User blog:Shadowblade777/Fanfic: Demon's Dance

Prologue: Hidden Target
"Hm, is this the place...?" A lone male human figure dressed in dark clothing with a hood stood in front of the mountains within the Gold region. He began pressing his hands along the sides of the hill as if to feel something. Sure enough the wall eventually created a small ripple to his touch, decamouflaging into a magic barrier. "I found it... She said this was here for a thousand years? It must have dramatically weakened over time." the human muttered as an aura of darkness materialized in his right hand, forming two swords with their pommels fused together; a blade staff. He then slashed the barrier, cutting it into two before it dispersed.

The human then walked into the cave. The cave was extremely short and the sun shined in, revealing a curled up creature, which then uncurled. It was a monster with a white-colored carapace and hair along with two pairs of wings and pincers arms, and an abdomen lined with numerous pairs of breasts. She also had a fly-like head on top of her hair; a fly monster. "Ahh... what a wonderful thousand-year nap... Oh, a human, what a wonderful way to start my day!" the creature observed the human and giggled. The monster flew next to the human and wrapped him up in her abdomen, but he suddenly disappeared. "W-what the?!"

As the fly monster searched around, the human reappeared behind her and slashed her rear, hitting her pairs of wings. She screamed in pain as she collapsed to the ground with a little thud. "The hell?! My wings! How the hell did you-?!" the creature's eyes grew wide as she looked at the human; a dark menacing aura manifested around him. "That power... That dark power! You possibly can't be-?!" The human didn't reply as he walked toward the downed beast. She tried to use her abdomen to trip him, but he leaped up and slashed her waist, cutting off everything below it. The fly monster screamed in pain as the human stepped on her chest and stabbed her, driving his blade deep down into her heart. The creature struggled and her attempts to push the blade out were a futile; she eventually stopped moving after a few seconds as a pool of blood formed around her body, indicating that she was dead.

"...Beelzebub. My masters told me you were one of the most strongest and deadliest monsters a thousand years ago and a threat to everyone everywhere. Then again you just came out of hibernation..." the human let out a soft sigh and wiped off the sweat on his face. "She's dead, Mistress Tamamo. I'll head back to the castle now." human quietly muttered before sinking into the shadow of the ground.

I am Shadow, a masterful Dark Assassin shaped to kill any target without regrets. I was raised and trained by the Heavenly Knight Tamamo and accepted by the Four Heavenly Knights and the Monster Lord. I use my talents to serve them and maintain peace and order throughout the world... and destroy the evil that lingers throughout the world!

Chapter 1: Demon Boy meets Demon Girl
I reappeared in the Monster Lord's Castle in the Hall of the Heavenly Knights. I've been serving them for quite a while, following their orders in assassinating any evil monster. "Welcome back, Shadow!" a voice greeted me followed by the presence of Tamamo, a nine-tailed Queen Kitsune and a Heavenly Knight, and also my wife. "The Beezlebubs were sealed away a thousand years ago by the founding Monster Lord, in this 'Calamity Box', right? I didn't find a box anywhere. She was just resting in that cave." I informed Tamamo. "Well... Perhaps this one somehow escaped against the founder but sealed herself away to recover, but that's just my theory at best. You did a splendid job in eliminating her though." Tamamo commented with a happy face and pulled me into a hug and kissing me on the lips.

"Yes, you did a well on this task, taking care of an issue directly involving my ancestors." another voice rang out along with the appearance of Alice, a demonic-looking lamia that serves as the sixteenth and current Monster Lord. "Thank you, Alice... Hm?" as I got a look at her, she was wielding some sort of strange sword-looking item that depicted many angels clinging onto it in a rather unusual way. "Oh, this? It's called the Angel Halo, a weapon made from 666 melted angels. It can weaken and seal away creatures, but its true power lies in its ability to harm angels. Yes, today is Ilias's stupid baptism and when she descends to the world, I'll smack her with this!" Alice exclaimed gleefully; if that were an evil laugh it'd send shivers up my spine. "Also, I want to see the world with my own eyes and taste all the delicious food in the world, and I want to investigate the Slaughter of Remina. I'm going alone; both of you don't follow me." Alice finished. Tamamo let go of me and approached Alice. "Are you sureeeeeeee you want to go out~?" the Kitsune said in a very teasing manner. Alice gave off a very annoyed look. "Yes! Stop treating me like a child! I'll be 22 this year! I'm a full grown adult!" Alice whined. Tamamo nodded and Alice regained composure. "All right, Tamamo please take care of everything while I'm away." with that, Alice departed as Tamamo and I waved.

"Hmmhmm..." Tamamo gave off a slightly annoyed look. "Well, I think she'll be all right. She's the Monster Lord. You raised her well didn't you?" I told Tamamo. "... It's just... Ah never mind." Tamamo perked up and gently stroked my hair. "Mistress Tamamo, please excuse me. I've had a very long day and I would like to rest." I told her. She agreed and led me to her room. When I got there, I went over to the occupied bed and sat on the edge, looking at the monster resting there: Rose, an alraune who was fiercely loyal to Tamamo and my first lover who went into a coma when trying to save me from a fatal attack. I kissed her lips and told her what I did today before sighing. "I miss her too, Shadow. All we can do is wait for her to come back. I'm sure she's happy with what you've been doing for us, and I don't think she wants to see you sad." Tamamo held my sad face close to her chest before laying me on the empty bed and cuddled me tightly in her nine fluffy tails.

The next morning, I woke up but Tamamo wasn't in bed. I went back to the Hall of the Heavenly Knights and found her there, with an extremely shocked look on her face as she talked with her Kitsune subordinates; one of them was Nanabi, a seven-tailed Kitsune and one of Tamamo's right hands; the other was a young two-tailed Kitsune. "What?! Alice got hit by Ilias and was sent crash landing into Ilias Continent?!" Tamamo exclaimed. I quickly joined in. "Unfortunately yes. She was found by a human, but fortunately he didn't raise a blade against her. In fact, for whatever reason the two are traveling together and even slept together at campfire." Nanabi continued to report. "What?! I need to investigate this immediately! You two are coming with me right away!" Tamamo exclaimed. "Of course. And one more thing... Black Alice is making her move again. She was said to be headed to Fairy's Island, this time she's going there personally." Nanabi finished reporting. "WHAT?! That needs to be investigated too!" Tamamo shouted again; it's almost like she's having a heart attack. "Don't worry, go look after the Monster Lord. I'll investigate Black Alice straight away!" I told her. "...All right, I'm counting on you!" All four of us then disappeared from the Monster Lord's Castle, making our way to our own destinations.

I reappeared in an alleyway in Sabasa Kingdom. It was my first time here and the area felt very hot, due to being in a sunny desert area. I quickly rushed to the nearest bar I could find, and to my surprise it was filled with mermaids. I requested orange juice and gulped down several glasses and let out a relaxed sigh, feeling myself cool down from the heat. I then spoke to the mermaids to gather information about Fairy's Island; they explained it was remotely not far to the west but was extremely hostile to human trespassers. I thanked them and headed out of the kingdom to my destination; it took almost an hour under the scorching hot sun to reach the shores of the area. It was empty, but I could sense something coming off from the distance. Utilizing the dark power in my feet, I stepped on the surface of the water, perfectly standing on it as if it were normal ground; the bottom of my feet didn't sink. I quickly dashed toward the direction of my senses, and sure enough and island came into view.

The island itself emitted a strong flow of energy. I closed my eyes to focus, isolating that power to detect my objective's aura. I sensed three beings at the center of the island, two of them being queen-class monsters but the other was extremely faint but suspicious. I headed into that direction and Shadow Melded into the ground to avoid detection. I eventually arrived to a small clearing in the deep forest and there were three creatures: an elf, a fairy, and a... young girl? "I am the Queen Elf, who will unite all Elves of the world." the elf began. "And I'm the Queen Fairy, the most powerful Fairy." the fairy said after. The young girl smiled happily. "And I'm Black Alice. I'm the one guiding wonderful monsters to the glory of darkness. The group of monsters that live on this island that you lead... Won't you all become my allies? We'll gather all of the humans together... Suck on them... Feed on them... Sate our lust... It will be a wonderful party... Doesn't that sound fantastic?" the girl said. She had an extremely sinister tone and giggle and just as she said that an extremely sinister atmosphere grew around her; it sent me deep chills and I could also sense the two queen's fear. This power... it felt stronger than any of the Heavenly Knights... it felt so familiar... it felt like the current monster lord's! So this 'Black Alice' is real?! The elf and fairy queens hesitated for a very long while before giving an answer: "Erm... Will you please give us some time to discuss this...?" Black Alice gave off a slightly surprised look. "... Very well. I hope you will join me in creating a new world, one where we can use humans however we desire. I will be back soon to hear your decision." Black Alice smiled, vanishing. The two queens then turned to talk to each other.

After that I immediately fled the forest and ran back to the outer edge of the island. "Well well, look who we have here!" a voice rang out from behind me. My body froze as I turned around to see who was behind me. It was the same young-looking girl from before, Black Alice! Her oppressive aura made me fall on my back and crawl away, bumping into a tree. Black Alice giggled and walked over to me, then got on her fours and leaned in very close, causing me to squint my eyes. "Mm, you're that interesting human with that dark power, Shadow! I've been dying to meet you!" Black Alice giggled more; when I opened my eyes she was sitting down in front of me with a smile across her face, but that sinister aura wasn't making me feel better; it's like she could kill me if I made one wrong move. "Oh come now! I thought you were this 'fearless Dark Assassin', but you're shivering so much! Are you going to say something at least?" she giggled even more. I couldn't reply; I was completely frozen in fear. "Ah, it's rude of me not to introduce myself. I'm Black Alice. I know who you are; a servant of the sixteenth Monster Lord, playing as her 'Fifth Heavenly Knight', and a carrier of a very dark power. You're a very interesting person indeed." Black Alice said, holding onto her stuffed bear very tightly. But I still didn't say anything, her presence still making me shiver. "I was hoping we would have a little chat, but alas I've overstayed my welcome. It was very nice meeting you! I hope to see you again, perhaps over tea and a dance! And you'd better not die until then!" Black Alice grinned before leaning in to kiss my cheek. I felt my body numb and shut down from that kiss, seeing Black Alice stand up and disappear as my eyes went completely shut.

Eventually my body recovered, but I still felt chills. I looked around my surroundings and pinched myself; I was still on Fairy's Island, alive. I then heard quiet moans and saw a fairy grinding herself against my groin. I picked her up by the tiny back of her neck. "... I'm sorry. I'm sure it would feel nice but... I'm really not in the mood." I apologized. The fairy whined about not feeling a man, but I ignored her and disappeared into the ground to return to the Monster Lord's Castle. At the Hall of the Heavenly Knights, only Granberia was present; she immediately noticed me. "... What happened to you? You look like you saw a ghost." she said, noticing my body shivering. Just then, Tamamo arrived, along with a slightly frightened two-tailed Kitsune and a small seven-tailed Fox; Nanabi in her sealed form. "Hmmhmm, that Luka's quite interesting... You both run along now, I have some business to attend to." Tamamo told her subordinates, who bowed their heads and left. She then turned her attention to me. "...Hey, what the hell happened?!" Tamamo immediately rushed to me to pull me into a very tight hug. "Black... Alice... she's..." Tamamo gave off an extremely concerned look and interrupted me mid-sentence. "WHAT?! SHE'S THE REAL DEAL?! This is terrible!" Granberia added on, "Black Alice... The eighth monster lord from 500 years ago? That can't be..." I took many deep breaths to calm myself to explain the situation. "Black Alice... she seems to be gathering rebel monsters to dominate the humans and overthrow Alice!" Both the Heavenly Knights had a shocked expression. "This is a very grave matter. The tragedy of Black Alice must not repeat itself! We need to deal with this discreetly and as soon as possible. Only the three of us know of her existence in this day; Alma Elma won't give a damn and Erubetie's too much of a shut in to care. Shadow, you'd better get some rest, I'll contact you and Granberia tomorrow."

I nodded at Tamamo's request and headed to her room straight away. As I headed out of the hall, Alma Elma passed me, also mentioning about a 'Luka' whom Tamamo already mentioned once earlier. I shrugged it off and continued heading to Tamamo's room and plopped myself on the bed; Tamamo entered a few minutes later and held me extremely tight to her fluffy tails.

Chapter 2: The Hunt
When I returned to the Hall of the Heavenly Knights to receive orders; both Tamamo and Granberia were present, discussing something. "That Luka... he's showing a lot of potential even though he's just a human. I just wonder how he'll compare to Shadow." Granberia said. All three of them mentioned a 'Luka' and that piped my curiosity. "Just who is this Luka...? You all mentioned him, so now that makes me interested too." I spoke up. "Ah, good morning, Shadow. Luka... is a human who seemed to have sparked Alice's interest. She gave him the Angel Halo and I'm certain she's training him in Cursed Sword style. He seems fairly ideal on coexistence, despite being a devout loyalist to Ilias. It looks like he's Alice's 'hero'." Tamamo replied. "So he's basically like me, huh? If he sealed Nanabi then he must be very powerful. Maybe I'll observe him one day."

"Well, Alma Elma went back to the colosseum... again. And Erubetie's still shut in at Undine's Spring. So, let's get down to business with just the three of us. As we all know, Black Alice was the eighth monster lord and she's gathering monsters to rebel against the current lord." Tamamo said, bringing us up to speed. "She's stronger than the three of us combined. Confronting her like that..." Granberia said. "... We'd get our butt whooped, obviously. She's had 500 years to strengthen herself. We need another approach." Tamamo continued. All three of us pondered a little bit before I spoke up. "...When I was at Fairy's Island, Black Alice showed a lot of interest in me. I'm sure there's a way we can use that to our advantage while thinning her herd." Tamamo gave off a concerned look. "... I don't want to lose my husband and find a replacement, but I don't have any better ideas. It's a huge risk to attract Black Alice; she's very malicious and she could kill you right on the spot, you're just lucky to be alive on that first encounter but next time she may not be so merciful. All right, here's what we'll do: me and Granberia will investigate any potential rebels while you deal with the ones that have fully defected; that will attract Black Alice's attention to you." Granberia and I nodded our heads. "By the way... Fairy's Island hesitated to defect to Black Alice. But I've heard they still harbored a grudge against humans. Will one of you keep an eye on them to make sure they don't defect?" Granberia acknowledged the task at hand. "Understood. Will that be all?"

"I guess that's all for now. You're both dismissed. Get some more rest, Shadow, you'll need all the strength before your next encounter with Black Alice." Tamamo said. I nodded and the three of us went our ways. I returned to Tamamo's room and plopped myself on the bed to sleep.

The next few days I spent myself lying around in bed, doing nothing. I eventually got a call from Granberia to meet her at the hall. "You look a lot better now, are you ready?" Granberia asked me. "Yeah... Where's Mistress Tamamo?" I asked, surveying my surroundings and noticed that only Granberia was present. "She went back to Yamatai Village. I don't know what that sloth's up to, but whatever. Anyway, there's a huge crisis going on at southern seas of Sentora. Down at the depths of the sea the monster population there has been vastly decreasing over the past few days, and word is already reaching Port Natalia. It might be Black Alice's goons, so you know what you need to do." I nodded at the response. "Of course... But how am I supposed to get to the deep seas? Humans obviously can't go down that far, let alone breathe." I said, concerned for my safety. "Hmm... I'm sure you'll figure it out." Granberia replied. "That's you're way of saying 'I don't know'! How could you?! I thought you cared about me! I'm the Fifth Heavenly Knight and part of this family! You're supposed to give me the full details!" I said, pouting. We both sighed as Granberia said "... Dammit Tamamo, what's so important in your hometown that you couldn't give the briefing?"

I went my way and appeared out of an alleyway in Port Natalia. It looked interesting, with humans and mermaids living together, just like in Sabasa, only that there was no hot desert sun. I went to the bar and asked for a few glasses of orange juice. "Hey, have you heard? There's something down under the sea, devouring everything!" a nearby mermaid said. "Yeah, so what do you think it is? It might be a submarine; are the humans planning to betray us?" another mermaid said. "No way! It might be a giant mutant fish!" a third mermaid said. I sighed at the gossip and continued to drink my tea. "Some rumor, huh?" the mermaid bartender said toward me. "All this gossip is so annoying..." she then wrote something under a paper plate and slide it towards me along with the refill of juice, saying "Meet me out back"; the bartender winked at me before leaving. I finished the cup and went into a lone corner to disappear and reappear out the back of the bar; the bartender just appeared out of the door. "Woah, how the hell did you beat me here?" she asked. "I'm light on my feet like that." I replied, smirking. The bartender just laughed. "Wow, you are pretty damn good, Shadow. I've watched you fight in the Queen's Cup four years ago; that was an impressive performance against Kyuba and Granberia! To think a human could survive against them! Anyway, I'm guessing you're here because of that rumor? There's some crazy monster or something that's roaming around the seas..." the mermaid continued. "Yes, I'm here to investigate that, but I don't know how to get down there..." I said. "Ah, not to worry. You can have this!" she said, handing me a orb. "This Ball of Guidance allows you to reach the depths of the sea. Just stand on the beach shore and hold it up there. You can keep it. Now, go kick some ass!" I thanked the mermaid and headed out of the port.

Arriving at the beach, as I held up the sphere, a small normal crab came out of the water. It then tried to pinch my toe, but I leaped back; it then scurried back into the water. I shrugged it off and used the sphere; it shone brightly and emitted a light down into the sea. I stepped into the light in the water and dove down. While underneath the sea, I noticed my vision wasn't obscured, my clothes were still dry, and I could breathe normally, though I still needed to swim. As I swam down and reached a temple, I noticed a normal jellyfish, sea anemone, and anglerfish pass by me, not paying me any notice. At the temple I heard battle cries; I investigated and stayed hidden in the shadows: a human boy was battling against a squid monster, the Kraken. This boy had no visually distinguishing features, other than he was wielding an unusual looking sword: the Angel Halo. "So that's Luka...?" I muttered. "Hey, are you here to observe him too?" a voice rang out from behind me. I turned around and saw Alice in a corner, chewing some seaweed. "Oh, it's you, Alice. No I came here for a different reason, but I didn't think you'd both already be here." I said, watching the human hold out well against Kraken who used Demon Skull Beheading on her and then dodged her tentacles that fired simultaneously. "I see. Well, I trust you have it handled." Alice replied. Kraken summoned a humongous wall of water: Aqua Pentagon, a water barrier of space and time that nullifies any attack. Luka's attacks were futile until Alice peered out of the corner and stared at Luka, causing him to collapse into sleep. "Hehe... Just watch." Alice said as Kraken moved in to attack, but the unconscious Luka mysteriously dodges it. Still asleep, Luka's blade flashes and strikes the barrier, causing it to shatter completely! "What the-?! That's not human!" I was shocked. A hidden power in his sleep; was he a half monster just like me? Some giant meteor-like object then landed on Kraken as Luka slashed her nine times! "Hm, well I guess that wraps up the battle. I guess I'll see you soon." Alice swam out of the hiding spot and stared at Luka again, causing him to wake up; the Kraken was trembling and shaking.

The attacking monster could no way be Kraken. I've heard she's too loyal to the Monster Lord, but she's also too slow in the head to know what's happening in her domain. I left the temple and walked around the deepest parts of the sea. I could sense a few monsters around, but they were all in hiding. As I continued to look around, I sensed something... aimed towards me! I saw a large fish monster swim toward me at a very fast speed, but I narrowly dodged due to the anti-gravity slowing me down and slashed the target's underside. The creature roared in pain as I got a better look at it. It was a shark girl, with deep blue skin and a white underside and had her humanoid body in her mouth: a great white shark. "What a feisty meal! Just stay still and be devoured!" the creature said. The shark was about 10 meters long; there was no way she could be the one devouring everything down here. I was clearly at a disadvantage due to the anti-gravity, but I had no time to waste with her either. "Enveloping Darkness." I muttered; an aura of darkness formed itself around me. My body gently landed on the floor, the aura sharply reducing the effects of the water's gravity around me. "Oho? Interesting prey!" the creature darted at me at a much faster pace, but I dodged while slashing off her fins. The shark girl roared and could only shake side to side; without her fins she couldn't move.

However, just before I could finish off the great white shark, a humongous creature burst out of the ground beneath her and devoured her in one gulp! "Holy... Freaking... Hell...!" it was an even larger shark that was 25 meters long with a fat body that was big as a house, had grey skin, and a scar on its right eye: a megalodon shark! The monsterpedia said nothing about her! The sheer oppressive body and power of the creature caused me to take a step back; this had to be the creature terrorizing the southern seas! The megalodon turned towards me and let out a fierce roar, revealing her humanoid body in her mouth. She wasted no time for an introduction statement and swam at me faster than the great white shark; I narrowly dodged and cut along the creature's sides and fin, but her body moved to the side and smacked straight into me, sending me tumbling across the sand. As I struggled to get back up, the creature then tried to inhale me while swimming towards me, giving me no time to evade. "Forcing me to use that already... Shadow Slayer!" As the beast moved in to swallow me, the darkness around me body grew stronger as I wielded my blades in a horizontal position; a second blade staff was formed into my left hand as I slashed the sides of the creature's mouth, cutting them and causing the megalodon to rear backward.

This only provoked the creature, causing it to swim even faster than before. It darted towards me and suddenly turned toward its side to ram me with its body, but I jumped out of the way, causing the creature to tumble across the ground a bit. I took advantage of the opening and slashed her fin, but only small cuts were made to the creature's body, as if my attack had little effect! The shark quickly recovered; I had to think of a way to damage her faster. The creature then darted back at me with its vacuum power and open mouth, exposing its human body in it; I waited until it got close before executing Sonic Slash, darting into the creature's mouth to slash the human body with all four of my blades for a total of eight hits, then darted out to my original spot. The creature roared and tumbled into the ground again, stunned, its mouth open and exposed; I swam in to execute Phantom Blow and struck the human body with twenty slashes before darting out.

Megalodon recovered again and let out a furious roar, causing numerous smaller sharks to appear. However, to my surprise, instead of allowing them to assist, megalodon turned and devoured them all in a flash! "Damn... And I was just making progress..." I muttered as the humongous shark replenished her vitals while I was left tired. The creature roared again and darted at me, this time with her mouth closed; the headbutt connected, smashing me into the ground! I felt my body failing me as the creature moved in, mouth open! As the creature was inches away from my body, it suddenly stopped to turn around: a human piloted submarine and several powerful-looking mermaids armed with tridents were behind it! "Reinforcements have arrived!" one of the mermaids shouted; I recognized her as the bartender from earlier. The giant shark angrily swam towards the submarine and tackled it head on, but the mermaids around the sub ejected bursts of water and electricity from their tridents toward the shark, slowing it down, but it's force slammed into the sub and created a large crack in its hull; it was still operating but it quickly floated up to the surface. A couple of mermaids swam next to me and helped me get back on my feet and the bartender from earlier gave me cup full of blood to drink. I recognized it as mermaid blood, special blood with healing properties, and quickly drank it down, feeling my body revitalize. The giant shark then tried to devour the mermaids around it, but I intercepted its path and slashed the exposed human body. Megalodon roared and collapsed to the ground, stunned again.

However, when I swam to attack the downed creature, it quickly recovered and its monster mouth closed shut, trapping me. "Enough of this crap! I'll deal with you first, then I'll devour those stupid mermaids!" the human body of the megalodon shouted at me as her giant tongue slammed me against her wall of teeth. There were small rumblings occurring inside the creature, from the mermaid's attacks I guessed, but the tongue didn't budge and kept me pinned. I struggled as the human body moved closer, with sharp teeth from her human mouth at the ready. Suddenly there was a huge force of impact coming from the outside, causing megalodon to loosen her grip and be stunned again! "Damn you, humans!" the beast roared as I took the opportunity to slash her human body repeatedly. Covering her entire body in scars, I was eventually spat out from the monster; the giant shark turned upsidedown and sank to the ground, finally dead for good. I observed my surroundings; the human submarine had an even bigger crack and the humans were evacuating from it, and were cheering along with the mermaids. The dark aura around me disappeared as I felt my body tiring more, eventually causing me to slip into unconsciousness.

"Nngh..." I felt my body regain consciousness. I looked around my surroundings and found myself in a house, laying on a bed. "Finally awake? You've been out for quite a number of hours." a voice rang out followed by a giggle. I know that voice. There was also a figure sitting on the edge of the bed, turning her head toward me. "Y-you...! B-Black Alice!" the figure was the eighth monster lord! Her appearance shocked me and caused me to crawl backward; she turned her body and started to crawl toward me as well. I instinctively tried to attack her, but she grabbed my sword arm! "C-crap...!" I shouted as my sword dispersed and Black Alice grabbed my shoulders and pushed me down, pinning me with her body. "Is that any way to treat and old friend~? Bad Shadow!" Black Alice giggled as she started to rub her waist against my groin; I shut my eyes tightly and felt my face turn deep red, and after a few seconds a moan escaped my lips. "Aww, how cute~ You're blushing and moaning~" her voice said, right next to my ear. Black Alice stopped her teasing movements as I felt her get off me. I got back up and looked at her for a bit before turning away. "... What's with the teasing...?" I nervously muttered. "Oh now, if I wanted you dead I would have killed you a long time ago. I've already told you, I find you interesting! You've handled your own very well, and I'm curious to see how far you'll go with that dark power of yours." Black Alice said, giggling. I stayed silent. "At least you spoke up this time, I'll want to hear more of that lovely voice the next time we meet~ I'll get the tea ready next time, promise! Good night~" Black Alice leaned in to kiss my nose; again her touch caused me to pass out, only seeing her throw a blanket on me and leave the house.

"Nngh..." I regained consciousness and looked around. "Finally awake? You've been out for quite a number of hours." a voice said along with a figure sitting at the edge of the bed. It was a different one this time; it was the mermaid bartender from before. Was I dreaming about Black Alice...? She passed me a cup full of orange juice as she mixed her blood in it. I drank it all and felt my body revitalize. "Ah... thanks." the mermaid smiled at me and gave me a hug. "There's no need to thank me, really. After all you put your efforts into vanquishing that giant shark! Port Natalia couldn't be more grateful! And for that I thank you!" she replied. I got up, ready to leave. "Oh? Already going to go? I hope you visit soon! Thanks again!" the mermaid called out as I left the house. I went into a secluded area to teleport back to the Monster Lord's Castle.

"Ugh..." I groaned, heading back to the Hall of the Heavenly Knights. Tamamo was still absent, leaving only Granberia. "I heard what happened, you did a well done job eliminating the threat." she said, smiling. "I thought megalodon sharks were extinct...?" I wondered. "... Who knows, really? Still, a humongous house-sized shark must have been tough." Granberia muttered. "...Gah! That 'I don't know' attitude again! ...Bah, whatever, I'm going to bed!" I shouted at her, retiring to Tamamo's room. I could only hear Granberia sighing as I left.