshade="noshade" size="1">


    At the edge of Ilias Village was the Monster in question, slowly crawling her way towards Ilias Village.


    The Monster''s form was gelatinous, holding a defined but also very malleable body. Her bright blue skin shone as it reflected the summer sun, said body being that of a voluptuous woman from her head down to her calves, which lost its otherwise humanoid shape as a large mound of slime lay where her feet would be at. Her teal eyes looked to and fro, searching for satiation in the form of a suitable mate.


    However, the search is quite difficult when you move only so much faster than a snail''s pace.


    ''Come on, where are all the willing men at!? Anyone I''ve seen has just run away screaming!'' The Slime thought in annoyance.


    Indeed, the lonely Slime has had nothing but bad reactions from the Townsfolk since she had been first spotted in the forest bordering the village, the small group sprinting in the opposite direction whilst screaming about a "frightening beast" making its way to town.


    Even worse now, she could hear the faint cries of the rest of the Humans yelling about her arrival. ''I''m not even that frightening!'' She thought as her face pouted heavily, her frustration at her situation growing by the moment.


    Of course, the Monster perhaps knew better, as it was otherwise widely known that most Humans on the Ilias Continent had a great aversion to Monsters. So, it wasn''t very surprising that none of the men were unenthusiastic about even being around the slime, despite her tempting offer of a good time. That sentiment did little to make it less frustrating though, as the Slime had traveled for a long time to get to this Village.


    A considerable effort, as most Slimes can''t move very fast by themselves.


    Soon, the Monster found herself at the edge of the forest, a dirt path leading to the unguarded entrance of the village. The Slime stopped, finding herself having an epiphany. ''They just run if they see me, but if I were to hide, I''m sure someone will come running to see if I''m still around. And when they do...''


    The blue Slime giggled as she slid across the ground to duck behind a wide tree, the act causing her body to jiggle, ''...I''ll be here to snatch him up!'' Her very rare stroke of brilliance would indeed pay off, as a certain purple-haired boy was not far away and was steadfastly approaching...


    <hr noshade="noshade" size="1">


    Ilias watched from her throne as the sun inched closer and closer to midday. Her calm facade was gone, a look of near dread on her face now as she felt every last second tick by as time marched on, bringing her closer to having to descend. The Goddess twitched, her arms and legs shaking with nervousness. ''What is going on? I have to get a hold of myself, I''m behaving worse than a virgin schoolgirl before her first date! I am the Goddess. I must collect myself!''


    Ilias stood from her throne, having enough of her own behavior.


    "This is a simple affair, all I need to do is descend to my Temple, proclaim Luka to be my Prophet, and then Baptize him in water that I have personally blessed. I have done it numerous times before, this is no different."


    Except, this was very much not the same. She had Baptized Heroes, men who rose to prominence through strength in combat and faith. Luka wasn''t just some soldier, he would be a spiritual leader. He would be someone to bring the greatest of all glories to Ilias''s name.


    He''d need something more special than that.


    Ilias looked up at the sun, noticing that it was nearly time. In less than a quarter of an hour, Luka would be at the Temple, waiting for her to Baptize him. It was time.


    The Goddess''s wings extended, bringing her up and out of the hole in Heaven''s ceiling. She then quickly began hovering down to Earth, swiftly falling through the atmosphere. ''Perhaps, since he is so much more special, I should go the extra mile for him. I only ever wash the heads of Heroes when I Baptize them. Maybe, I should wash more of him.'' Ilias pondered the thought, wondering if such a thing would be truly necessary.


    The Goddess of Light was very quickly nearing the Ilias Continent, gliding over the Irina Mountains towards Ilias Village. She slowed her descent, not wanting to arrive too quickly. Ilias couldn''t show up to her Temple before Luka did, after all, that would just be embarrassing. ''It would be unorthodox to wash more than just his head, but I need him to know that I believe in him, that he is special.'' Ilias felt a strange rising heat from within, one that certainly wasn''t from the sun high behind her.


    Ilias was very low now, passing between Enrika and Iliasburg with dwindling speed. Her mind began to drift further and further from the situation at hand. ''I wouldn''t mind having to do that, and I''m sure he wouldn''t mind either. Surely it would be as enjoyable for him as it would be for me.'' The Goddess slowed down even more, noticing that she was perhaps a bit too early. The sun was still not completely in its place.


    The Goddess began to ramble to herself, ''Enjoyable in a completely professional way, of course. It would be ridiculous to think that bathing him would be something I''m looking forward to. No, of course not. It''s not as if I feel excited about it. This is nothing more than ritual to me-''


    SLICE


    The Goddess of Light froze, feeling a large cut form on the right side of her face. Slowly, Ilias raised her hand to her face, gasping as she felt a trail of blood falling down her face. She turned; her eyes widened to comic proportions as she found her attacker''s smug face.


    "HAHA!" The Monster Lord laughed, "Gotcha, BITCH!"


    <hr noshade="noshade" size="1">


    Luka stood at the entrance of Ilias Village, flanked on both sides by the trees that created the naturally made gateway into the town. Everyone was gone, hiding in their houses or businesses to protect themselves from the Monster. So, essentially, the boy was alone.


    ''Well, until I find this Monster, that is.'' The purple-haired boy thought.


    Luka bit his lip, nervously holding his Father''s sword in his hands as he took a couple tentative steps forward onto the dirt path ahead of him. The gravity of the situation was falling onto him quite heavily as he realized how real this was becoming. ''I''m really doing this, I''m going after a Monster. I don''t even know what to do!''


    The young boy froze, realizing something that he hadn''t accounted for before. ''Crap, I don''t even know what the Monster is or what it looks like!'' He felt very vulnerable now, his blue eyes rolling in his skull as he scattered his gaze all around, searching every tree and looking in every bush for any sign of his soon-to-be combatant.


    Luka looked to the sky, ''Oh goodness, what if it flies!? How do you fight something that FLIES!?'' In his frightened stupor, the boy failed to realize that he had completely missed the blue Slime standing quite obviously behind a tree next to him, barely hidden at all in her hiding spot.


    The Slime eyed the adolescent up and down shamelessly, evaluating the morsel that had just practically presented himself to her on a silver platter. She slid behind him, following as he went deeper into the thicket. ''Ooo, a young one. Pretty cute too, though the purple hair is strange. I don''t think I''ve seen a man with hair like that before. Although...''


    A sense of familiarity scratched at the back of her mind, keeping the Monster from outright assaulting Luka like she would usually. ''...Purple hair and blue eyes, puuurple hair and bluuue eyes...'' She pondered it a moment, before deciding it didn''t really matter. ''Eh, whatever. Time to get down to business!'' The Slime reached towards the boy with a single hand, her fingers outstretched to her target.


    Luka, meanwhile, glanced around confusedly, unsure if he had missed the Monster or not. "Perhaps she gave up and left?" The purple-haired boy murmured to himself, not so sure. He''d never met a Monster before, but he knew that many of them were notorious for their tenacity, and he was sure none of the villagers would''ve scared it off.


    Luka stopped to squint down the dirt path ahead, trying to find any sign of this mysterious Monster. Instead, though, all he saw was the retreating darkness of the forest ahead. He flinched, feeling a strange sort of buzzing in the back of his head. Luka very abruptly felt the sense that he was in danger, this feeling being immediately followed up by something warm and wet landing on his shoulder.


    "Hiya there!~" Whipping around, Luka separated from the intruder''s grasp at a startling speed. The boy backpedaled, kicking up a cloud of dust as he did. The boy finally skidded to a stop, his eyes wide with surprise.


    Having never seen a Monster once before, the boy found himself thrown off by how Human this Slime looked. The amorphous blob before him was strikingly alluring, especially in the Monster''s generous bust, which jiggled at a rate that alarmed the innocent boy''s composure quite quickly. ''Okay, Luka. Just ignore that, can''t let yourself be distracted.''


    Luka boy raised his gaze at the Slime''s teal eyes, which stared back at him with scandalous intent.


    "Ooo, you''re a quick one. Hopefully not too quick, I like to take my time~" Luka gulped at the Monster''s trilling voice, grasping his sword tightly now with both hands. His mind raced as he slowly stepped backward as the slime slid closer to him. The Slime eyed the weapon with some caution, but looked back to the boy''s weary face, confident that she could coerce him into dropping the blade.


    "Awww..." The Slime cooed, "...Why don''t you drop that sword, huh? I''m more interested in unsheathing the other sword you have." Luka recoiled at the lewd comment but put on a brave face. "S-Sorry, I''m not interested in that. I-I''m afraid I''ll have to ask you to leave Ilias Village!"


    The Slime giggled, the act bouncing the Monster''s curvaceous form once more. "Hehe, you are too adorable! I might just-" The Slime stopped, her face looking at the boy in confusion. "Wait... am I not at Iliasville right now?"


    It was Luka''s turn to look befuddled, as he stammered out an answer. "E-Eh, no. This place is named Ilias Village, not Iliasville."


    The blue Slime looked truly beside herself, "B-But," Bizarrely, the Monster reached inside her own body, pulling out a soaked piece of parchment from her gelatinous form. Yet again, Luka had to avert his eyes from the unintended bouncing of her assets. "My map says that this town is named Iliasville!"


    The Slime slid over to the boy, all of her earlier lustful aggression now gone as she presented her slime-covered map.


    Luka rested his sword against a nearby tree, grabbing the paper with some reluctance. ''Good thing I''m wearing gloves...'' He thought, reading over the moist map. "Let''s see..." Luka said to himself as the Monster watched him with worried eyes. Indeed, though, the map had his hometown marked as Iliasville. "...That''s strange, must be a mistranslation." Luka mused.


    The blue Slime pointed an accusing finger at the boy. "See, I told you this place is Iliasville! I can read it clear as day!" Luka glanced up from the map. "I see that, yes. However..." He pointed past the Monster to a marker sign on the side of the road. Clearly emblazoned upon it was the inscription:


    You are now entering Ilias Village!


    May the Goddess Smile Down Upon You


    "...It had always been called Ilias Village, as far as I know." Luka finished, dropping his hand as he did.


    The Slimed gawked at the sign, then looked back down to the map with confusion. Luka watched the Monster as she mumbled to herself about her obviously amateurly made map with softening eyes. Before now, he had been afraid of this confrontation. So many scenarios had blossomed in his mind about how meeting his first Monster would go, one of his prime worries being how Monsters behaved.


    The boy had always heard the Townsfolk speak of Monster as horrible creatures that only knew how to pillage and rape, that they would take advantage of any weakness they saw. Watching this Slime, however, made him doubt those words. ''The way she''s acting, it''s strangely Human. If more of them are like this, I could plead their case to Ilias and there would be no need for conflict!''


    "No wonder I had such a hard time finding this place! Wait, is that why people kept giving me looks when I asked for directions!?" The Slime said, breaking Luka from his thoughts. The purple-haired boy stepped forward, "Well, I''m sorry that you were given an unreliable map. If you want, I can get you a good map of the area so that you can travel more easily."


    The Slime looked to Luka, her teal eyes locking back onto him. A devilish grin came to her face, "Oh no, that''s fine." A gelatinous tentacle came from the base of her body, wrapping around his ankle. "All I need right now is you in me!"


    Luka fell onto his back, the impact knocking the air out of his lungs. He heard his Father''s sword fall onto the ground next to him. The blue Slime began to crawl over the boy, her body enveloping his lower half. "That''s it, let''s get those pants off!"


    The Monster started to reach down for the boy''s belt, intent on having her way with the boy right there and now.


    Luka, meanwhile, struggled against the slime''s gelatinous body but found that his legs were completely stuck inside the Monster. "No, please stop! I-I-" The familiar feeling of helplessness brought a painful memory to the forefront of his thoughts, a memory of a nightmare that he had tried to forget long ago...


    Luka opened his mouth to call out to somebody to help him, but another slimy tentacle writhed around his head, covering his scream as he was dragged into the alleyway. "Shhhhh... Be not afraid, my child. I merely desire a small taste of you, that''s all." More and more tentacles came, restraining the boy''s arms and other leg.


    "NO!" Luka reared back and smashed his left fist into the slime''s body, the Monster jiggling violently from the impact. The blue Slime giggled, squirming from the hand that was now embedded inside the Monster. "Hehehe! Stop, that tickles!"


    The Monster leaned over him, her breasts smushing into his chest. Her face was painfully close now, a red blush growing on her blue face. "Now, just lay back and relax, I''ll take care of eeeverything..." Her hands were unbuckling his belt now. He tried to plead with the Monster again...


    Suddenly, multiple thin and scaly tendrils curled around his head, pulling him in close. The Monster leered into the young boy''s tear-filled eyes, "There''s no shame in giving in, boy. It''s only natural to want this." She opened her mouth, a long red tongue snaking out to trail his face in a sickened, loving manner.


    Luka screamed, an awful cry resounding through the forest as he grabbed his sword with his free hand, and quickly cutting off the Slime''s head. The Monster''s head rolled off into the brush, the rest of her body collapsing around him in a large puddle of blue goo. As soon as he could, Luka crawled away from the substance, furiously wiping it off of him.


    The young boy gasped and choked, wiping away a couple stray tears that had fallen from his eyes. But then, he froze and looked over to the remnants of the slime.


    Quickly, Luka dropped the sword and re-buckled his pants. ''I can''t believe it. I was almost, almost...'' He couldn''t finish the thought, a few sobs coming from his mouth. Luka looked back at the collection of Slime now lying on the ground.


    "Did I, kill her?" He softly asked himself, a conflicted frown growing on his face. Everything that had transpired had gone completely wrong. Now, a great sickness began to take a hold of himself as what he had just done began to-


    "You meanie!" Luka jumped up to his feet in response to the voice of the Monster he had just decapitated.


    He looked to the left, finding a very bewildering sight. It was the head of the Slime, feebly hopping from the thicket! "I offer you my body with no strings attached, and you cut off my head!?" That''s so awful, you should be ashamed!" The head reached the pile it had been beheaded off of, reattaching itself to the goo.


    Quickly, the Slime''s voluptuous body began to reform, though the Monster''s face remained upset. "And to think, I was going to take you back home with me to be my Husband. Well, not anymore!" The Slime quickly slid past the incredulous-looking Luka, looking back at him one last time with tears in her eyes. "Good luck finding a Slime girl who likes having her head cut off! I''m sure there aren''t very many!" The blue Slime retreated down the dirt path, disappearing from sight.


    Luka gawked at the area where the Monster had disappeared, now having so many more questions than answers. ''So quickly she went from wanting to rape me, to talking to me as if we were strangers meeting during travels, to trying to rape me again. Not to mention, whatever that just was at the end.''


    The soon-to-be Prophet shook his head, trudging back to Ilias Village with more questions than answers. ''I think I could''ve reasoned with her if given more time. She didn''t seem all that horrible, really. Just a bit airheaded. One thing is for certain, though, I can''t let my guard down like that again. That easily could''ve been it for me...''


    The purple-haired boy found himself at the entrance of Ilias Village, stalling at the entrance of his hometown to look back into the forest again. ''...I''ll have to be more careful; I can''t take any more unnecessary risks. If that Slime could catch me so easily off guard like that, then I am nowhere near ready to meet the Monster Lord herself.''


    BOOM


    A literal ground-shaking impact occurred, throwing the boy from his feet. "Ahh!" Luka fell, tumbling some back down the dirt path, dropping his sword with a grunt. "O-Ow." He mumbled, gracelessly stumbling up to his feet while grabbing his sword with his left hand.


    Luka peered into the forest, not seeing anything, but hearing a cacophony of birds and other woodland creatures going absolutely ballistic in the aftermath of whatever just happened. "Should, I..."


    The purple-haired boy looked up to the sky, seeing that the Sun was nearing its peak in the sky. Ilias will be descending soon, which was something he didn''t want to miss. But he couldn''t just ignore whatever had happened.


    Gripping his sword tightly, Luka steeled himself and took off in the direction of the blast.


    He ducked through the thicket, weaving between trees and brush somewhat competently. A strange burning smell began to assault his nose. ''That''s peculiar.'' He thought as the scent of burning wood began to get stronger. Then, he broke through a wall of bushes to find himself in a small clearing in the forest.


    In front of Luka was a very unusual sight. In the now bare dirt was a very large crater, the grass around it being burned and replaced with smoldering ash. Ahead of him, beyond the crater, was a long trail of trees that were all snapped in by some half!


    ''What would''ve caused something like this?'' He thought as he stalked up to the impact sight, peering down into the hole in the ground.


    Luka had no Earthly guess as to what he would find at the bottom of the crater, but what he did see was certainly not one of the ideas he had in mind. At the bottom of the charred pit was a Monster; a Lamia, from what he could tell. Her tail was very long, starting out as a dark red, almost maroon, becoming brighter as it reached its tip. Right at the point between her main body and her tail was a strange black skirt that was pleated into spike-like strands that almost resembled claws.


    Her Human-like upper body was a pleasing lavender color, the left side of her torso offsetting this with unfamiliar-looking black tattoos that ran from her waist to her chest and even to her arm and the left side of her face. Her admittedly generous bust was what the boy would call "loosely covered" by strands of cloth resembling those on her skirt. On her arms were black gloves that ran up above her elbows.


    In short, her appearance was certainly one that would cause many men to gawk. The sheer exoticness was an eye-catcher for sure, and her scant amount of clothing more likely than not worked double to help with that. However, Luka did not focus long on the more sexual aspects of her appearance. In fact, those particular details had been forgone by something else that had struck him.


    His gaze had been drawn in particular to the Lamia''s face.


    In the fairly recent and short amount of time where Luka was aware of the beauty of the opposite sex, he had only really appreciated such a thing in very few people. The first, naturally enough, had been his Mother. He had always found his Mother to be very beautiful, her gentle and calming demeanor always having been something he cherished even after her death. Her loving face was one the boy could never forget, not that he would ever want to.


    The second, interestingly, had been Ilias. When she had visited him in his dreams, there was an undeniable grace that radiated from her. It was a type of beauty would expect to be from a revered Goddess such as herself.


    The last example he had seen was from the Nun he had met two years ago, Sofia. She had been the first girl close to his age that he had noticed as being pretty, and more importantly, she had been the first instance of him feeling an attraction towards a girl. Luka wouldn''t admit it, for fear of being seen as pitiful, but the girl''s very abrupt and unexplained absence the morning after inviting her into his home had deeply wounded the boy''s fragile heart.


    However, the beauty that he saw on the face of this Monster somehow superseded all of these.


    It was difficult for him to pinpoint exactly what it was, but the boy knew it was much different than the previous occurrences in his life. There was a sharp, yet majestic charm to her face, helped elevated by the curved black horns on her head that almost looked like an unconventional crown of sorts, adding to her regal appearance. That, and her ridiculously long white hair was enchanting in the way it shone in the sun''s bright rays.


    If his feelings for Sofia had been that of a budding crush, then what he was feeling for this Monster he hadn''t even talked to was that of being captivated. Luka grunted as he cleared his throat, trying to keep himself calm despite the thundering of his heart. ''Come on, don''t lose your cool. This could still be treacherous.'' Despite the thought, Luka was unsure as to how to approach the situation.


    This Lamia, for currently unknown reasons, seemed incapacitated. Her eyes were clamped shut, and the expression on her face made it seem as if she was sleeping, the notion supported by the slow movement of her chest as she breathed in and out. ''Do I dare go down there? It seems unwise, but I don''t want to leave her here if she is hurt. Even if she very well could be dangerous.''


    Even with the Lamia''s undeniable attractiveness, Luka wasn''t foolish enough to think she was safe. After all, he had just been nearly assaulted by an attractive Monster, there''s no sense in thinking it would be different a second time. His mental debate would not last long, however, as the Lamia started to stir.


    Luka flinched, his mind frantically trying to create a plan that avoided fighting. ''Okay, okay. Talking in a calm and friendly with that slime had worked for a little bit. Just do that again, but better this time!''


    The soon-to-be Prophet leveled his wary gaze down onto the awakening Monster, trying his best to not look threatening even though there was absolutely nothing imposing about him whatsoever. Luka watched as the Lamia''s eyes opened, his heart skipping a beat as he noticed that her eyes were a striking gold. Her gaze, while somewhat lost, was absolutely enthralling to stare into.


    Luka watched her eyes hone on him, a questioning look coming to her face. The boy steeled himself, ''Okay, now or never. Calm and friendly, calm and friendly!'' Dramatically, Luka raised his right hand up, palm open and fingers extended in a relaxed wave. The boy opened his mouth to speak, thinking up the most calm and friendly greeting he could muster...


    "Yo!"