Luka/Paradox

Luka returns as the protagonist of Monster Girl Quest: Paradox, but things are not as they once were. For starters, monsters and humans have been living together in relative peace since the Great Disaster thirty years ago, so his dream of becoming a hero to foster co-existence between them has never even occurred to him.

While he still desires to be a Hero, his immediate concern is to go out and look for his father, Marcellus, who is still alive in the world of Paradox.

Personality
The gameplay-focused nature of Paradox and its focus on other companions has left little room for Luka's personality to shine through, albeit he has differences from the original trilogy. For instance, he studied mathematics to take care of his inn, which impresses even Promestein. More remains to be seen but for now, he appears to be the same naive hero from the first game. However, because of some of the choices available in the game, it's possible to play Luka as more lecherous or irresponsible. He also shows an excitable, slightly immature side throughout the story, such as when he has to fetch a beetle for Vanilla or when he meets his hero Heinrich in the flesh.

Luka shows more sides of his personality during the Time Loop Event, where he realized in the first loop that something was wrong and that his and Sonya's death in the chapel was not a dream. It is implied in some of the companions' dialogue that he is well-liked and even respected within the Pocket Castle. Also, the more he progresses and repeats the loops the more upset he becomes with the whole situation, showing a more sarcastic/no-nonsense attitude. At one point he even tried to burn an Imp alive to get her ashes before changing his mind. However, he still retains his heroic and somewhat prude side.

Backstory
Luka possesses a new ability in Paradox, which allows him to travel between dimensions. This hints that there might be something more to his lineage this time around, but that is mere speculation at this point.

As revealed in the second chapter of Paradox, Heinrich's wife was Edina, the princess of Remina, tying Luka's lineage with the royalty of Remina, making Luka also royalty.

Iliasville
Luka has a vision in which Ilias warns him of a danger that will swallow the world. However, much of the vision is obscured by a static effect (later revealed to be Apoptosis, and Luka is unable to gain much information.

When he wakes up, Luka thinks that the vision was just a normal dream, albeit a good omen. He recalls that Ilias hasn't been seen since the Great Disaster thirty years ago. He says that today is the day that he will be baptized as a Hero, and go out on a journey to find his missing father Marcellus. Suddenly, there is a commotion outside. Luka runs out and learns that Hans, the lumberjack, was kidnapped by an evil slime girl. Against the advice of his fellow villagers, he heads for Slime Mountain to rescue Hans.

Iliasville Mountains
While climbing Slime Mountain, Luka and a friendly Slime Girl hear a loud crash. Luka finds a crater with a young angel lying in the middle - a younger version of Ilias. Luka doesn't believe her claim of being Ilias, for which she ineffectually shocks him. Stunned at her weakened state, she speculates how it could have happened. Eventually, she runs off, telling Luka that they will talk again later.

At the summit of the mountain, Luka fights a Bunny Slime and two Slime Girls to rescue Hans. Hans returns to the village on his own.

While heading back down, Luka runs into a young Yoma in the form of a Lamia - a younger version of Alice. She asks if he's seen a rabbit anywhere. If Luka answers no, she doesn't believe him and continues blocking the path. If he answers that he's seen one at the summit, Alice thanks him and goes there. Luka decides to check on the situation and finds Alice beating up the defeated Bunny Slime. Luka intervenes, and Alice realizes that the Bunny Slime isn't the rabbit she's looking for, so she leaves. Luka returns to the village.

Return to Iliasville
When heading to the temple for his baptism, Luka is accosted by his childhood friend Sonya (a temple priestess) for being late. They rush to the temple and meet the Head Priest for the baptism. Although the baptism has been purely for a show in recent years, due to Ilias' disappearance, this time Ilias does descend. Ilias tells Luka that a darkness is covering the world and Luka is the only one who can stop it. She lacks the power to baptize Luka but says that he will nevertheless be up for the task as an unblessed hero. After Ilias vanishes, the three of them discuss this matter and agree to keep it a secret to avoid mass panic. Sonya leaves, only to hurry back and tell Luka that two children are fighting in his house.

In Luka's house (the village inn), Alice and Ilias are fighting and Luka has to force them apart. They tell him their true identities, which Luka naturally is skeptical of. Both of them are unable to contact their subordinates and are searching for answers about their current states. They ask Luka to join them, Alice because he's the only adventurer leaving the village at this time, and Ilias because she's aware of his true lineage and potential. Since they are mortal enemies, Luka can only choose one of them. When Luka chooses one of them (hereafter referred to as Alice/Ilias) the other one (hereafter Ilias/Alice) leaves in a huff. Luka and Alice/Ilias explain their situations to each other.

The pair leave the inn and head to the Village Chief's house. The Chief gives Luka information about recent history and the current state of the world. When they leave the house, Luka and Alice/Ilias meet Sonya, who has been planning on accompanying Luka and forces herself into the party. She is also skeptical about Alice/Ilias' true identity. A strangely-dressed traveler, Nero, approaches and talks to the party. He claims to just want to wish Luka luck on his travels but is confused by the presence of Sonya (saying that Luka shouldn't have a childhood friend) and by the prevalence of magic in the world. He leaves, with the party just as confused by him.

There is a Slime Girl, Lime, trapped in a poison marsh on the east side of the village, whom Luka proceeds to save. Lime then joins the party.

Immediately after leaving the village, Alice (if recruited) attempts to give the Angel Halo to Luka so he can fight without worrying about killing his opponents. If this happens, Nero stops time and steals the Angel Halo. Regardless, Alice/Ilias will present the Pocket Monster Lord's Castle as a mobile base (Ilias mentions stealing it from Alice during their struggle).

Iliasburg
The party first heads for the large town of Iliasburg. Along the way, they camp for the night. Alice/Ilias teaches Luka a skill, while Sonya describes a past incident in which Luka saved her when she was lost.

At the entrance to Iliasburg, the party runs into the White Rabbit, the rabbit who Alice talked about earlier. She is evasive as to her purpose and eventually disappears, leaving the Key to Hades behind. Only Luka is able to see the key, the others remaining entirely unaware of its existence.

The party searches for information on the White Rabbit and is directed to an information broker named Amira. However, they learn that she was kidnapped by a gang of bandits. After defeating the bandits (who turn out to just be monster children and are allowed to become part of the town after they apologize for their crimes) it turns out that Amira wasn't kidnapped after all. She does have information about the White Rabbit, but can only reveal it if paid (since she is an information broker) or if the party completes a sidequest to become information brokers. They eventually learn that a rabbit was seen in Pornof.

The Hunt for the White Rabbit: Part 1
The party goes to Pornof but learns that the rabbit in question is just an ordinary Rabbit Girl. She does, however, mention hearing about the White Rabbit in the nearby Tartarus.

The party explores their first Tartarus, a mysterious cavern filled with Apoptosis monsters. At its depths is a strange door, which most are unable to even budge but which Luka can open with a touch. On the other side is a twisted replica of the city of Remina, which was thought lost in the Great Disaster. However, its citizens are not human but more Apoptosis. In one house, the party finds a strange monster resembling a Scylla, who attacks the party out of surprise. After defeating her, she wants to join the party and is accepted. Sonya gives her the name Nuruko.

Continuing through Remina, the party finds a magic circle which takes them to the exit of what initially seems to be the same Tartarus. The White Rabbit appears and warns them not to step off the path (as powerful and hostile angels are present). The party discovers that Iliasville has been utterly destroyed by the angels, with all inhabitants killed. They find Luka's diary in the now packed graveyard, which reveals an alternate timeline in which Granberia appeared in Iliasburg and caused him to give up his journey. The final entry, written by someone else, mentions that Luka fought heroically against the attacking angels. Alice/Ilias attempt (unsuccessfully) to use a Harpy Wing, then tell Luka to do it. The item functions in his hands, taking the party back to their world (henceforth the "Paradox world". As a result, the party is now aware that the Tartarus are passages between alternate worlds.

Ilias Continent
The party passes through several villages and fixes various problems. A notable case is the mysterious disappearance of the harpies.

While investigating Harpy Village, entirely devoid of its inhabitants, the party runs into Nero again. He explains that the harpies contracted a supposedly-extinct virus and voluntarily quarantined themselves. He hands over a Yggdrasil Fruit for the party to use to cure the harpies. They succeed in doing so (though they don't have enough fruit to cure the queen). A harpy later explains that their queen met with some strange and powerful succubi before the plague started. The succubi were called Lilith, Astaroth, and Morrigan, the names of the legendary Lilith Sisters who were thought to have died long ago. Sonya hypothesizes that maybe the succubi were carriers of the virus and accidentally spread it to the harpies, which surprises Luka, seemly forgetting that she is a priest.

In the Paradox World, the village of Rostrum is a ruin where none live. Nearby is a Tartarus, which the party explores. In the Remina on the other side, they find an angel scholar, Promestein, who was mysteriously transferred here and has been trapped ever since. She learns of Luka's ability to open the doors between worlds and joins the party, eager to uncover the secrets behind this ability. The world on the other side of the Tartarus turns out to be set at an earlier time than the Paradox world, with Rostrum still a thriving village. Here they find that Marcellus had earlier visited and left a letter for his son Luka, despite the Marcellus of this time not having any children yet. The party deduces that the Marcellus who left the letter must be the one from the Paradox world. The letter tells Luka to go to Enrika and ask someone called Micaela for help.

The elves and angels who inhabit Enrika are initially wary of the party. One elf, after hearing that Luka is looking for Micaela, breaks down in tears. She explains that Micaela left the village over two weeks ago and warned that, if Luka ever came looking for her, that meant that she must have died. The elf also explains that, with Alice XVI's sealing and disappearance from the public eye, the monsters are undergoing a succession crisis. Three candidates are vying for the position of Monster Lord: Alice XV, Alice VIII, and Alice XVII.

The party heads to Ilias Port, planning on taking a ship to the Sentora Continent. However, mysterious storms are preventing any ships from traveling between the two continents. Nero appears again and tells the party to go to the Cave of Treasures to obtain the Poseidon Bell, an artifact that will let a ship sail in any weather.

In the Cave of Treasures, the party runs into Nanabi, the aide of the Heavenly Knight Tamamo. Nanabi refuses to let them pass and proves too powerful to defeat, only for Neris to intervene and defeat her easily. Someone who looks like Tamamo walks in, but Neris explains that it is simply a copy from another world. The White Rabbit appears and attempts to erase Neris, but Nero intervenes and the two of them disappear. Neris hits on Luka before leaving.

Ship to Sentora Continent
Thanks to the Poseidon Bell, the ship the party takes is unaffected by the storms. However, Morrigan, the one responsible for the storms, notices, and attacks. The party defeats her but only due to her holding back, and she threatens to kill them all, despite the potential consequences. Then Zion, a Seraph-ranked angel who Ilias does not remember creating, attacks and engages Morrigan in a fight. The ship sinks as a result of the fight, and the party is rescued by mermaids who take them to Port Natalia.

Natalia Region
In Port Natalia, the party learns that mermaids and fishermen have been going missing. They investigate and learn that Astaroth is responsible for this. Astaroth defeated Kraken and drained her into the form of a dried squid, then brainwashed the mermaid Meia into thinking she was the Queen of the Southern Seas and causing her to kidnap fishermen and jail any mermaids who came to investigate.

The next destination is the religious city of San Ilia. Upon entering the castle, it turns out that the Ilias Temple had sent ahead a message advising the leaders of the faith of Luka's unique baptism, and he is allowed in as a special guest. The King of San Ilia reveals all the relevant information he has, including that Marcellus was seen entering the library of the castle. It turns out that Marcellus left a book there, containing a letter advising Luka to form contracts with the Four Spirits. The King also requests help from the party, though they first need to visit the Holy Mountain Amos to get mithril to improve their equipment.

On the mountain, the party encounters Ilias/Alice who is unnerved by the powerful presence at the summit. Arriving at the summit, they find a dying Micaela and another strange Seraph, Gnosis. Gnosis does not attack as it would accelerate the spread of Chaos, and leaves. Micaela uses the last of her power to baptize Luka as a Hero.

Now properly equipped, the party accepts the King's request. They escort him through the Ancient Temple Ruins to the devices he needs to perform maintenance on his cybernetic body. At the same time, they encounter the gynoid Brynhildr, whom Luka awakens by accident. After she attacks and is defeated, Brynhildr is convinced to join the party as they have a common goal of saving the world.

The party visits a Haunted Manor overrun by zombies and ghosts. They defeat the necromancer responsible for the mess, Chrome, and convince her to stop experimenting with the dead. She agrees to join the party when they bring her the Magical Thread that she needs to practice puppetry.

The party visits the Forest of Spirits, where the spirit of the wind, Sylph, resides. They hear about a strange but non-hostile monster roaming the forest. After Luka forms a contract with Sylph, the Armored Berserker attacks. He is too powerful to defeat, but Nero and Neris come to the rescue. Neris teleports away with the party while Nero defeats the Berserker. Luka has a vision of Micaela telling him about his mother being an angel (an event in the original game) and thus awakens his angel powers. He wakes up in the Pocket Monster Lord's Castle, where his companions discuss recent events.

While traveling to the Safina Region, the party finds a mysterious tower inhabited by Kagetsumugi, a legendary puppeteer. Alice/Ilias hurries Luka away, warning him against getting involved with Kagetsumugi. They, therefore, do not learn of Kagetsumugi's alliance with Black Alice.

Safina Region
The party travels to the city of Sabasa and learns that its new queen Sara is neglecting her responsibilities and living a life of debauchery. After a meeting with the rebel assassin Salaan they learn that Sara's monster blood was awakened, partially turning her into a succubus. With the help of Sphinx, they restore Sara's sanity by fully turning her into a succubus. A soldier then bursts in with news that Luddite Village is under attack by succubi.

Returning to Luddite Village, the party finds that the Lilith Sisters have seemingly massacred all of the inhabitants. Astaroth stays behind to fight the party while her sisters leave. After a fight in which Astaroth holds back her true power, she says that Luka may be able to help the Lilith Sisters with their objective and then leaves.

Back in the Safina Region, there is a civil war in Witch Hunt Village. Luka must decide which of the two sides to ally with. The leader of the victorious faction (either Lily or Lucia) joins the party.

In the casino city of Grandeur, the party puts an end to the seduction of the inhabitants by the succubus idol Saki. They also find Merlin, one of Marcellus' old friends, now the apparent Don of the Mafia. After the party leaves, Lazarus crawls out from under the table and is revealed to be the actual Don.

In the Safar Ruins, Luka forms a contract with the spirit of the earth, Gnome.

Third Tartarus
The party enters the third Tartarus, using Gnome's power to get past an obstacle that the White Rabbit had left at the entrance. Here, they find signs of Chaos eating into space itself. The world on the other side is in its death throes. The party makes its way to the last bastion, the Administrator Tower. Even here, there are no living survivors, only undead and artificial monsters.

The tower's owner, La Croix, explains how Chaos is consuming this world and will eventually consume them all. She gives the party her notes and makes them leave for their own world. La Croix stays behind to hold off Adramelech, a powerful Apoptosis who invades the tower.

But Adramelech is able to intercept the party before they can escape. They defeat her with great effort, but Adramelech grabs onto Luka and is on the verge of pulling him into the void. Marcellus appears and cuts Adramelech in half. He advises Luka to protect his world and leaves.

Back in the Paradox world, Luka and his party reflect on what they've learned. They resolve to find some way of stopping Chaos.

Luka goes to the navy-controlled town of Port Marle to find a ship to take them to the Noah region. He talks to both Leviathan, the leader of the navy, and Bonnie the captain of the Fishy Pirates. He must choose to side with either the navy or the pirates to get a ship.

Noah Region
The party stops in the village of Finoa, though nothing significant happens here.

They head to the city of Grand Noah, camping for the night on the way there. They meet the queen and ask for a permit to visit Esta, an abandoned village located near a Tartarus. They are asked by her advisor Mephisto to first prove their strength in the city's Colosseum. The party enters the Queen's Cup tournament and reaches the finals, only to be paired against the Heavenly Knight Alma Elma. They win due to Alma Elma holding back, but Mephisto interrupts the match, accompanied by Granberia. Alma Elma temporarily allies with Luka's party and they defeat Granberia. Mephisto and Granberia leave and Alma Elma concedes the match, so Luka and co. win the tournament. Although they receive the permit, the queen then asks them to investigate the Magic Academy (which Mephisto is headmistress) and her two subordinates also have requests for the party (to investigate the disappearance of minotaurs and Yamatai Village).

For the minotaurs, it turns out that they were invited to a sukiyaki party in Minotaur's Labyrinth. In the maze, they discover the supposedly-dead legendary monster Sun Wukong, one of Black Alice's followers, and after a fight they defeated her. They then defeat the Cow Demon Queen, the mastermind of the party.

In Yamatai Village, it turns out that the four shrines (Cat, Fox, Tanuki, and Snake) of the village all have problems. The party resolves the problems, along the way encountering Nero and the Heavenly Knight Tamamo at the Fox Shrine and Neris at the Snake Shrine.

The next destination is Magic Academy. Here, the party finds Alma Elma infiltrating the academy disguised as a schoolgirl. They then discover Mephisto in her office, accompanied by Lilith. Alma Elma intervenes to handle Lilith, the two of them going outside to fight, while the party fights and defeats Mephisto. They take Mephisto (who admits to being an agent of Alice XV) back to Grand Noah and, after some discussion, she remains as an adviser to the queen. Mephisto asks the party to investigate Plansect Village, where a civil war has broken out.

In Plansect Village, the party meets with the plant leader Alra Priestess and learns that the conflict was incited by two of Black Alice's followers, Tezcatlipoca and Quetzalcoatl. They then head to the insect-controlled Red Mountain to get their side of the story. Luka must choose to either side with the plants, side with the insects, or take a third option and arrange peace between the two factions.

With all the distractions out of the way, the party goes to Esta. When Luka enters, he finds himself alone and the village filled with people (including a few angels). When he goes to the cathedral, he is now pulled into a dark space by the archangel Raphaela. Addressing him as "Child of Judgement", she explains that she brought him here to see a world where all are happy under the control of Ilias, and asks him what he thinks. The vision is invaded by Saja, one of the Six Ancestors, who calls Luka "Worldbreaker" and argues with Raphaela about the merits of this world. They eventually demand that Luka listen to only them, and he can agree with one or remain undecided.

After this, the vision ends and Luka finds himself in the real Esta with his party. They take a boat to the Tartarus in the nearby lake but are unable to enter. A Seraph (Gnosis on the Alice route and Zion on the Ilias route) attacks the party but gives up when they hear that Luka was contacted by Raphaela.

The heroine tells the party that the spirit of water, Undine lives in the Spring. They later meet Undine and Luka ask for her contract, Undine will fight Luka as a test to see if he is worthy of her power, after being beaten Undine will be impressed and attempts to give him the contract but Erubetie orders her to stop as she is about to fight Luka. Undine helps Luka defeat Erubetie and the heavenly knight of water comments on why Undine would rather side with humans like Luka over her own race family of Slimes, but that this would stop her from fulfilling her mission. Erubetie is defeated and she can't believe that Luka would be this strong but Undine told her that she wasn't herself when fighting. Erubetie retorts to this and Luka agrees with Undine and even manages to sense her doubts even though he had barely the powers of water. Erubetie is impressed that he sensed her doubts and believes that one day he will have enough power to stop the Monster Lord. The heroine asks if she is going to abandon her duty to the Monster Lord like Tamamo and Alma-Elma but she didn't answer her question and leaves. The heroine is glad that this matter is resolved and now they need to see the Queen of Grand Noah if they have any plans on getting them to the Gold Region.

Luka and his party come back to the queen and Mephisto to share their discoveries. The two are dumbfounded, but decide to focus first on dealing with Grangold to bring the war to an end. The hero and his party are sent on an infiltration mission while the army of Grand Noah and its allies divert the attention of the forces from Gold Fort. The party receives the support of Alma Elma in Lima village, and the succubus queen brings the hero to Tamamo to try to convince the kitsune one last time to help them.

Gold Region
After Alma Elma incapacitates the human guards in the fort, the succubus queen is forced to hold Morrigan and Astaroth back while the party continues on its road. The party instantly notices a powerful seduction aura enveloping the country, which also prevents them to teleport away or using the Pocket Castle. Their concern is further proven when they meet the human population of Goddard who keeps muttering "my queen" while cackling uncontrollably.

Luka and co. encounters Nero in the village of Goddard, as the man accidentally incapacitated the merchant the party was initially supposed to encounter. He tells them that they are to meet a magic expert in the Poison Swamp east of the place to help them. The expert is none other than Mephisto, who helps the party deal with a large pack of Golem Girl. After dealing with another one at the end of the March Hills, the party camps in the proximity of the city of Grangold itself, a time during which they deduce that Lilith herself is responsible for the aura, Queen Ant being too weak to do something on a scale that large.

Once they enter, they pretend to be affected by the aura to full the Ant Girls checking the population around. They meet with the head of the mafia in a bar, and Luka and his companions are utterly shocked to discover that said leaders are none other than Lazarus and Merlin. The two men accompany the party into the sewers that lead to the Grangold Castle while their men spread chaos through the city using a surgical bombing strategy. However, they're forced to remain behind to hold back a berserk Grangold King.

In the castle, Luka finds out about the imprisoned Queen Ant, confirming them that Lilith is indeed responsible for the spell over Grangold. The party also meets Alma Elma, who informs them that Astaroth and Morrigan left for the Monster Lord's castle to recover after having imprisoned the Succubus Queen. Luka eventually reaches Lilith, before Tamamo No Mae reveals herself as the one responsible for the aura. The kitsune proceeds to wreck the party, who's saved by her counterpart in this world. While the two Ancestors fight each other, Luka faces Lilith, who tells them that Astaroth had praise for the party's powers. She's shocked to be beaten back by the party, and makes her leave telling the hero she expects great things from him.

In the meantime, Tamamo is barely holding about her counterpart and is bailed out by Nero and Neris who make the castle collapse in their fight. Fortunately, everybody managed to escape safely and the aura gradually clears away. A few days later, Luka and his companions get to enjoy a banquet with everybody who assisted them in ending this war. The banquet is interrupted by a projection of the Monster Lord, who declares a war of extermination upon humanity and those that support them. Everybody scrambles to get sure their armies are ready, but the attack doesn't immediately happen for a reason.

Luka then meets the Grangold King, who requires his assistance in dealing with a handful of matters in the Gold Region.

First, the hero finds back Lazarus and Merlin at Gold Port's pub. The two men pretend they're innocent, and even if the party makes it clear they're wary of them for hiding their dubious activities, they recruit them anyway and the men install a casino in the Pocket Castle. The hero also helps Selene to deal with the beelzebubs once and for all. Afterward, the hero interferes in Succubus Village between the mayor and a succubus named Natasha who wants vengeance on her rapist. Once the conflict is resolved, the hero goes to Lady's Village to learn that monsters have fomented a rebellion against Cassandra. After the hero helps her, and her daughter, the two monsters proceed to rush to the Toxic Swamp where the tournament to select the next magical girl is happening, forcing the hero in against his will.

Afterward, the hero goes to make a pact with the spirit of fire, Salamander and encounters Granberia again. As the Gold Region is now safer, the hero gets rewarded by the king and proceeds to resume his quest to explore Tartarus, making a stop at the Garuda Girl shrine in the process.

After traveling through the Tartarus Pit located at the western point of the Gold Region, Luka and co arrive 500 years in the past. The only location that can be reached is Succubus Village. Entering the village, there appears to be a problem at the future mayor’s house: Lilith & Lilim are in the basement. The soldiers have surrounded the house to prevent anyone except the Hero Heinrich from entering. Luka tells the head guard that he is Heinrich, and they let him through. After beating up the sisters, they vanish. The party hears someone else coming down the stairs… its Heinrich and a totally normal female mage. Luka is in awe at meeting Heinrich, and Ilias/Alice has to keep him from spilling the fact that they’re from the future. Heinrich tells the party that he and his companion will stay at the inn, and departs.

Luka is elated by the possibility of talking with the hero of his dream while his companions try to get sure he remains calm and don't spill anything that could prove problematic. Their conversation is soon interrupted by Mephisto who receives a telepathic message informing them that the Monster Lord's armies are currently attacking the four major cities. Luka clumsily tells Heinrich that he must leave to defend his country before teleporting away to Grand Noah.

Monster Lord's Assault and Counterattack
The city is besieged by elves led by the Queen Fairy, while Grangold is under assault from the Spider Princess forces, Sabasa is attacked by Carmilla and Elizabeth, while San Ilia is trying to hold out against the mermaids led by El.

After the four armies are successfully repelled, the human lords regroup to discuss a strategy to end this war once and for all, with the need to take the fight to the leaders of each of the four armies. In the process, Luka finds out that the hostility of the elves is the result of brainwashing initially aimed at Queen Alraune from Azi Dahaka, a servant of Black Alice. Once the four queens responsible are beaten (with the victory over the last one involving an unrequited love as well as a marriage promise), the hero has to beat the Monster Lord herself.

First, however, he must gather the Six orbs to get the Garuda Girl needed to go to Hellgondo. While most of them are acquired without further issues, two of them require further effort. The red orb requires dealing with the Elf Princess who's a shut-in. Thanks to the Elf Queen, they manage to convene a meeting, and it's clear the princess is head over heels with Luka, handing over the red orb and several powerful gifts in an awkward exchange handled by her bodyguards.

The second one is the blue orb that has been destroyed by Astaroth when the succubus went to the Southern Sea Temple. Crafting a replacement is impossible, and the party is forced to get it from the only place the orb is known to be: Black Alice's castle during her reign of terror.

With either Heinrich or Black Alice convincing the mayor of the alternate Succubus Village to give them a boat allowing them to go to Hellgondo, the party makes way to the monster's home continent. They make their way through Remina, and, upon seeing the princess Edina, the hero learns that he's a descendant of Remina's royal bloodline. The party reaches the Monster Lord's castle and manages to snatch the blue orb after facing the Three Nobles of Black.

Once he has gathered the Six Orbs, the hero returns to the Garuda Girl shrine to summon her, and surprisingly fails. Nero appears to inform them that it is related to the Snow Continent that scrambled the flow of mana through the world. He offers to destroy it but is rebuked. Instead, the party decides to use the ship to get there and see the issue by themselves.

Snow Continent
The party is greeted by the sight of the White Rabbit upon landing. The strange monster informs them that the answer itself is somewhere in the Snow Continent. When they enter the cavern leading to the inside of the continent, the party is attacked by Angel Soldiers, surprising them and making them ask themselves what's the true nature of the place. After passing through a village of Polar Bear Girls, they reach Snow Heaven, and realize that the place is indeed Heaven after it fell down. Upon asking Ranael, the administrator of the village, they learn that the head angel is currently away, praying for the return of Ilias and maintaining a seal over Ilias Temple Ruins to stabilize it.

The party meet said angel who turns out to be none other than Seraph Eden at the Snow Shrine. She releases the seal for the hero after being convinced one way or another.

On Ilias's route, the party goes through the Hall of Creation with the intent to bring Lucifina and Micaela back. Eden is initially reticent but accepts nonetheless. However, as both Ilias and Eden are not as powerful as they use to be, the result is underwhelming, but the party makes do nonetheless. Lucifina-chan even offers Luka to be his mother.

The group then proceeds to the Ilias Temple Ruins, where the White Rabbit tells them more about the Great Disaster. At the deepest point in the temple, they see Ilias in the flesh, who gives them the remaining details. The White Rabbit then shows them what exactly happened, as well as the birth of the Goddess of Chaos. The Lilith Sisters then arrive to assassinate Ilias, before getting engaged by the three second-generation seraphs.

Luka is then forced to fight Sonya, who reveals herself to be an Apoptosis of the highest order after absorbing one of the assailants. She then proceeds to summon Adramelech, forcing both groups to band against the coming Apoptosis while Luka fights his childhood friend after the latter absorbed the power of both angels and monsters. The party is then saved by Sonya or Nuruko, and the remaining group tells Luka they hope they'll be able to rely on his support for their plan to save the world, even if it isn't perfect.

Part 2 Postgame
Luka returns to Ilias Temple Ruins, where Morrigan gives him more details about their plan to save everyone's souls. He then recruits Alma Elma, the succubus queen being in hot pursuit of Morrigan.

The hero also goes see the mysterious building in the Devastated Plains, where he sees La Croix dealing with Kagetsumugi. After beating her Circus, he gives her the notes from her counterpart from the third Tartarus, and the latter decides to put them to good use while gifting her monsters to Chrome.

The Land of Night and the Heroes of the Seven Worlds
Luka is just as surprised as the heroine to see the White Rabbit in the Pocket Castle, but decides to listen to her as she could bring bad news. After hearing the explanation of the White Rabbit on the danger that could be posed by the "Queen of Dreams" and her attempt to bring her "Land of the Night" into their world, he decides to support her against that threat. However, he remains angry at the White Rabbit. He decides to first focus on gathering information about this new threat.

He reappears at the end of chapter 4, when his party investigates Izumo's village after it has been attacked by Mysteltainn, Ogretooth, and Executioner. Just like Sonya, he's aghast at the destruction spread by the trio. Before they can push their investigation, they receive a message from Mephisto that Finoa is also under attack from another powerful trio of succubi. The party decides to head there as fast as possible.

The same situation happens in chapter 7 as they arrive in Finoa after Myusca, Nemea, and Vinum had their way with the village, killing more than a hundred inhabitants. Mephisto then informs them of the apparition of the Château des Romances in place of the Grand Noah palace.

Finally, he manages to catch up to the events in chapter 9 as Kazuya, Hakunen and their partners are threatened by the Succubus Prison trio. He engages the trio with his allies, and as the situation grows more chaotic thanks to the arrival of Lest, Lars and Novissa followed by the Cursed Sword Sisters. Eventually, when Myusca ends up captured, his companion negotiates the transfer of Myusca's Proof of Collaboration to him. As the different heroes introduce themselves, Luka squees in front of the silent heroes only to be shut down by the heroine.

After the party recruited Gilgorn and regrouped in the Pocket Castle, Luka tries once again to silently communicate with the mute heroes but fails miserably. Like the other heroes, he ends the day by taking a rest.

[The Following events happen in Shrift EX4 Collaboration Scenario and are not referenced in Paradox]

In the middle of the night, Luka notices a strange mist in the Pocket Castle and rushes in. He ends up in a different world with Alice who followed suit to find out another version Kazuya surrounded by unfamiliar Black Hound monsters. After dispatching the monsters and their leader, he's surprised to learn that the mist was a dimensional gate created by the White Rabbit and that this Kazuya is not the same one he knows. However, when the group asks for his help to deal with a world-destroying entity, Luka instantly accepts, even if he doesn't fully understand what's going on. The group rapidly moves on to another dimension as the antagonist is currently destroying this one.

He's as surprised as everyone to see a Chimera Beast attacking people in a middle school, and helps Kazuya dispatch them one after another as they keep looking for more help. They eventually come face-to-face with the Beelzebubs who're glad to be feared once again and have more power thanks to the upcoming "world fusion" created by the EX4 antagonist, Abaddon. The party still manages to push them back, but they are forced to escape the dimension destruction started by Abaddon afterward. They end up in another world where Kazuya gets transformed into a child by a magus monster, and as their own power is bound to Kazuya, they're forced to flee for a time before they're rescued by Marion, a silent protagonist who uses guns by throwing them at his enemies. When the newcomer remains silent, Luka wonders how they'll be able to interact with him before his archangel guide Nakamura shows up to everyone's surprise.

After finding more support, they finally learn about the nature of the danger threatening them: Abaddon, a creature supposed to eat only dying dimensions started going berserk because of the influence of the Old One and is eating every other worlds as well. The Old One's plan is to come to life in the world by making the dimensions where Kazuya went genocidal and could become his vessel the real one. At a moment, when Kazuya talks to Luka, a chaos glitch briefly happens, although the only one who notices anything is Cheshire, the White Rabbit's counterpart.

The party eventually ends up being brought into a visualized dimensional space by Lucifer to face Abaddon. To everyone's shock, Amira shows up to offer her services as a merchant, saying that her love for the hero wouldn't be bound by dimensions. After a grueling gauntlet, they finally get to face Abaddon himself. Following a very tough battle, Kazuya ends up in Abaddon's stomach filled with half-digested dimensions. Luka and Marion are brought in as reinforcement by Hecate, a Demon Lord who hates Kazuya but who knows that Abaddon's victory would be disastrous for everyone involved. After escaping Abaddon's stomach, they end up face-to-face with his now-berserk form. Cheshire reveals the ace-in-the-hole of her plan: Have Kazuya exploit the latent angelic power given to him by his girlfriend, while being reined by Marion and Luka thanks to their capacity given by their angelic lineage. After using every bit of their power, the monster finally falls to the group's combined assaults.

However, once Abaddon falls, Octuael, an angel that betrayed Marion and the archangel Nakumara spawns while possessed by the Old One. The party's attacks are ineffective, and even a shot from a Linear Cannon gets stopped. However, Luka's arm suddenly transforms into the AΩ as the hero got repeatedly exposed to primal chaos. The arm casts the Logos Magia spell which critically weakens the Old One, and Marion finishes him by throwing the oversized weapon first used. Luka doesn't remember what happened, and Alice remains silent on the matter while Cheshire is dumbfounded by this turn of events. Cheshire still decides to erase his memory of the events as a safety measure. After bidding farewell, everyone goes back to their own worlds, although Cheshire remains concerned about how Luka already transformed and how their world will soon be erased.

[End of Shrift EX4]

The next day, he enthusiastically leads the charge against the Château des Romances and is dumbfounded by Gilgorn's sheer power even if they have to defend her against waves of nightmares. However, just like the heroine, he's slightly worried when it's revealed their assault on the castle brought in Apoptosis. Nonetheless, the party pushes forward until they reach Fulbeua's throne. After getting access to the castle's deepest part by beating her, he hears Kazuya ominously tell him to "not trust her". Finally, the party meets the White Rabbit near the room where the other version of her is theoretically held. Between Kazuya's warnings and his own doubts, Luka calls out the "White Rabbit"'s bluff and forces her to reveal herself as Daji, a kitsune who usurped the White Rabbit's role under Est's orders. She then opens the way to the "Land of Night", and tells them that she's going to remain as an observer. However, a large swarm of Nightmares appears to stop the heroes. Raphaela/Tamamo No Mae steps in to incapacitate them, surprising Luka who is still relieved to have some additional support against the overwhelming number of nightmares.

When he reaches the Land of Night, he is shocked by the sheer number of succubi raping men around and challenges Est after reaching the portal. However, as the latter feeds on the pleasure they use to damage her, she incapacitates everyone except the Seven Heroes. Luka and his partners finally beat her, and Est bids them farewell as the portal collapses.

Everybody returns to the Pocket Castle, confused by the impossibility to return to their own dimensions. Luka and the heroine remark that the situation is still dire, with the Alliance members still scattered around the world. Thankfully, Amira had already started gathering intel on them.

Post Collab
He accompanies the heroine as his partner takes the lead in investigating what became of Musette and her goons near the Grand Noah Queen. They realize that since they look like angels, they likely hid in Snow Heaven so they could mix with the local population. When they go meet Ranael, the archangel tells them that they saw strange angels near the Snow Shrine. When they arrive, however, they're blocked by a barrier created by Daimyokai who challenges the party, and Luka is surprised by the greedy nature of the yokai hunter. When the party finally meets Musette and hears that she intends to use the Snow Shrine's magic for her own nefarious plan, Luka is determined to put an end to it. When they've beaten the yoma, Alice tells them that they'll be imprisoned for their crimes, but the Grand Noah queen tells them that the guards wouldn't be able to resist their brainwashing powers, making the Pocket Castle the only place where their machinations could be controlled.

When the party goes to investigate the trouble in Yamatai and Luka's companions ask the chief for more information, Luka's worried about what the rogue powerful kitsune could do, and Kazuya does tell them that Daji is indeed extremely dangerous. Still, the party manages to foil her disguise and beat her, and after a short negotiation, Daji agrees to join the party to everyone's displeasure.

When the party goes to the colosseum to find out more about those rumors of a powerful succubus that could only be Est, the heroine directly sign in the team to fight her. When she tells Est that her nature as a nightmare makes the fights unfair, Est remarks that her opponents also use pleasure attacks to take her down. Once beaten, Est tells them that she'll gladly enjoy the pleasure the party will have on their adventures, bringing out a threatening growl from Rovissa while the heroine accompanying Luka is jaded again by the pure unbridled hedonism of the succubus.

He plays a more important role in Finoa as the party is forced into another of Myusca's games named "the Seven Trials". The heroine realizes that most of those trials consist in forcing two different people to have sex, so she decides to have the protagonists pair with their respective partners. When the party reaches the infamous "Karaoke Handjob" and Luka fails hard, his partner castigates him for being that bad a singer (or more likely for receiving a handjob from a Tarsa clone). When the party keeps failing even after beating the clone, the heroine decides to bring in Saki as a desperate measure.

When the party reaches the Sixth room and Rovissa gets cold feet at the idea of having sex with Lars, the heroine decides that she can as well get it on with Luka until Sonya and several other of Luka's companions' butt in. The companions decide that a civilized discussion to decide who gets to have sex with Luka is in order, although it instantly turns into a Battle Royale from which the heroine is the winner. However, as the door is opened, they remark that they can continue without bothering with that, much to her chagrin. After beating the Succubus Prison Trio, Luka is as enthusiastic as everyone to welcome them, which means not at all.

Finally, when everyone gathers once again after getting every last antagonist, Luka and the heroine agree that everybody should return to their world, but wonder how they can get the White Rabbit to do it. After receiving an explanation from Daji that the White Rabbit was already weakened and that the kitsune met the Apostles of Chaos who asked her to pass a message to the Father of Chaos, they all come to the conclusion that the threat at hand is greater than expected, and everybody reluctantly agrees to stay in this world and help them.

When Amabie unsuccessfully goes on her quest to heal people in Yamatai Village through hugs, he's as reluctant as anyone else to reveal the truth that her appearance is the reason people keep away from her.

Time Loop Event and Night Festival
When the party signs up for the Yamatai Han Festival, he's as surprised as anyone to hear that the usual trials have been replaced with a girl band battle. He stays out of the band himself and uses the opportunity to relax while having the Pocket Castle restored.

However, on the day of the competition, Luka wakes up at 1PM while some monsters repair and maintain the Pocket Castle. He's surprised to see Gob arrive to deliver a pizza. Not aware, Luka first thinks that the pizza has been ordered by the heroine, but she informs him of the opposite. Luka decides to have lunch afterward while looking for who ordered the pizza. After spending most of the afternoon lazying around, he gets asked by Sonya to help her move some heavy furniture to the chapel. However, once they're done, the clock strikes 5 PM. Suddenly, Sofia and Anastasia who were right there go crazy and eat the both of them. To his surprise, Luka wakes up to the sight of Gob delivering a pizza. At first, he thinks that it's a dream until Sonya asks for his help again. He decides not to help her, and instead gets attacked by whoever he ends up hanging out with. As he returns to the same point once again, he understands that time is repeating itself. After looking for help, he learns from Nuruko that he's affected by this event because of someone's remorse over events after which he died in a way similar to him, while Promestein starts looking deeper into how to stop this from happening. In the meantime, he finds a statue that can reverse time which is the cause of his trouble.

After several loops during which he grows incredibly jaded, Luka discovers that the loop is happening because a man named Toru imprisoned by Myusca, Vinum, and Nemea was undergoing the same before the event of the Land of Night happened. He offered another human as a sacrifice, but remorse took over him and he tried again before his regret-filled soul connected to Luka when his body was brought in by Chrome for autopsy work as the hero is a singularity. His regret even resulted in the call for the pizza order. The party realizes that they can't solve the situation by simply destroying the statue or sending the ghost to peace, so they'll have to stop the situation from happening in the first place, through operation "Promestein's Gate".

Luka is then sent to another world and meets the man in question as the latter is attempting to summon something to help him, but he ends up overwhelmed by the inhabitants of the house. After properly preparing, he manages to save both Toru and the pizza guy before the latter enters, but Toru has become completely enthralled by the pleasure offered by the succubi and goes back into the house while Luka is brought back to his own world. Vinum reappears just afterward, disappointed to have been lured so easily.

Once back, while Luka is disappointed by the result, he and his companions celebrate the time passing to 5:10 PM to the surprise of the heroine.

Afterward, Luka and his companions assist in the Girl Band Battle. He questions whether the jury can truly be called impartial, as it includes both Saki and Alma Elma, before being corrected by the heroine that they're unlikely to go soft on their friends. He feels bad for Sonya who gets humiliated by her own performance and is glad to see the heroine and her partners win. Afterward, he can either go on a date with Sonya, the heroine, or Alma Elma.

-With Alice, he happily eats around with her and learns more about life in the castle of the Monster Lord and her deep relationship with Tamamo.

-With Ilias, he feels ambivalent about the small goddess as her analytical and controlling side shows up while she sporadically ends up depressed as she remembered how annoying the angels under her were. She also tells him that Lucifina was the biggest killer there was, making him question if she was pulling his leg.

-With Sonya, he remains blind and as sensitive as a brick to her infatuation with him, disappointing her repeatedly.

-Alma Elma tells him more about how strict her mother was while repeatedly hitting on him. Surprisingly, Luka doesn't give in and keeps rebuking her unsubtle advances.

Eventually, the party sets on the hill to enjoy the pyrotechnics and renew their desire to protect the world. However, Luka has a brief flash of Worldbreaker (Alice Route)/Judgement (Ilias Route). Although he denies that anything happened, Sonya looks dubious.

Camp
Each time Luka camps for the sake of the story, he has the possibility to interact with several of the characters around. While most of them give only flavor text, others will talk about the crisis the world is going through, or give hints as to what there is to expect next. The player can end the camp by going to sleep, in which case his main companion will teach him a fighting skill and talk a little more about herself.

Gadabout Actions
1st Action:

Luka: "Eh, my hands are free at the moment. Might as well do some cooking. And... that'll do it."

Luka fries an egg in record time!

[+1 Fried Egg]

2nd Action:

Luka: "Hehehehe..."

Luka giggles...

[Nothing happens]

3rd Action:

Luka: "Hiyaah!"

Luka swings their weapon at random!

[Skill: Flail Wildly]

4th Action:

"......"

Luka takes a peek at his party members' breasts...

Luka: "Booya!"

Luka strikes a cool pose!

But no one is looking.

[Nothing happens]

5th Action:

Luka: "My blade is the bane of evil!... Meh, that doesn't really sound right."

Luka is practicing some cool lines!

[Nothing happens]

6th Action:

Luka: "Ya!"

Luka aimlessly flails their weapon around!

[Enemy] gets hit by accident!

[Random enemy takes damages]

7th Action:

Luka: "Ya!"

Luka is practicing swinging his weapon!

[Nothing happens]

8th Action:

Luka: "Oh crap...! ...Ow!"

Luka trips over nothing!

[Luka takes damages]

9th Action:

Luka: "Look guys, I found a big one!"

Luka picks up a beetle.

[+1 Beetle]

10th Action:

Luka: "Alright, let's do this!"

Luka gets psyched up!

[Luka’s attack power is increased for the next turn]

11th Action:

Luka: "Hehehe..."

Luka grins like an idiot!

[Nothing happens]

12th Action:

Luka: "The world shall be mine!"

Luka makes a bold declaration!

But no one is listening...

[Nothing happens]

13th Action:

Luka: "....."

Luka thinks naughty thoughts.

[Luka gets horny]

14th Action:

Luka: "......"

Luka sends a flirtatious glance at [Enemy]!

It was not effective against [Enemy]!

[Seduce random enemy]

15th Action:

Luka: "......"

Luka sends a flirtatious glance at [Enemy]!

[Enemy] has been seduced!

[Nothing happens]

Additional Skills
This character learns additional skills out of jobs and races:

Luka at Camp
Alice will teach Luka
 * Demon Decapitation - Sword Skill (400% Att), Target: Foe
 * Bloody Fissure Thunder Thrust - Sword Skill (Lightning 360% Att), Target: Foe, Effect: +1000 Speed
 * Meditation - Holy Skill, Target: User, Effect: 50% HP Recovery
 * Demon Skull Beheading - Spear Skill (408% Att+Agi), Target: Foe, Effect: +200 Speed
 * Death Sword Chaos Star - Sword Skill (180% Att), Target: 5 Random Foes
 * Lightning Sword Flash - Sword Skill (Wind 700% Att), Target: Foe, Effect: +1000 Speed
 * Earth Rumbling Decapitation - Axe Skill (Earth 940% Att), Target: Foe, Effect: Ignore Def
 * Serene Demon Sword - Katana Skill (Water 408% Att+Dex), Target: All Foes

Ilias will teach Luka
 * Angel Dance - Sword Skill (160% Att), Target: 3 Random Foes
 * Holy Light - Holy Skill (Holy 300% Dex or Will), Target: All Foes, Effect: Auto-Hit
 * Meditation - Holy Skill, Target: User, Effect: 50% HP Recovery
 * Blade of Healing - Sword Skill (150% Att), Target: Ally, Effect: HP Recovery
 * High Charge - Spear Skill, Target: User, Effect: 50% SP Recovery, +200 Speed
 * Purifying Light - Holy Skill (Holy 1000% Dex or Will), Target: All Foes, Effect: Auto-Hit
 * Grand Cross - Holy Skill (Holy 1000% Att or Will), Target: All Foes, Effect: Auto-Hit
 * Heaven's Severance - Sword Skill (Holy 940% Att), Target: Foe

Spirits
Just like in the original novel, Luka will gain the power of the Four Spirits as he progresses through the story. They're represented by skills in his special.
 * Sylph - Special Skill (Wind 1000% Mag or Agi); Target: All Foes, Effect: Self Agi/Eva/M.Eva +50%, Imbue Wind, Wind Immunity
 * Gnome - Special Skill (Earth 1000% Mag or Def); Target: All Foes, Effect: Self Defense/Critical Rate +50%, Imbue Earth, Earth Immunity, Null Bind
 * Undine - Special Skill (Water 1000% Mag or Will); Target: All Foes, Effect: Self Dex/Will/Eva/M.Eva/Crit Rate +50%, Imbue Water, Water Immunity
 * Salamander - Special Skill (Fire 1200% Att or Mag); Target: All Foes, Effect: Self Attack +50%, SP Regen 50%, Imbue Fire, Fire Immunity

Leveling

 * Talk - Talk Skill, Target: Foe, Effect: +2000 Speed, Talk
 * lvl 3: Double Slash - Sword Skill (Physical 260% Att), Target: Foe

Collaboration Scenario - Post Collab

 * Hero of the Seven Worlds - Special Ability (The Land of Night's power, which bestows all attacks with the Pleasure attribute.)

Trivia

 * As it is revealed that Luka is a descendant of the royal princess of Remina, Edina, and as the original royal bloodlines are based on proto-humans, he has a very small share of proto-human properties like the King of Grangold.