Correct History My Ass!

Getting on the ship proved easier than I'd expected. The first time around, Alice had used eye magic to persuade the captain to set sail. This time all we had to do was show the captain the bell. He didn't even expect payment!

"I've been waiting to ship this cargo for weeks," the captain explained. "You're doing me a favor by being aboard my ship."

"Weeks?" I asked. "Not years?"

"Naw, this problem just started a few weeks ago."

Interesting, I thought. The first time, the blockade by Alma Elma had directly coincided with my arrival in Alice's world. It hadn't been the reason for Alma Elma's blockade, so much as the reason that Ilias had made the decision to bring me to her world. The timeline didn't match up exactly. This blockade had started a week or two before my arrival. Still, it was close enough to make me suspicious.

We boarded the ship and set sail. Since we were expecting opposition, and the captain probably would have frowned on having a dozen monsters on board his ship, only Alice and I were on board. Our other companions were tucked safely away inside the Pocket Castle.

"Is this the same ship you used to cross the first time?" Alice asked.

"No, this one is different," I answered. "Not that I remember much about that first ship. It was a lot smaller than this one, that's the only reason I know it's different."

"I'm curious as to which cursed sword technique I taught you on this cruise. The one you used to 'beat' Alma Elma."

"It was Demon Skull Beheading. As slow as it was, Alma Elma's hands were necessary to block it."

"Do you really believe that?" Alice scoffed. "If she'd been serious about killing you, she would have batted you out of the sky with her tail, or simply not been there when you performed the move. Even without using wind powers, she would have dodged it easily. She's simply too quick."

"You're probably right. I talked about that incident with her many times, because I wanted to know if she would have actually killed me. She insisted that she would have, but wanted to give me a fighting chance."

"What's your strategy for today? Are you hoping for her to play the same game?"

"I'm not sure. Much as I hate to admit it, unless you've got a better plan, we'll have to play it by ear."

"Does that mean improvise? It sounds like a music reference."

"That's exactly what it means!" I replied, smiling.

"So how long do you think we'll have to wait?" Alice asked.

"I'm not sure. Normally the storm would hit any boat trying to sail right out of the dock. But when I tried to cross, she waited until we'd been at sea for awhile."

Just as I said that, I felt the first cold drops of rain. The wind began picking up.

"Speak of the devil," I said. "Let's hope she's in a good mood."

"Alma Elma's always in a good mood," Alice said sourly. "What I want is for her to be in an obedient mood."

The wind became a gale, and the rain pounded us hard. The ship may have been protected, but the sailors decided to clear the deck. Individually, they could still be blown overboard if they weren't careful. Alice and I held onto railings. It was a weird feeling, being at sea, a storm raging all around us, soaking us and threatening to blow us off the ship, yet the ship itself sailed through it as if it was a sunny day.

Suddenly, the weather died down a bit. The wind changed to a cool, stiff breeze, while the rain slowed to a drizzle. Any moment now, I thought. And then, the succubus made her appearance. Except she looked different. I knew my memory wasn't that fuzzy.

"You're not Alma Elma!" I said accusingly to the succubus in front of me.

"I'm Morrigan, a much, much stronger succubus than Alma Elma," the succubus laughed.

"Are you claiming to be THE Morrigan? I can feel how much power you have, but…" Alice asked. "Why create this storm?"

"Isn't this what happened in the true history, Luka?" Morrigan asked me.

"The storm, yes," I replied. "But little of this is making sense to me. History isn't just about stuff that happened. There are reasons stuff happens, and the reasons for this storm aren't present. You just did it because it happened in history. Are you also going to fight me as Alma Elma did, with none of the motives for doing so that she had?"

"Stop talking as if you know anything!" Morrigan laughed. "But that's a good idea. I will fight you, but I won't use my hands or my feet. It's how it went last time, is it not?"

"Pretty much," I agreed. "Fine, if I win, you dispel the storm completely and we continue on to Sentora unmolested. Just like in the true history."

"All right!" Morrigan said happily. "Bring it on!"

I drew my sword and prepared to defend myself, eyes on her swishing tail. It may not have been Alma Elma, but I was actually thankful for that. I didn't know how I'd feel fighting a dear friend, or at least someone who looked like my dear friend, trying to kill me. This was an enemy. Perhaps she'd underestimated me. Maybe I'd even succeed in sealing her. If she was indeed more powerful than Alma Elma, there was fat chance of that happening.

The tail continued to move around threateningly, but didn't attack. Morrigan had an evil smile on her face, as if waiting to spring a trap.

"Luka, be on your guard!" Alice warned. "She's powering up magic!"

Magic? Alma Elma hadn't used magic! In an instant my clothes disappeared and I was bound by a ring of energy.

"Hey, you can't use magic!" I objected. "You're only supposed to use your tail!"

"Is that a request, human?" Morrigan asked gleefully.

"No! Not a request!" I hurriedly said. "But this is cheating! You said no magic!"

"I said nothing of the sort. I said I wouldn't use my hands or feet. And even now I'm not going to use them. I don't need to. I can make you come with magic alone."

Morrigan pointed at my groin and my penis was surrounded by an aura of energy. In all the centuries I'd lived, I'd experienced so many things. This was yet another new experience. It felt like pleasant electric shocks combined with a firm grip stroking up and down my penis. Centuries ago, I would have come instantly. Even now I wouldn't last long.

"You've made a mistake, Morrigan," I said confidently. "You didn't scout your opponent. If you had, you would have said no magic."

With the merest thought, I broke the magical bind and dispelled the magical stimulation. Morrigan seemed amused.

"Oho!" she said. "I had not been told you had magic! Powerful magic, too! This just got interesting! Show me what you've got, boy!"

"So you're the real Morrigan?" I asked. "You're really as powerful as Alma Elma?"

"Far more powerful," the succubus boasted. "Alma Elma is nothing compared to me!"

"Then assuming that isn't an idle boast, I don't have to hold back much," I said, grabbing a large amount of my power and firing it at her. It was actually a little difficult. In the past, I'd only been able to release such large amounts when in an extremely emotional state. Rage, or fear, was often the trigger, and the release had been total. What I was doing against Morrigan was a bit tougher, trying to grab a specific, large amount rather than just releasing it all. I still worried that what I'd used would kill her. I reasoned that if it did, she had only herself to blame for bragging about how powerful she was. I never did find out if my blast would have killed her. She avoided the blast with ease.

"Whoa!" Morrigan yelled, alarmed. "What are you trying to do, kill me!?"

"Not at all," I replied. "You said you were powerful. I only used as much power as was needed to deal with someone at your level."

"You're not supposed to be that strong this soon!"

"And you weren't supposed to use magic! I think we've veered a little from the correct history, don't you?"

"Hmmm, looks like I may have screwed around too much. It's about time I got serious and turn you into dried fish. It's your own fault, you know! I was going to let you go, but you had to piss me off! Fortunately for you, the angrier I am, the better I'll make you feel while I take your life!"

I already had a shield up when she released power of her own at me. It was the exact same attack as before from what I could tell. It didn't matter. My shields had proven up to the task of stopping anything magical in the past and this time was no different. It was so good to be able to just call on my power at will again!

"Dammit!" Morrigan shouted. "Are you going to make me actually touch you?!"

"What's wrong, Morrigan? Are you a legendary succubus who doesn't like touching her victims?"

"Is that a challenge, boy? Shall we waive the rules of our little contest?"

"Why are you calling me boy, little succubus?" Morrigan was significantly smaller than me, or Alma Elma for that matter. "You clearly haven't scouted me. I'm probably almost as old as you."

"Then prepare yourself, human! I'm going to pleasure you in ways you can't even imagine!"

That much was probably true, despite my vast experience. But I was stronger now, and eager to face her hand to hand. While accounting for her monstrous strength, I knew that I could take her in a grappling contest. Alma Elma had helped condition me to tolerate skin to skin contact with powerful succubi without losing my concentration or coming solely from that kind of contact. I never got the chance to find out. The wind began picking up again.

"Are you increasing the wind again?" I asked Morrigan. "What do you expect that to accomplish?"

"That's not me this time!" Morrigan answered, looking around in confusion.

"Found you, filthy succubus!" a voice yelled from above.

I looked up, as did Morrigan. Above us was unfurled a giant banner of Ilias that filled the sky. At least I had to assume it was a banner of Ilias, because the painting on the banner looked vaguely like her. I did not recognize the angel carrying it. I'd never seen an angel like her. She was golden and appeared to have a mechanical hand. That hand was pointed directly at Morrigan.

"Now, burn to ash!" the angel yelled.

"Seraph Zion?!" Morrigan exclaimed. "Is she insane? She's really attacking me in this world?!"

Morrigan seemed frozen in surprise. A huge blast of holy magic hurtled at the succubus. Instinctively I put up a shield to block the blast. My shield absorbed it with ease, despite its power. I was sure that blast would have incinerated the succubus had it hit her directly. That seemed to break her out of her paralysis.

"Did you just save me?!" Morrigan exclaimed in surprise, then retaliated with a blast of dark magic at the angel, which Zion easily deflected with her metal hand.

Zion adjusted her tactics smoothly, firing physical bullets from her fingertips as if her hand was a machine gun. Alice and I dove for cover. Morrigan summoned her wind power and flitted around, avoiding Zion's line of fire. I still hadn't figured out how to stop physical attacks with my magic.

"When did you get back your ability to use your magic solo?!" Alice yelled as we cowered behind a mast.

"It was during that last time stop in the cave!" I yelled back.

"Any chance you want to do something about that damn angel!?" Alice yelled. "She's setting the ship on fire!"

Alice was right. The impact of those bullets was starting small fires wherever they impacted.

"You lunatic of an angel!?" Morrigan yelled, battling Zion while airborn. "Do you even know what you're doing!? Killing even one of them will wreck the flow of time! We're only supposed to interfere indirectly!"

"A mere succubus dares to lecture a great angel like me?!" Zion countered. "I will not compromise when it comes to annihilating you and your sisters!"

"Don't underestimate me, you piece of shit angel! That's it, I'm getting this party started by ripping you apart first!"

Morrigan summoned up even more wind than she had used to create the storm. The ship began to sway in the violent storm.

"I thought Poseidon's Bell was supposed to keep us safe from any storm!" I yelled to Alice.

"Look at the mast, idiot!" was Alice's reply.

The shattered remnants of Poseidon's Bell hung loosely from the mast. The bell must have been hit by one of Zion's exploding bullets. Oh crap, I thought.

"We need to jump overboard!" Alice shouted.

"I can't swim all the way to shore!" I objected.

"Neither can I, but we won't survive on this ship! It's no longer seaworthy!"

Alice was right. In fact, the ship was very close to capsizing as it lurched to its side. More experienced seamen then I were already coming onto the deck with life vests and jumping overboard. I frantically searched for something to help me float. With a terrifying whine, I saw the stern of the ship disintegrate. Alice wasn't waiting for me any longer. I felt her tail wrap around me as she propelled herself into the water. Unprepared as I was, water filled my nostrils. Mercifully, I didn't remember anything after that.

I awakened in a comfortable bed. I turned and saw Sonya laying next to me.

"Finally awake?" Sonya asked. "Our rescuers told us what happened. You've been out for almost a full day."

"What did happen?" I asked. "I remember the boat capsizing and Alice throwing me into the water but not much after that."

"Some mermaids rescued us. You and Alice would have drowned otherwise."

"Luka would have," Alice said smugly, leaning over me. "I, on the other hand, can breathe under water. In the storm waters, I was having trouble keeping your head above the surface. The mermaids are far more skilled as swimmers than I am. They saved your life, Luka."

"And the crew?" I asked.

"All of them," Sonya replied. "Everyone's fine. The ship didn't make it, but no lives were lost. You wouldn't know it from hearing the captain. He lost his entire cargo."

I sat up in the bed and looked around. We were in a pleasant little house, I assumed in Port Natalia, given the presence of mermaids. Ilias and Promestein were at a table sipping tea, chatting pleasantly with two mermaids. Promestein saw that I was awake and smiled.

"Oh, Luka, I'm so glad you're up!" Promestein said. "I want to hear all about what it felt like to almost drown!"

Ilias rolled her eyes. "Alice tells me that you encountered a Seraph named Zion?"

"Yeah, that's what Morrigan called her," I answered.

"I've never heard of a Seraph Zion," Ilias mused. "I'm getting annoyed at how there are so many beings from other worlds appearing in mine."

"Seraph Zion on my world is one of the second generation of Seraphs," Promestein said.

"Second generation?" Ilias asked. "Why was there a second generation?"

"During the Great Monster Wars, Lucifina fell in battle, and Micaela was promoted. That left Eden as the sole Seraph, which from what I gather is the situation here? Anyway, Ilias created Gnosis and Zion so that there would still be three Seraphs."

"With Eden as the third," Ilias mused. "I see. And what of Morrigan? On this world she died in the Great Monster Wars. Does she still exist on your world, Promestein?"

"No, she was killed in our Great Monster Wars as well. Which means that this Morrigan and Zion aren't mine."

"How many parallel worlds are there!?" Ilias exclaimed.

"Theoretically, there could be millions, even billions."

I rose from the bed and joined Ilias, Promestein, and the two mermaids at the table.

"Thank you for saving our lives," I said gratefully. "Was it just you two?"

"Just us?" one of the mermaids giggled. "No, there were many of us in the area. In fact, the reason we were out there was because mermaids and fishermen have been disappearing in recent months. So we've set up patrols in an attempt to find out what's happening to them. One of those patrols was nearby when your ship went down."

"I sense that a favor is about to be asked," Ilias said grumpily.

"Three months ago, a mermaid called Meia went to the Undersea Temple on an errand, but completely vanished on her way there."

"Meia?" I asked. "I know Meia."

"Oh, so you've rescued her before?" Alice asked.

"No, not exactly. She was getting married and she needed me to deliver the papers to the queen of the southern seas. Was she trying to deliver the papers herself? "

"That's exactly what she was doing," one of the mermaids, a blonde older woman, replied.

"Has the temple been checked?" Alice asked.

"We've sent mermaids to check the temple, but every one has disappeared."

"Then just send a lot of mermaids," Alice said. "Please tell me you weren't dumb enough to keep sending them one at a time."

"The last time we sent a force of twenty. They never returned. We've lost forty mermaids in total, and at least fifty fishermen have vanished as well."

"We're not stronger than a force of twenty mermaids," Ilias said. "As much as it pains me to admit that."

"Maybe we are," Alice mused. "Ilias, did you know that Luka can use his power again?"

"By himself!? Really?! Maybe we can clear out that den of villainy after all! And when I say 'we', I mean you. I can't swim."

"I can breathe under water and swim just fine," Alice said. "Luka, I assume you had some way of breathing yourself if you went to the Undersea Temple?"

"Yeah, I had a magical ball of some sort. I can't remember the precise name of it. Meia gave it to me."

"The Ball of Guidance?" the second mermaid, a lovely young brunette asked. "We have it here. It belonged to Meia, but since she disappeared we've been keeping it safe here in case an adventurer was brave enough to journey to the Undersea Temple."

"So saving all of our lives came with a price," Ilias scoffed. "It figures. I'd expect no less from monsters."

Before the mermaids could object, I rose to their defense. "They didn't save us with any conditions! But I know how seriously monsters take their debts. It's the most honorable, if sometimes disturbing, thing about them. And I have a personal interest in Meia's welfare. So if you'll give me the Ball of Guidance, Alice and I will be happy to investigate."

"If monsters are disappearing, I can't ignore that," Alice confirmed. "I will accompany you to the temple, Luka."

"And I guess I need to be concerned about all of the disappearing fishermen," Ilias sighed. "You may go, Luka. I shall wait for you in the castle. At least I feel somewhat safe there."

That decided, the mermaids gave me the Ball of Guidance, and after a short nap, Alice and I were on our way. The beach wasn't far, only an hour away.

"This is all so confusing," Alice said. "Everyone blabbing about the correct history when nothing about this resembles what actually occurred. We're not delivering a marriage document, we're on a rescue mission! How is this the correct history?!"

"You've got me," I replied. "Hopefully they know what they're doing. Morrigan didn't seem as if she did. She was going to kill me, knowing that would have screwed everything up!"

"I can believe that maybe the White Rabbit knows what she's doing. But why would she be in league with Morrigan? That's the worst ally ever! Then again, I'm trying to save the world with Ilias, so maybe I shouldn't talk."

"Maybe they are working towards similar goals, but they aren't actually allies? It seems that Nero and Neris are working together, but not working with the White Rabbit. Are they trying to do the same thing, make sure this 'original history' happens? Or do they have something else in mind? And why is Neris trying to become the Monster Lord? That's certainly not the correct history."

"I'm going to resist the temptation to ask you who Nero and Neris really are," Alice said. "Apparently I'm supposed to know as little as possible. I hate that. I like knowing things. I'm being led around by the nose and kept ignorant. Why are you looking so skittish? I don't smell any danger."

"I'm expecting someone," I said. We were walking along the beach and getting close to our destination. "I know the monster that hunts these waters."

"What is she, a leviathan?" Alice asked. "There are no strong monsters in this sea. The ones who hunt on the surface are even weaker. What are you afraid of?"

"She's a crab girl. By the name of Cindy."

"A crab girl," Alice said, chewing on that concept for a moment. "You, who blew away an archangel, are afraid of a cute little crab girl?"

"Not afraid, per se. She's not a killer. But she's always had my number. She's a brilliant tactician. She was so good that you made her the queen of the southern seas. Her and Nanabi together defeated an Ancestor."

"A crab girl and a kitsune?! Nanabi's pretty strong, but even Tamamo would be hard pressed to hold her own against an Ancestor. A crab girl wouldn't even begin to make up the power differential."

"And yet they did it. Cindy also beat me. Do not underestimate her."

"You are so weird," Alice said. "You were as cool and confident as you could be against one of the most powerful succubi in history, and now you're practically trembling at having to encounter a crab girl."

"Like I said," I replied, alert for an attack from the water at any moment. "Do not underestimate her."

"You do realize that the worst that will happen is that you'll get washed. I suppose that would be bad. I'd have to carry you back to Port Natalia, which would be annoying. At least make me big again so that I can snack on you while I carry you back. It would be a shame to waste such an opportunity, you being so clean and all. By the way, with you able to make me big again, you're feeding me as soon as we get back to the castle."

"I look forward to it," I said, continuing to look around.

"You're looking everywhere but at me, Luka," Alice said.

"You're not the threat. Cindy is."

"Is your name Cindy?" Alice asked.

"No, my name's not Cindy," I said, turning to face her. "Why would you ask-"

I froze when I saw Cindy standing right next to Alice. How long had Cindy been following me? Why hadn't Alice said anything?

"I'm Cindy!" the crab girl laughed. "I don't think I've met you before, boy."

"It's hard to explain, but he's really afraid of you," Alice said. "Do you recognize me, Cindy?"

"I'm afraid I don't, but I recognize your species. You're probably a very powerful monster."

"Not in my current form, unfortunately. I am your Monster Lord, I just happen to be sealed. I know you want to wash my companion here, but we're on a very important mission. Would it be too much to ask that you refrain from attacking him?"

"No problem, your majesty!" Cindy said enthusiastically, saluting. "I'll lie here in wait until he returns from his mission, and then I'll ambush him! Bwahahahaha!"

"Why do you need to ambush him, Cindy?"

"Because he stinks," Cindy replied matter of factly.

"Personally, I think he smells delicious," Alice countered.

"He does! But he's stinky too!"

"That doesn't make any sense. I think you just want an excuse to wash him."

"You caught me, your majesty."

"How about instead of ambushing him, you join us? Luka tells me that you're an outstanding fighter. We're on a very important mission. Would you like to directly serve your monster lord by accompanying us? The rewards will be substantial. You can stay at my castle. We have a brand new beach room, and Luka here will be happy to feed you regularly."

"That sounds awesome! You have successfully recruited me, your majesty! Great to be on board!"

"Well, you take orders from Luka when we're on a mission, Cindy. He's the boss."

"A human in charge? Well, if you say it's all right…."

Cindy approached me and shook my hand. I accepted the handshake, dumbfounded.

"Cindy," Alice said. "would you be a dear and scout ahead for us? We're going to the undersea temple. Don't stray too far, as anyone who gets close to the castle disappears. If you see anything dangerous, don't engage, report back to us."

"On it!" Cindy said and disappeared into the surf.

"Wow, you saved me," I said. "Your counterpart didn't do that very often."

"I saved you from nothing," Alice chuckled. "I see several washes in your future. But at least you don't have to fight her. Now can you relax a little?"

"Thank you, Alice," I said gratefully. "I always used to complain to Alice that all she had to do was ask monsters not to attack me."

"Would you have become the hero you became had she saved you from every monster that tried to eat you?"

She had a point there, but I refused to acknowledge it. I took out the Ball of Guidance and waited for the ball's light to guide me to the undersea temple. I must have been standing in a good spot, because it flared to life almost immediately.

"Well, let's do this," I said. "Hopefully the rest of this side quest is that easy."

I expected to dive into the water and swim since that's what had happened the first time. Instead, both Alice and I were immediately warped to the Undersea Temple.

"Okay, that was unexpected," I said. "Last time I had to swim."

"That means we're way ahead of our scout," Alice groused. "Anyway, let's find out what's going on here."

The temple seemed much larger than from what I remembered, but it had been a very long time and I had not been a frequent visitor. Alice and I got lost several times swimming through the halls, trying to find the great hall where the queen would likely be. Eventually, we did find something significant. A cell containing multiple mermaids had been constructed.

"Hey, are you ladies being held prisoner here?" I asked.

"No, we just like hanging out in cages!" one replied. "Get us out of here!"

I tried to find a lock on the cell door, but couldn't find any. Not that I would have known where the keys were had a lock been present.

"It's a magical seal," Alice said. "If you can open a dimension door, I'm sure you can open a simple magical seal. I could if I was just a little bit more powerful."

I tried grabbing the cell door and simply wishing it would open for me. It did, to my relief. The mermaids streamed out of the cell and surrounded me.

"Thank you so much for freeing us, kind hero!" one of them said.

"Do you know what's happening here?" Alice asked. "Is the queen in the hall?"

"We don't know," another mermaid replied. "We were magically imprisoned within moments of entering the temple. We never saw who did it. Whoever did must have been pretty powerful to wield such magic."

"Well, they can't imprison you again as long as Luka is with us. So you haven't seen anyone? No one came to feed you?"

"We've been living off the fish who get close to our cell. But we're starved for semen. It's been over a month! Mr. Hero, once you've completed your mission, we'd all be thrilled to thank you personally."

"Yes, and feed yourselves in the process," Alice grumbled. "We'll see. For now, get your semen starved tails back to Port Natalia. Let them know what you know and that Luka and I are in the temple. And eat someone else!"

"Tee hee," one of the mermaids laughed. "The human is obviously spoken for."

"N-No he's not!" Alice exclaimed. "Now get out of here, you idiots! And if you spot a crab girl on your way back, tell her we're already here!"

"Got it!" one of the mermaids responded, and they all began swimming towards the exits.

"Why didn't we bring them with us?" I asked. "We could have used the backup."

"There's a lewd air in here," Alice answered. "As semen starved as those mermaids were, they'd turn on you in an instant once we got close enough to the source. It's all I can do not to nosh on you myself."

"Do you need to go with the mermaids? I can handle things."

"No, the advantage of having a child's brain is that I don't have lewd thoughts. I'll be fine."

"You don't have lewd thoughts? You're telling me that you want my semen."

"Yes, but not in a lewd way!" Alice exclaimed. "I'm just hungry, is all. It's different for monster children. It's not a sexual thing. At least not from our end. You perverted males, on the other hand…."

"So what you're saying is that the mermaids would have trouble because they are already hungry, and it would get worse as they got closer to the source of this lewd air you speak of, because then they'd get horny too? And you aren't susceptible to that in your current form?"

"Exactly."

We soon found more cells with more mermaids. The last group, deepest into the temple, was apparently the first group to be captured. They fingered Meia as the culprit.

"Meia?!" I exclaimed. "I can't believe she'd do this! She was the first victim. Wasn't she?"

Alice shrugged. "You said people are basically the same from world to world. How well do you know this Meia?"

"I guess she seemed nice. I didn't meet her often."

"Either she's not who you think she is, or she's under some form of compulsion. This lewd air could have caused her to lose her senses, assuming she isn't the cause of it."

We continued on. We found the great hall, finally, after what seemed like endless wandering around. Sitting on the throne was Meia, surrounded by children. Where had all the children come from? Meia greeted us.

"Welcome to the undersea temple," the mermaid said. "I am Meia, Queen of the Southern Seas."

"Kraken is the queen of the southern seas," Alice retorted. "You are a usurper. Where is the legitimate queen?"

"I.. don't understand. I'm not the queen? No, you must be mistaken. I am Meia, Queen of the Southern Seas!"

"Meia," I said. "I'm not sure what's gotten into you, but I need to know what happened to the fishermen. Did you take them? And where did you get all these little boys?"

"These boys are the fishermen you speak of. I wanted them a bit younger."

"A bit?!" Alice exclaimed. "What kind of pervert are you?! You couldn't have de-aged them to young adults? You had to make them prepubescent?"

That's when I remembered Meia's husband. She had de-aged him as well. At the time I'd thought of it as her being motherly. It hadn't occurred to me that Meia was a pedophile.

"Meia, you have a husband at home!" I argued. "You need to release these men. And for God's sake, turn them back to their true age!"

"I don't want to," Meia responded. "And I don't have to. I am the queen! You will be added to my harem. Once I've reduced you to a more appropriate age, that is."

I didn't want to have to fight underwater. Against a mermaid in her element it would be very difficult. I knew my power was potent underwater, as Alice had triggered it to help me defeat the Kraken queen. But Meia was not nearly as strong as the queen. I had no idea how much power I could safely use on her.

"Luka," Alice said, getting my attention. "We're going to have to fight her. If that means beating her until she regains her senses, that's what we'll have to do. I know I normally let you take the lead in battles, but I'm more comfortable in water than you are. So maybe it would be more appropriate for you to take a supporting role."

"Do really think I'm going to let you plan out your strategy to attack me!?" Meia raged, and swam straight at me as if she had jet engines in her tail. The impact knocked the wind out of me. She began twisting in circles as she swam, disorienting me. I did the only thing I could think of, putting my hand over her mouth and nose. I realized quickly how foolish that was. Mermaids had gills for underwater breathing. Covering her mouth was useless.

I saw Alice speeding towards us out of the corner of my eye. Meia must have noticed Alice as well, because she stretched out her hand and shot a thin stream of water, almost like a bullet, that intercepted Alice and went right into her forehead. To my horror, Alice's little body went limp and she floated up to the ceiling, blood trailing from the wound, spreading out in the water. Fortunately, the blood loss didn't appear to be great, but it was clear that Alice needed healing. I needed to get rid of Meia, even if it risked hurting her. Alice was too important, both to me and our quest.

Releasing a small amount of my power into Meia stunned her, causing her to release me. I desperately swam towards Alice, so slowly. The blood had already stopped coming out of her head wound. I wasn't a doctor, so I couldn't figure out if that was good or bad. But I knew how to heal wounds, and that too precedence.

I briefly looked behind me to see if Meia was still out of it. She wasn't. She was racing towards me at top speed. With my slowness and lack of agility in the water, there was no chance of dodging her. I pointed my hand at her, ready to hit her with more force. Meia was a super nice person, but in the state she was in she was dangerous. I had to protect Alice at all costs, even if it risked killing Meia.

Just as she got close enough that I would have no choice to release my power or get speared again, Meia was intercepted by a familiar site. A giant claw grabbed her tail, while several pairs of hands flung the mermaid violently against a column. Cindy! She had evidently received word from the first group of mermaids we released and sped to the temple to back us up! I turned my focus back to Alice. On paper, Meia was more powerful than Cindy. But I knew Cindy. There was no way she was going to lose. Cindy almost never lost, no matter how powerful her opponent. She always found a way, which is why she had ambitions of being a Heavenly Knight.

I reached Alice and placed my hand on her wounded forehead. The wound was small and it had not exited out the back of her skull. If it had, I wasn't sure I could have saved her. She had a hard skull. The water bullet had only knocked her out and drawn some blood from the skin on her forehead. It wasn't even a serious wound, just a temporarily incapacitating wound. She came to in my arms.

"Where are we? Did we win?" she asked blearily.

"Still in a fight, unfortunately," I replied. "Cindy's got Meia tied up for the moment, but she could probably use some help. You stay here. I think you suffered a concussion."

"Wow, you were right about Cindy," Alice said, looking past me.

I turned around to see Meia and Cindy swimming towards us. The crazed look on Meia's face was gone. Whatever Cindy had done had worked. Perhaps too well. Meia's pretty face was bruised severely. Cindy must have held her down with those claws and bludgeoned the poor mermaid with her eight fists until she came to her senses. I hadn't imagined that Alice had meant it literally when she suggested beating sense into Meia!

"I'm so sorry for all the trouble I've caused!" Meia exclaimed.

"It's not your fault, pretty mermaid," Cindy said sympathetically. "Tell them what you told me."

"I'm afraid I was under some sort of compulsion."

"What kind of compulsion?" Alice asked, now much more alert. Even in her little body, she was so much more physically resilient than I was.

"I came to the undersea temple a few months ago to deliver my marriage papers," Meia explained. "But the queen was gone. Instead, there was a succubus on the throne."

"A succubus?" Alice asked. "Oh, don't tell me. Did she give you her name?"

"She didn't," Meia said ruefully. "All I remember is that she made me the new queen and told me to just do whatever I desired."

"And what you desired were little boys," Alice said accusingly. "So you captured fishermen in the area, de-aged them, and kept them as playmates."

"How are they alive down here?" I asked. "I have the Ball of Guidance. I don't see them holding any."

"Oh, you have my Ball?" Meia replied. "I created that ball, in case someone who couldn't breathe underwater was running an errand for me. I wanted to give it to an adventurer to deliver the marriage papers for me, but none ever came and I became impatient. But all the Ball is, is a container for a spell I can cast on anyone, and that spell stays in effect as long as that person is close to me. Since the boys would die if they got too far away from me, it kept them from trying to escape."

"Bad monster!" Cindy scolded. "You can't go kidnapping men and bringing them down here! Just rape them and leave them on the beach, like I do!"

We'd have to discuss that when we had the chance. For now, there were more important things to discuss.

"Alice, do you think that succubus was one of the three legendary sisters?" I asked.

"Had to be," Alice replied. "No succubus, not even Alma Elma, can breathe underwater. At least none alive today that are from this world. Meia, did she tell you what happened to the Kraken queen? She didn't kill her, did she?"

"Oh, no!" Meia exclaimed. "I almost forgot!"

Meia reached into a drawer near her throne and pulled out a lump of…. Something.

"That's…. a dried squid," Alice observed.

"No!" Meia explained. "It's the kraken queen! The succubus said she changed her into this!"

"Transmuted a queen?!" Alice exclaimed. "That takes a heck of a lot of power. I'd be hard pressed to change her back even at my full power."

"Maybe I can," I said. "I've done something like this before."

I took the dried squid from Meia and tried to imagine the queen kraken in her true form. I concentrated hard, remembering her obliviousness and her love of butt play.

"Is something supposed to happen, Luka?" Alice asked, interrupting me. "You've been at it for a few minutes now."

I looked down. The dried squid was still in my hands, unmoving.

"I guess I just don't remember her well enough?" I asked helplessly.

"There's no helping it," Alice said. "I'll throw her in my magic bag and we'll see if we can't find a cure for her condition."

"Just throw the queen in a bag? Doesn't she deserve better?"

"She's unconscious in that form. Don't worry about it. Now give me that squid."

"Okay, but don't eat it," I warned.

"Why would you think I'd eat the queen?!"

"I wouldn't put it past you to eat anyone. Believe me, I know that very well."

Alice stared at me for a few moments, then peevishly snatched the squid from me and dumped it into her bag. Which itself always materialized out of nowhere. What a useful thing to possess!

"Cindy, your valor today will be remembered," Alice said, addressing the crab girl. "Because you served the Monster Lord so well, I'd like to make you an offer. You may choose whether you'd like to be acting queen until the kraken is restored, or you may accompany us on our mission."

"The queen?! Me?!" Cindy exclaimed. "That's a great honor, but I don't think I'm ready for the responsibility. But fighting is something I'm good at. I'd be thrilled to come with you!"

"Excellent," Alice said graciously. "Our first mission is to return all of these boys to the surface, and then change them back. Meia, can you handle that?"

"I can, your majesty," Meia said. "As a matter of fact, I can teleport all of us back to the surface."

"Your magic is that powerful?!" Alice asked. "Never mind, whatever you hit me with was pretty effective. If you can behave yourself, you might be queen someday for real. You're already queen class in magical skills."

"Me, a queen?!" Meia giggled. "I assure you, I just dabble in magic. It's a hobby. Really I just wanted to be able to turn men into little boys."

"Uh huh. Pervert. Well, change these little boys back into men and let's get out of here."