Force Lines

At least for the most part, whatever issues I had seemed to remain at bay. I fell asleep readily and my dreams were untroubled. At least, the sleep was fine. Getting woken up suddenly by a misguided crab girl trying to apologize didn't do me any favors.

"Wah!" I yelled as I was shaken awake and saw nothing but shell.

"Oh no!" Cindy cried. "I didn't mean to scare you again! I just wanted to tell you I'm sorry!"

"It's okay, Cindy," I said, sitting up. I looked around. I must not have screamed very loud. Everyone else seemed to remain asleep. "We're okay. You're my friend."

"Did I really hurt you that day?" she asked tearfully.

"You did," I explained. "but that's just because I didn't know what your intentions were. Just before you did that a really mean succubus threatened to kill me. I was already traumatized, and then you actually did beat me and I thought I was finished. I should have known that you weren't like that succubus. There were a lot of other things going on that had nothing to do with you. Alice and I weren't getting along, and then she just watched while you did that."

"She was watching?!" Cindy gasped.

"Yeah, it wasn't a great time for me," I said. "But all of that is water under the bridge."

"I don't know what that is."

"It means it's in the past," I said. "I didn't even know your name. Then you saved my life up in heaven. Since then, you've been a wonderful friend. You just need to know why the new rules exist."

"I thought they were just silly," she said. "I didn't understand why there were rules. I guess I do now. Oh, I almost hurt my friend Nanabi, too! I hope she's not still mad at me! I'll go wake her up."

"No, no, don't do that," I cautioned. "Nanabi will forgive you. Let her sleep. You get some sleep, too. This journey is harder on you than it is on us and we've still got two days to go."

"Okay, Luka," she said. "you're a great guy. I'm glad you married the Monster Lord. She's the greatest woman in the world and you're the greatest guy in the world."

No wonder Alice liked Cindy so much. Aside from just using her to screw with me. I imagined there wouldn't be any more of that.

Our party woke up and continued our quest on the second day. It felt so fantasy novel-ish to be doing this. The ragtag band of heroes, traveling to a destination, to do a thing. I was almost sorry there was no staff of power. It would have made things feel so much more epic. Was I getting to enjoy adventure? Not really. I just enjoyed not almost dying three or more times a day as happened sometimes on my first adventure. I knew that as long as we weren't found by the enemy, this was just a stroll in the woods. There was nothing else on this continent remotely threatening. Even ropers wouldn't be so foolish at to attack this group.

Cindy seemed to be mostly over it, although I could sense a greater maturity in her than I had before. She really must have been thinking last night. She had a childlike innocence, an odd thing to say about a rapist, but you know, monsters. To their credit, so much had changed in just one year. They really were mostly following the rules, although Granberia had told me about a scorpion girl that apparently felt she was a lawyer, justifying her actions with thin rationalizations. Now she was a little teeny scorpion for a few months, thanks to Angel Halo. I bet that she'd learned a lesson.

We weren't a talkative bunch while walking, just trudging ever forward. The weather was at least nice, as it usually was in this part of the world. Eden continent was almost an Eden. So lush, the weather always so mild, just enough rain to feed the plants but not so much that it was dreary. So much better than the harsh cold of Hellgondo, although for some reason Alice thought Hellgondo was the paradise. To each her own.

I wondered what Alice was doing. Grangold was really close to Hellgondo. I realized that she also should be able to call Galda if she wished. Maybe that's what she was doing, using Galda to fetch the Knights. Perhaps by the time we completed this quest they'd already have retaken the castle. I realized that was absurd. I was the only one who could take on the Dark God, and the Monster Lord's castle was nearly impregnable to a conventional assault. If they couldn't teleport in, they would fail. Which meant they wouldn't try. Which left open the question of what they were actually doing.

Was Alma Elma looking for me? That made more sense, although we'd be tough to find. If I saw a succubus flying around, I'd assume it was Minagi. My eyesight wasn't good enough to tell them apart at a long distance.

"Can any of you do telepathy?" I asked the group.

"With only a few exceptions, that ability is limited to the Heavenly Knights," Gabriella replied.

"I'm just wondering what we do late tomorrow when we take down that seal," I mused. "how many of you can teleport?"

"All of us except Cindy," Nanabi said. "Wherever we go, I'll grab Cindy and Gabriella will grab you."

"I see we're in 'nobody trusts Promestein' mode," our resident angel scientist said, still staring at that tablet as she walked. Was she working while walking? Damn, she's productive! I thought.

"I'll trust you to teleport me if we have to escape," I said helpfully.

"Don't be naïve, Luka," Promestein replied. "Do you know what I could get for delivering you right to the Dark God?"

That gave me pause. "What could you get?" I asked.

"Probably not as much as you gave me, which is why I haven't done it," she replied.

"I really thought you were coming around," I said sourly.

"Maybe I am," Promestein replied. "I might surprise you and do something selfless. Don't bet on it, though."

It was very strange to have a traveling companion warn me that she might NOT betray me. "Why are you the way you are, Promestein? Was the biography the game came up with for you anywhere in the ballpark?"

"Nope," she replied. "Good guess, but no prize. I'm the way I am because I was created to be the way I am. Do you really think Ilias created a scientist by accident? That I wanted to find out the answers to everything and all my fellow angels discouraged me?"

"I don't really know," I said. "I'm not familiar with heaven's culture."

"I was created to fulfill a purpose and I fulfill that purpose, just like every angel. As I told you when we spoke at the mall in your world, angels don't change easily. Most never change. Eden is one of the few I've ever seen change, and that was because she got stabbed and felt pain for the first time. I didn't intend to perform an experiment with that, but the results were quite fascinating. I wonder if being stabbed would cause me to change?"

"I don't have a knife, but I'll be glad to beat you down with my tails if that helps," Nanabi offered. "the worldwide seal on angels is still active. You can be hurt."

"I could be hurt on Luka's world as well, and I often was," Promestein said. "Fell off a bike. Sprained wrist, twisted knee, fractured tibia. It was something. Fortunately I'm not totally mortal, even on Luka's world. I healed fast."

"Do you know a lot about how my world limits power?" I asked. "Eden kept her wings, but lost her halo, or mostly did, anyway."

"I did some study on that," Promestein explained. "Let it never be said that I only inflict dangerous experiments on others. I didn't get complete answers, but it appears that even on your world I wouldn't age. That's one reason I reconciled myself so well to staying there. That place advances so quickly, and yet I'd be around for thousands of years, if not longer. Long as I didn't get hit by a bus. I wanted to use my genes to see if I could stop aging in humans over there."

"I'd been told my book prevented you from getting work?" I asked.

"Nah, I made all that shit up," she laughed. "Pardon my French, your world has that effect on people. No, I just couldn't get convincing enough credentials yet. As far as your world is concerned I never existed. I had no degree, no work experience. I thought of starting school, then you started visiting and had an income stream, so I thought I'd just take it and strike out on my own."

"I'm trying to imagine you in college," I laughed.

"I look young enough!" she protested. "Plus it would have been interesting. I may have an IQ twenty times higher than your greatest genius, but absorbing all the knowledge your world had acquired would have taken at least the years it took to finish my doctorate."

"All the world's knowledge, in just a few years," I breathed. "That's quite a superpower."

"I was created to be that way," Promestein reminded me. "Ilias' IQ was even higher than mine at one time, but she didn't feel like applying herself. So she took the parts of her that were the most intellectual and curious and created me out of them. Remember, she did direct the evolution of humanity before she created me."

"So where does you wanting to get revenge on her come in? And your grudge with Eden?"

"Eden used to be a bitch to everyone," Promestein replied. "she had an inferiority complex. Becoming a goddess has been the best thing to ever happen to her. She's almost tolerable now. As for Ilias, I kept on pursuing the areas of study I wanted, rather than what she wanted. I've never been the obedient type. The quest for knowledge is my only motivation. I have no morals aside from that. She got sick of it and imprisoned me. Can you imagine how tough it is for a person like me to be locked up, unable to study? I made the best of it. The game's portrayal of my prison time wasn't too far off the mark. That was a great guess, and they were close. My prison was a lot more luxurious than that, though. Heaven doesn't have dirty, dank, prison cells. Our prison cells are better than any of your bedrooms at the castle. Still, I was mad, and my anger only grew. When she finally let me out to help her on her insane plan, I made plans of my own. I don't want you to think I don't have feelings. I craved her approval at the same time I wanted to kill her. Either outcome would have been fine by me."

"I never did ask, was the suit actually dropped?"

"You were dumb enough to not sign a real settlement, so nope," she replied. "Our agreement only applies to this world. The lawsuit has only been paused, not dropped. But no, I don't plan to pursue it further, unless I get stuck there with no funds again."

"Reassuring, you are not," said Gabriella.

We arrived at the location Promestein directed us to after nightfall on day three. No incidents, no problems. Cindy had taken to mainly swimming along with us in the water. It was so much easier and she seemed to enjoy it. I'd thought that crabs only moved along on the sea floor, but her multiple arms made her an excellent swimmer. She'd been slowing us down before. Now we were slowing her down.

But we all made it quite intact. Time to complete this quest, I thought. Promestein continued to stare at her tablet, this time for reasons I understood. She grabbed my arm and pulled me into a spot on the sand. Then she showed me the tablet screen.

"You see those lines on the screen?" Promestein instructed. "Those are force lines. Magic with worldwide applications flows through them, although some great wizards have used them to cast local spells as well. Those force lines are indestructible. Almost impossible to interfere with, either. But I'm betting your power will obliterate them."

"Okay, I see, there's a really thick one and three thinner ones," I said. "is it the thick one you want blown up?"

"No, that one's got nothing," she replied. "Most magic users don't even know about these things, so they don't get used much. Ilias, the Dark God, a few really ancient magicians, both human and monster, figured out how to utilize them. Once you put a spell in there, it's there for as long as you want it. Can't be dispelled except by the original spellcaster. You're going to change that."

She grabbed me and pulled me a few inches to the left, "Sorry," she said. "they aren't geosynchronous. They move around."

"I had no knowledge of these things," Gabriella said. "Are there any resources you know of that can educate me in how to utilize them?"

"Sure there are,' Promestein said. "No, you can't have them."

"I can't see them with the naked eye," I said.

"No you can't," Promestein responded. "I've got you in position. Just aim up. You don't need to try a big blast, you'll probably miss and I don't want you to run out of juice."

I sent a blast skyward. I saw no effect. "No, that wasn't a perfect angle," she said "You have to aim straight up. Here, I'll hold the tablet up for you. See the position of the force line in relation to the position of the stars?"

"I thought I'd sent it there," I said. "Maybe I should try a wider blast?"

"You are trying to aim your power as if you are shooting a gun," Gabriella said, now in instructor mode. "Your power simply does what you want it to, within the limits of your imagination and your understanding of what you are doing. If you want to hit the force line, you will hit the force line. Your blasts are not moved by the wind, they do not wobble. Simply envision the force line in your eyes, and fire."

"Yeah, and don't widen the blast," Promestein said. "The thin one next to it is carrying another spell. I have no idea that that is or what the effects would be if you destroyed it."

I tried again. "Watch it!" Promestein yelled. "That was close, just close to the wrong one!"

"Well, I can't see it!" I objected. "Isn't there any way to see it with the naked eye?"

Promestein thought for a second and started rummaging through her duffle.

"You know what, I think I can do what you need," she said. "this device reads magic. It should illuminate the force lines. Haven't used it in awhile though."

She hit the power button, then shook it. "Shit," she said. "doesn't have a charge. Luka, we're going to need some sauce from you."

I bared my arm, expecting her syringe. "No, not that sauce," Promestein said. "Not the special sauce. Your normal sauce. It just needs power. Semen, in other words. I designed most of my older devices to use semen as fuel. That's why I was harvesting all those men before and during the war."

"Oh," I said. "I see. How do we…"

"Oh for crying out loud," Promestein said. "Can we do this today, please? Would one of you ladies please rub one out for him?"

No one moved. Were they waiting for my permission? I guessed they must be.

"What? Three monster girls here and no one wants to do a hand job?" Promestein said. "Oh, I get it, you're waiting for an invitation. Okay, which one of you will volunteer to harvest his semen for me? Pending his permission of course."

Nanabi raised her hand. Cindy and Gabriella continued to just fold their arms. I understood why both of them were reticent. "Thank you, Nanabi," Promestein said.

"Wait," Nanabi said. "I think Gabriella should do it."

"Me?" Gabriella said. "Surely not. I do not partake of humans, whether they wish me to or not. I find them distasteful."

"It didn't look like you were finding Luka distasteful in our exercise a few days ago," Nanabi teased. "I mean, I'll do it, I have no problem with it, but you said you wanted to try a little semen freshly squeezed. Well, go get it."

"The device needs only half a load," Promestein said. "you can eat the rest off your hand."

"I…." Gabriella seemed sorely tempted.

"Oh, I know that look," Promestein teased. "That's curiosity. Hurry up, that line's getting away."

Gabriella approached me and removed my pants. "Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot…."

"It's fine, Gabriella," I said. "We need to do this."

She undid my pants, pulled them down, and began to work. Even though she was inexperienced, there was nothing wrong with her technique. I'd felt better, but this would get the job done nice and quick. As she stroked me, she got a lascivious look in her eyes. As my breathing got harder, Promestein finally put down her tablet and grabbed the device, opening up a small aperture that looked like it would be where the batteries go. Just in time, too, because I began spurting. Promestein caught most of it in the device, closed it, and turned it on. It buzzed to life.

"Great job, you two!" she said. "Now let's do what we came here for."

Gabriella licked off the semen that was on her hands. Her face lit up. "This is so much better than second hand semen!"

"It sure is," Nanabi said, smiling. "nothing like freshly squeezed in the whole world. You like it, huh? Bet you like men a lot better, now."

Gabriella was barely listening. Instead, she was staring at my penis. She pointed at it. I looked down. A drop of semen was hanging from the tip of my penis.

"May I?" she asked.

"Sure," I said.

She bent down and licked the semen off my tip. Then, instead of being satisfied with that, she started sucking lightly on the head of my dick. Within five seconds she was sucking nearly the whole shaft, her speed picking up.

"Mmph. So good," Gabriella mumbled.

Nanabi and Cindy seemed amused. I became weak in the knees. Nanabi quickly supported me, holding me up. Gabriella continued to suck.

"Monsters," Promestein muttered, shaking her head. "Should have done it myself."

About then I came again. She greedily swallowed. Instead of withdrawing, she kept on sucking even harder.

"Oh, she's definitely into it," Nanabi said. "She's become a believer."

"Luka's made another monster a believer!" Cindy laughed.

"Oh for chrissakes!" Promestein said. "Stop that nonsense right now and let's do what we came here for!"

She raised the small device into the air and pointed it at the skies. The force lines above became illuminated. Nanabi gently pushed Gabriella's head off of me. Embarrassed, she pulled away and stood off to the side. I pulled up my pants and went to go do my job.

I fired at the line she directed me to. I missed again.

"Wow, Luka, you are really bad at this," Promestein said.

"The lines are very high up," Gabriella said. A belch escaped her, then she continued. "you cannot hit them by aiming. Imagine your power hitting the line you wish to hit."

I concentrated, tried to envision my blast striking the line perfectly. I tried again. Jackpot. The effect was like hitting a real powerline. Sparks flew everywhere.

"Uh oh," Promestein said. "I sure hope they didn't see that. That can be seen from hundreds of miles away."

"It worked!" Gabriella said. "I think I can teleport now!"

She blinked from one spot to another, much like Granberia's trick that she had used on me the first time we fought. Nanabi did the same. Promestein smiled at me.

"Never doubted you for a minute, boss," the scientist said. "Now we just have to wait and see what kind of trouble we're in."

"Should we get out of dodge?" I asked.

"No, I don't think we should, although I know no more than any of the rest of you do," Promestein said. "If we draw big trouble we'll need to get away, fast. But we might draw your friends, too."

A figure blinked in a few feet away. It was Alice! "Luka!" she exulted, hugging me. "Why am I not surprised that you figured out how to destroy the seals?"

"Um, hello, scientist here?" Promestein said. Alice ignored her.

The second figure to appear was Minagi. The third, fourth, and fifth figures were also the Dark God's Ancestors. Tamamo improved the odds somewhat by arriving sixth. Only ten seconds had passed since Alice had arrived.

Everyone stared at each other for a moment. I mentally summoned all four spirits. Kanade began the festivities by lashing out in every direction with her slime, striking me and all of my allies. Nanabi and Gabriella were already down for the count, flesh sizzling where the strands of slime had hit. Cindy had only taken a few hits on her shell, none on her soft, human body. Alice and Tamamo seemed to be mostly unhurt. I too, was only burned slightly, Gnome protecting me from serious damage.

Alice shouted at me. "Catch!" and just like that, Angel Halo was back in my hands. I immediately infused the sword with Salamander's flame and rushed into the fight with Sylph's speed. Following the flow with Undine's help, I landed a blow on the already injured Saja that made her decide to be anywhere else but here. She had teleported out, hopefully to not return.

I couldn't see Minagi, but Kanon and Kanade were being hit by all sorts of brutal magic by Tamamo and Alice. Kanade seemed to be taking it well, but Kanon did not appreciate it in the slightest, although she did cause Alice to briefly stagger with what looked like a tree trunk. I rushed by and severed the plant weapon she was using from the rest of her body. Tamamo nearly sent her flying with a tail strike.

I finally caught sight of Minagi a few dozen yards away. She was crooking her finger at me. "Come, Luka let's play in the wind!"

Was that why I hadn't seen her? She controlled the wind like Alma Elma? I went after her with confidence. Sylph had long ago rediscovered her true power and there was no longer anyone who could hold a candle to me in terms of pure speed when I had Sylph's power within me. We dashed all over the beach, then into the forest. I caught her a couple of times. She was very unhappy about actually taking hits. I was clearly faster.

She had a plan, however. I didn't keep track of how fast I was going. I must have traveled a pretty fair distance, because we ended up in the treasure cave. I gave Sylph a chance to rest and cautiously advanced. I knew Sylph was faster, but I didn't know how long Minagi could keep her wind power up. I had to be ready for anything.

"Boo!" Something jumped out at me from the shadows. I was face to face with the Dark God herself. I'd been led right into a trap. I'm such an idiot. She blasted me with dark magic at close range, sending me flying back. Having Gnome active probably saved my life. I was hurt, but still in the fight. I stood up.

"You said you wanted war, boy," Alipheese said. "Well, c'mon, let's see what you've got."

I feinted with a blast, but I had already resummoned Sylph and dashed in at close range to strike with Angel Halo. The Dark God was surprised, but quite fast herself, and I hit her only a glancing blow. Still, it left an energy leaking wound. Through the flow I could see that it would only take another ten thousand such hits to seal her. I decided to see if I could land something more solid. The flow was no help in this regard, giving me no direction. I dropped Undine to give her a rest as well.

"Another cave," Alipheese chortled. "A real one, this time. How about we try something a little different? You'd make a nice kitten."

She gestured with her hands and waves of magic hit me. In the confines of the cave, there was no way to avoid it. I expected the worst, but the magic just felt strange. Alipheese cocked an eyebrow.

"Oho!" she exclaimed. "Looks like my ancient adversary blessed you with more protection than just a mind shield. I can't transmute you, either. Such a shame. I really wanted to keep you as a pet."

This time I did unleash a small blast, powerwise, but a wide one that would be similarly impossible to avoid in the narrow passageway. It hit her hard, knocking her down. She got up and dusted herself off.

"Yep," she said. "every bit my equal,. Other than the fact you've only got a dozen more of those and they won't be enough. I can do this all night."

She sent another bolt of dark magic at me. I put up a shield. The blast dissipated harmlessly. I should have remembered to use a shield against her other attack! I thought. What if she actually could have changed me into a kitten?

"You're down to 80% now, kid," she said. "I can read your power like it's my own. I wonder if it's possible to take it? Let's give it a shot."

She made a gesture and energy came flying out of my body into hers. Was she actually stealing my power? Would it make her mortal if she did it that way? Therein could lie salvation, I thought. Could she actually be making that big a miscalculation? She never managed to take it inside of her though. Like a rubber band, my power stretched and came snapping back into me. That had been a very weird and uncomfortable feeling.

"It seems to really prefer you," she said. "You do realize, that you have no chance. Gonna teleport out like you did last time? I can't track you when you do it, but it'll make me mad and I'll have to personally go out there and kill your friends and your love. So stay and screw around with me a tad longer. You know I never could directly face Ilias. We repelled each other. But you, I can get up close and personal with you. I can trade powerful attacks with you. I never thought I'd get to experience this."

"You like the battle, huh?" I said, sword still at the ready.

"Not really," she said. "I just wanted to get you focused on me."

Minagi grabbed me from behind, playfully biting me on the neck while grabbing my penis in her hand. I ejaculated instantly and went down. The critical ecstasy was so intense I couldn't move. It was as if it was my first time experiencing it.

"I didn't need to take him alive, but let's use him if we can," Alipheese ordered. "Teleport him back to the castle. Maybe we'll get lucky and his love will follow him. She and my wayward daughter already defeated two of my daughters. Let's make 'em attack us where we're strongest."

Minagi nodded and bent down to pick me up to teleport me away. I couldn't move, but my power didn't require movement. I let it all out in every direction. I heard both Minagi and Alipheese curse. Rocks began to fall. Oh crap, I can't move and I'm in a cave! I'm going to bury myself alve! I'm such an idiot! I thought.

I was alone. The rocks stopped falling. Oh thank goodness, I thought. I'll just wait until I can pick myself up and then get out-

The roof caved in. Someone picked me up and I was teleported to safety. I was back outside on the beach. Alice was looking into my eyes. "I'm assuming that was you being an idiot again," she said, smiling.

I looked around. The place sure looked like a battleground, with craters in the sand, singed patches of grass where the forest started, fallen trees, and most of all, unconscious forms. Only Tamamo, Promestein, and Alice were standing.

"Is everyone alive?" I asked, fearful for my friends.

"The battle was inconclusive," Tamamo said. "No fatalities. I don't know what you and your companions did here, but it was amazing work, whatever it was. I'm glad to say your little dream team will get to work together some more."

"We've lost the castle," Alice said bitterly. "I can't believe we got suckered like that."

"I'm not sure sure we got suckered, so much as they took advantage of an opportunity," Tamamo said. "the castle's important, but not THAT important. We were right to be out in the field. The war will be won or lost in the hearts and minds of your subjects. This changes nothing. I think we got the better of this one. We removed all the seals. You'll have to tell me how you did that when you get a chance, Luka."

"Um, I did that," Promestein said.

"Whatever," Alice responded. "What's important, is, are they down permanently? How easy will it be for the Dark God to put them back in place?"

"Unfortunately, not terribly difficult," Promestein said. "But we should be in the clear for at least a couple of days."

"Any chance we can do what they did, only sealing what we want to seal?" Tamamo asked.

"Possible," Promestein said. "That's another research project, though. I can tell you roughly how she did it, but I don't fully understand it. I just had Luka make it go away. You could always use the towers, but those are pretty easy to destroy."

Alice helped me to my feet. I was starting to regain the ability to stand, if unsteadily. That Minagi packed a punch with her sexual skills. And that had just been a little nip on the neck and her hand!

"We showed them we are not to be taken lightly," Tamamo said, sounding an awful lot like the still absent Granberia. "Every Ancestor we've scrapped with has been wounded. Luka, did you do any damage to Minagi?"

"I did, and the Dark God as well."

"You encountered the Dark God?!" Alice said. "No wonder you brought the cave down! You actually hurt her?"

"A little, yes," I said, then had a realization. "The cave! There are monsters living in there!"

"Don't worry," Tamamo assured me. "That entrance isn't the only one. There's an underwater entrance and an entrance at the top, as well as smaller ones that humans can't use but most of the creatures there can. Most of them don't leave the cave anyway. It's a closed ecosystem. I can't assure you there wasn't loss of life in the cave-in, but you haven't trapped anyone in there."

"Oh, I sure hope not!" I worried.

"Luka, remember what I told you a year ago?" Alice said. "It's a war. Wars have casualties. You did the only thing you could. Please don't give yourself even more complexes."

"Okay, Alice, I'll try," I said.

"I think we should all get to Yamatai," Tamamo said. "I've sent a telepathic message to the others to join us for a bit before we spread out again. I didn't get answers from everyone, but I can tell they are at least alive. We need to plan our next steps. And start gathering an army."