Yamatai

Yamatai village was next on the itinerary. Now that we were traveling again, Alice resumed her normal state of snarky stand-offishness. It was like night and day. The uninhibited joy and tenderness of the last few days was replaced by lectures on how I wasn't nearly strong enough to accomplish anything yet. I knew that when we got to the village that she'd be in a great mood again. She was more eager to try the foods there than any place we'd been so far. Having already experienced Japanese food and finding it just so-so for my tastes, I was far more interested in learning about the person or people from my world who had created a little piece of Japan in another universe. There was one cautionary note: although monsters and humans got along as well there as they did in Grand Noah, there were reports of a monster troubling the village. I knew that it would probably end up involving me at some point.

What I hadn't known before leaving, but which Alice helpfully informed me about once we were hours away from Grand Noah, was that Yamatai Village was in a mountain range. A very tall mountain range, with snow capped mountains. I had no mountain climbing equipment, nor was I even sure I knew how to climb even if I did. I also wasn't prepared for the cold. Despite the fact that Alice wore almost nothing, she insisted that she'd be absolutely fine no matter what the climate. That was a relief at least. I only had to worry about myself.

I'd thought the biggest challenge I had ever faced travel wise would be the desert. I was wrong. Trudging up a mountain as it got colder and colder was much worse than the heat, especially since I was in no way prepared for it. Alice was having the time of her life, although she tried not to show it. She kept on commenting on the snow with a disinterested voice, but by that point I could read her body language. The way her tail involuntarily moved told me that she was excited.

"Alice, is this the first time you've ever seen snow?"

"That's right," she confirmed. "But I'm not some child that would get excited about it."

"Everyone gets excited the first time they see snow, Alice," I said. "You should play in it. It's a vacation, it's okay to find joy in anything if you can."

I don't know why she felt she needed my permission, but she got on her stomach and started to use her tail to propel herself through the snow like a missile. That was not the way I would have expected her to play, but the unusualness of it fascinated me. It also made me happy to see her like this. Although I didn't see her like that for long. She disappeared out of sight. For quite some time. I started to get worried. No monsters attacked me, so that wasn't it. What could have happened to her?

It became dark and that's when I got really worried. A blizzard had developed and I was exposed with little to keep me warm. It wasn't long before I was overcome. I fell asleep, certain that my adventure, as well as my life, was probably over. I had just reached the top of the mountain and had started down, too. I was so close to above freezing temperatures, I thought as I passed out.

I awakened to green leaves. How did I get here? "Sheesh, the idiot got stranded in the snow." It was Alice. "You're so pathetic."

"You saved me, Alice?" I said. "Thank you. But… doesn't that mean my journey's over? Aren't you going to take me to your castle to serve you now?"

She looked slightly ashamed. "No, because it was my fault. I got carried away playing, like a stupid child, and lost track of you. Then the storm came and I couldn't find you for the longest time. If I'd stayed with you I could have used my magic to keep you warm enough so that you wouldn't be overcome. To be honest, I'm not sure I want to make you my slave anymore. What I saw in that tournament changed my view of you. You deserve better."

I was moved by her heartfelt apology, although I felt I needed to know more about what she thought of me before that. In my view, she should have expected me to keep my promise to her, not be surprised by it. I guessed we could talk about that later. Looking ahead, I saw what I assumed must be Yamatai Village. "For what you just said to me, and for what you did for me, you deserve all the food you can eat," I said, which made her smile with excitement.

It was weird how she'd insulted me and then apologized to me, but I wrote it off as just part of her evolution. Being rude was a reflex for her. I decided what she said after that was how she really felt.

"So shall we go to Yamatai?" I asked.

"Not yet," she replied. "You just regained consciousness. Let's eat some of that dried fish first. I'm hungry and you need the energy. In this terrain it'll still be a couple of hours before we reach the village."

I took out our last bit of dry fish and we sat down to eat. As we were chowing, I saw an animal cautiously approaching us. No, not an animal, definitely a monster girl of some sort. One of the most adorable I'd ever seen once I got a better look. She looked like a kitten. She approached closely and smiled at us, giving us the most adorable pose she could muster. She greeted us by saying "Nya!"

What did that mean? Was this a wild monster that didn't speak human language? I held up a piece of fish. "Do you want this?" I asked the cat girl.

"Nyaa!" she replied happily.

I held it out to her. I probably should have thrown it, but I was out of practice feeding animals. She leaped up to me and took it from my hands. She sat with us and began to eat. Alice was slowly edging closer to the cat girl, who paid her no mind as she enjoyed her fish. I wondered what Alice was up to. When Alice got within arms' reach, she reached out her hand and tentatively started to pet the cat girl. The cat girl purred appreciatively, which caused Alice to smile and scratch her more confidently. I never got tired of seeing Alice enjoy new things.

It was a good thing that I took some time to rejuvenate before setting off for the village, because the village was guarded. Two warrior elves accosted us, saying we would not be permitted into the village, and then attacked us. If there was ever a situation where I would have expected Alice to pull out her Monster Lord card it would be now, with unreasonable guards keeping her from the cuisine she was most looking forward to, but to my surprise and frustration she had already disappeared. I guess I was supposed to fight these two. I realized there might be a method to her madness, because these elves carried melee weapons, which was the kind of combat I most preferred. This could be a confidence builder after another difficult bout with Alma Elma. It would also be a challenge, since it was two fast opponents.

As the combat opened, I noted that their fighting style was definitely Far Eastern. The Japanese influences in this place were unmistakable. I hadn't yet had an opportunity to face an opponent that fought that way. I summoned Sylph, knowing I would need plenty of speed to keep up with them. Elves were naturally quick and the speed-based Japanese fighting style would be hard to cope with for a human like myself. The clashing of swords, the dodging, the parries, the counterattacks, the kicks and punches, were invigorating. Was I becoming like Granberia, actually craving this kind of combat? Or was I simply relieved to be having a real fight where I wasn't being constantly molested as a fighting tactic?

I'd fought some ugly battles. I'd fought some really pathetic battles. This one was a thing of beauty, an elegant dance with two partners. I thought that to an outside observer it must look like an action scene from a Hong Kong film. Such a thing would not have been possible with normal humans, but with two elves and the aid of Sylph it became reality. If they ever make a movie out of my story, this is the scene I will most look forward to seeing.

I was enjoying myself so much I didn't consider what might happen to me if I lost. Thankfully I didn't have to find out. I also hadn't considered for long that they hadn't given me any opportunity to explain myself. I hadn't even been given an opportunity to turn back before they attacked me. Were they bandits? In any case, they were both sealed into smaller elven forms, and ran off.

We arrived in Yamatai village shortly thereafter. Alice was super excited after my promise to buy her as much as she wanted. Given that this was probably the last big cuisine stop on our journey I decided to not worry too much about my dwindling funds.

I noticed that she hadn't taken human form even though we were inside the village. She pointed out that monsters seemed to live here among humans just as they did in Grand Noah. I think I'd remembered being told that, but must have forgotten. Well that was good news. Maybe now that we were here we could have as wonderful a time as we'd had in Grand Noah.

It wasn't QUITE the same though. The humans seemed not just tolerant, but extremely respectful, even worshipful, towards the monster residents. One bowed to a cat girl and addressed her as "Mighty cat". Soon Alice started to draw some interest of her own.

"Oh!" one of the villagers said. "Mighty snake!" The man clasped his hands together and bowed. This place was absolutely fascinating. It really did feel like ancient Japan.

Another villager offered her food, some soba, which Alice was not about to turn down. She sat on a rock and began to savor her first treat of our stay in Yamatai. No one offered me anything. Didn't offworlders merit attention? I thought to myself jokingly.

I also noticed that the villagers here looked different from the people I'd come across throughout my journey. Some appeared to be Japanese, others of mixed heritage, with a minority being the usual Caucasian looking folk that I was used to seeing in this world. There must have been more than one person transported here long ago for there to be so many people of Japanese heritage. Could it be that a whole village was brought here intact?

I started to hear greetings of "Mighty Fox!" and "Would you like some thin fried tofu?" Mighty fox? I wonder if it would be anyone I knew? I had really liked the fox girls I'd met. To my surprise, Tamamo walked up to us.

"Oho?" she said, addressing me. "You."

"You, yourself," I replied jovially. "What brings you to Yamatai? Not causing trouble I hope. You'll have to go through me first if you want to harm this village."

I was not being serious, but it occurred to me that as a Heavenly Knight who I didn't know that well she could very well be up to something. I wanted to think the best of her after our first encounter, but was still bothered by her promise that we would fight eventually.

"Uh huh," she responded skeptically. "I don't get it, but if you're selling a fight, I'll buy it. C'mon! Let's do it! Right here!"

She seemed to be playing as well, so I put up my own dukes and she began to circle around me, playfully jabbing without making contact.

"Quit fooling around, you two!" It was Alice. "One of those little jabs could knock you clear out of the village," she said.

That surprised me, but I guess it shouldn't have. She was a Heavenly Knight, after all.

"So seriously, Tamamo, what are you doing here?" I asked.

"This village is my home," she replied. "Why would I make trouble in my own home?"

I guess I am an idiot because I only just now noticed that her dress was very Japanese. She even wore a kimono and carried a small fan! So many questions! I was now glad she was here though. Maybe she'd be able to enlighten me on why this village was the way it was. I guessed that it had to have been someone transported from my own world. How else?

An older man finally took an interest in the traveling human. "Oh! Mighty Traveling Hero! I'm the chief of this village. You may have already heard, but there has been some trouble in this village recently."

Alice seemed surprisingly interested. I guessed it might be because a village that was so generous about giving her food should not be threatened, lest it threaten her access to said food.

The elder led us to his home to speak privately. Tamamo, to my surprise, joined us. "Tamamo, does this interest you as well?" I asked.

"I heard rumors about an impudent fool causing trouble here," she replied. "I won't allow something like that to continue."

"About that," the chief interjected. "Yamatai Village is in quite a troublesome spot due to a particular monster."

"Do you know what kind of monster it is?" I asked.

"Her name is Yamata no Orochi," he replied. "She's an eight headed monster that lives in a nearby cave."

"Yamata no Orochi," Alice said. "Indeed, humans could do nothing against her."

"Yamata is demanding a villager to be sacrificed to her," the chief said. "One young man per year. If we don't send her the sacrifice, she will destroy the village. That's what she said, five years ago. We are weak. We can't do anything against a monster like that. So far we have sent five sacrifices to her. "

"That's horrible," I said.

"Don't misunderstand," the chief clarified. "Yamata doesn't kill them. She sends back the previous year's sacrifice when we send the new one. So we are not sending them to their deaths."

"Whew!" I breathed. "That s a relief! But that doesn't sound like a big problem. I mean, it's bad that this happens, but probably better to meet a powerful monster's demands than risk having the village destroyed."

"Yes, one would think," the chief said. "Come, let me show you something."

He led us next door to a large meeting hall. Inside it were young men arguing. "It's almost time to present the new sacrifice," the chief explained. "The young men meet together to choose the new sacrifice. But it always turns into a huge dispute."

I'd seen enough by now to know that it could go either way what exactly was being disputed. Were the men fighting NOT to go, or fighting TO go? As it turned out, they were fighting for the privilege of going.

"I'll be the sacrifice!" one said. "Don't show off! I'll be the sacrifice!" said another. "Oh no! I can't let either of you do that!" said a third.

But what the fourth argued caused my ears to perk up. "No, you guys are too valuable! I'm lazy and bad at working, it's obvious I should be the one to be sacrificed!"

"Don't pull that crap," said another. "Everyone knows I should be sacrificed!"

"You're a hard worker!" countered yet another. "I couldn't bear the thought of your mother crying over you."

"Idiots…" Alice said. "Idiots everywhere. Why not just send them all?"

"They are valuable workers in our small village," the chief explained. "We can't do that. Since we would have been shorthanded if we sent our best workers to be sacrificed, we chose the laziest. So now they compete to be the laziest! That's the troublesome situation!"

That was…. I'm not sure what that was. Certainly an incentives problem. Seemed to me that one way to solve it would be to do it in reverse: send out the best worker who wanted to go, so everyone would work hard. But the village chief seemed intent on getting rid of the monster, which I had to admit was the right thing to do. What Yamata was doing was not a way to facilitate better relations between humans and monsters. What's more, why go to all this trouble? It seemed to me that all she had to do was announce her presence in the cave and men would go there every day! Maybe it was some kind of power trip. Oh well, I knew a job when I smelled one and it seemed as if both Tamamo and Alice wanted me to do it.

Well, Alice wanted me to do it on contingency, anyway. "What's the reward for this?" she asked pointedly.

Before she got an answer, Tamamo piped in. "I'll assist in disciplining this troublesome monster," she said.

Now that was interesting. "Tamamo, you're going to help me fight this monster? How interesting!"

I looked pointedly at Alice, who folded her arms. "I have my point of view, Tamamo has hers. I won't fight my cute little subordinates, but I also understand that this is Tamamo's home and this monster is causing problems that affect her personally. This dispute is between her and Yamata."

"Don't worry, Luka," Tamamo said. "You have the most important job of all. You're going to be this year's sacrifice! Then you can eliminate the monster. If you lose, then you'll just really be the sacrifice."

"I think you're leaving out the part where you said you'd help," I said to Tamamo.

"Trust me!" she assured me. "Just do your best and it'll all work out."

"Since tonight is the night of the next sacrifice, it would be best if you did it tonight," the chief said. That sounded good. Since this seemed to be the only thing troubling the village, I could get this out of the way and then enjoy the rest of my stay here.

There was some time to kill before nightfall, however, so I took the opportunity to talk to some villagers and learn about this place. The first thing I learned was that there wasn't an Ilias worshipper among them. I'd long assumed that the Ilias faith was the only faith in this world among humans, and every place I'd been had confirmed that theory until now. These people practiced a more Eastern-style faith, worshipping monsters, but also spirits and nature as well. I also got an answer as to why we'd been accosted by elves outside the village. It seems this village had a marriage treaty with a nearby elven village. So elves would often assault any travelers they didn't trust. I wondered if my sword had made them think I was a bad guy? I'd been worried about that ever since I started carrying it. It couldn't be helped. It had saved me from having to kill anyone. I wasn't giving it up.

Despite the small size of the village, they had numerous temples. A temple for cats, a temple for snakes, a temple for foxes, and I was sure there were at least several more. Tamamo seemed to enjoy holding court in the fox temple, receiving offerings of tofu and dispensing advice and blessings to villagers. It felt kind of weird to me, but everyone was happy and getting along, so I decided not to judge it.

I enjoyed seeing Alice and her former teacher interact. Alice for reasons unknown to me seemed to have a strong dislike for foxes. She just couldn't resist pulling on Tamamo's tails, which led Tamamo to demand that she show some respect in her temple. To speak to the Monster Lord that way! But I guess being her teacher had its privileges. Alice left, probably to get some good eats and escape the overwhelming smell of thin fried tofu. Tamamo and I were left alone.

"Sheesh…" Tamamo said. "No matter how much time has passed, children are always children."

"Why does Alice seem to dislike kistunes so?" I asked.

"You may not have known this," she replied. "But I was in charge of the Monster Lord's training. Due to that, she lived along with my clan. She was surrounded by kitsunes, who were constantly picking on her. I guess now she bullies them in revenge."

"Interesting," I mused. "That reminds me that I think I was bullied a lot as a child. But I never grew up with that kind of resentment."

"I was trying to ensure that she didn't grow up detesting humanity," she added. "Given how powerful she is, she would have been worse than Alice the Eighth, 500 years ago. So I didn't let her out of the castle, lest she run into hostile humans. We kitsunes have always been a more gentle species towards humanity, so I hoped to raise her in a pro-human environment. But as a side effect, she's quite ignorant of the ways of the world. But that's all in the past. I'm more interested in you. Alma Elma and Granberia keep on coming back to the castle to report on their encounters with you. Very intriguing."

I tensed at the mention of Alma Elma. I have generally found it difficult to hate anyone, but she was an expert at finding my weak spots. In one respect she had been right about me. I was capable of violence and hate. I liked to think I was a good person, and I was proud that I'd bested her at her game of trying to expose me as a perverted, disloyal individual who would betray a friend just to get his rocks off. But she had brought out a darker side to me and I didn't like it.

Tamamo seemed to read my expression. "She is annoying, isn't she?" she said. "Like Granberia, there's more depth to her than you might think. But I find it fascinating how differently you react to the two of them."

"Alma Elma is just an awful person," I said. "Granberia is honorable. It's like night and day."

"How much of that is just you respecting the way Granberia fights as opposed the way Alma Elma fights?" Tamamo asked pointedly. "Both of them are oppressing your adopted home, but you like one and hate the other? You do realize they are working together. Those two are actually very close."

"I'm going to quit right now," I said. "Since arguing with you is no more likely to get me anywhere than arguing with Alice."

"It'll get you even less," she giggled. "I taught her! But let's get back to you. You're interesting, coming from another world and all. I bet you've already guessed that you're not the first."

"Yes," I confirmed. "I noticed as soon as I heard about this place that there had to be others."

"Come, let me show you something!" she said brightly.

She led me to a part of the temple that had a small room protected by a locked door. She didn't need a key. Instead, she used her tail as a key, altering it in the shape of a key to open it. I was willing to bet she was the only one who could access this room. I was honored that she was showing it to me.

Inside were artifacts from my world! I immediately recognized them as much more recent than I had anticipated. This was WW2-era stuff. A Japanese imperial flag. Photographs of men in uniform. More ominously, rifles. I started to wonder about the technology in this world. For the most part, it was a late medieval period level of tech, but smatterings of more modern conveniences were present even in Ilias Village. Clean, running water, and modern plumbing were the most notable aspects of life in Ilias Village. In the bigger cities there was even some electricity and light bulbs. The coliseum had had stadium lighting for night events. Chrome's laboratory had looked at least 19th century level, if not early 20th. Were there even more immigrants from my world?

"Tamamo," I asked. "How long ago did the people from my world arrive here?"

"About 500 years ago," she replied. But that couldn't be! These artifacts were only a few decades old! Did time move differently between my world and this one? If so, then my two years here might mean I had only been gone….. a couple of months, maybe?

"Do you know if they had similar abilities to mine?"

"They were stronger and faster and hardier, definitely," she confirmed. "I don't know if they had that crazy power you have. There are no reports of it and none of their descendants have inherited such a power. I suspect you were chosen because you have it. It might be rare even where you come from. Possibly even unique to you."

"If you don't mind my saying so, Tamamo, you don't seem to hide things from me like Alice does."

"Alice has her own reasons for what she chooses to reveal to you," Tamamo said. "Like she said, she has her point of view, I have mine. I think that the reason your mind was blocked was because the one who brought you here wanted you to be as ignorant as possible. In my opinion, piercing that veil of ignorance helps you to resist her manipulation. The more you know, the more you can think for yourself. Alice worries that a little bit of knowledge in your hands is dangerous. She's not entirely wrong, but all things considered I think you're better off knowing what's going on."

"Does that mean I can have THE conversation with you that I can't have with her?" I asked.

"What conversation would that be?"

"Whether Ilias is real, for starters," I said. "And if so, why she brought me here."

"You already know the answers, silly!" she said. "It's the implications of them that would blow your mind if you understood them. Ilias is quite real, but her plans are complex and devious and even I don't really understand them. I know she wants you to kill the Monster Lord and you have the potential to do it. But she has to also know that you would never do that. Thus the layers and layers of her plans. You could be doing exactly what she wants right now and not knowing it. So could Alice. So could I! The obvious question becomes, is killing Alice really her goal? If not, what is the goal? And if killing the Monster Lord is indeed the goal, how does it get accomplished given your feelings for her?"

"Since you know I would never kill Alice, that raises the question of why you'd think you and I would come into conflict. You seem nice. You don't seem to be trying to hurt humans. Yet you said we would have to fight eventually. I don't get it."

"The Monster Lord's Castle is our home," she replied. "No human sets foot in there unless they are a slave or a guest. Like Alice's principle of never fighting those she rules, that's a firm line for me. If you go there to challenge Alma Elma and Granberia, you challenge me as well. Erubetie will feel the same."

"Is that the fourth Heavenly Knight?" I asked.

"Yep!" Tamamo said cheerfully. "You'll definitely want to lose to any of us three that you know rather than her though. She hates humans. She'll kill you without hesitation."

That was a cheery thought. "Alma Elma wanted to kill me," I said.

"Oh, don't worry about her," Tamamo said. "She's much more interested in you now than she was before. Killing you would deny her the challenge of making you hers. If she's the one who ends up defeating you at the castle she'll enjoy making you addicted to her."

"I know now what she and Erubetie would do to me if I lost to them," I said. "I also have a pretty good idea of what Granberia would do. How about you?"

"I'm a nice girl," she said, smiling. "I'd make you my lover and take good care of you."

We walked back out to the outdoor pavilion. "I kinda wish I'd traveled with you instead of Alice," she said. "I'd love to study you. You're super interesting! We would have had so much fun if it had been you and me! Alice can be a killjoy sometimes."

"Yes, that's true." I said. It was actually kinda therapeutic to have someone knocking her off the pedestal I kept putting her on. Alice was a very intimidating presence.

"What I really want to study is that power within you," she continued. "Do you mind if I examine you now?"

"Um…. Okay, I think?" What did she have in mind?

She got closer to me and began to sniff me closely, poking and prodding me with her finger. "Are you really getting anything from that?" I asked.

"Nah!" she said cheerfully. "I just thought it was fun to do that! Of course, if you want, I could examine your body much more thoroughly and closely."

Her tone made me think that wasn't strictly for science. "I think Alice would murder me if you're proposing what I think you are."

Tamamo laughed. I laughed too. Abruptly she stopped laughing and gave me a pointed stare. "That's irritating me."

"My laughing? Sorry, I didn't know that would upset you."

"Not that, silly!" she said. "Her trying to force you to be exclusive to her when you're not even in a relationship. It's not fair to you! I might have to have it out with her about that. Your life is looking like it's going to be way too short to deny yourself such pleasures."

She wasn't wrong, but it was never comforting to hear my life expectancy speculated upon out loud.

"Anyway, please continue to take care of her," Tamamo said. "She's still young, and quick to anger. Let me tell you a secret that you should never repeat to her if you want to avoid a lot of physical pain. She calls you an idiot all the time not because you're an idiot but because she's insecure about her own intelligence. She's the strongest Monster Lord ever power-wise, but she's unsure of herself. She gives orders but doesn't enforce them because she's not certain of their justness. I understand it, it's a complicated world right now. I see where Granberia and Alma Elma are coming from even though I don't agree with it, but if I was in her place I wouldn't let my subordinates run around doing their own thing like that. She keeps on telling you that she's not going to fight your battles for you, but she's happy to use you to fight hers. I suspect she's rooting for you to beat them for her, when she should be dealing with them herself. She'll get better as she ages and gains experience, but right now she needs a keeper. That's you."

Wow. None of that was terribly surprising to me but I hadn't really thought it through that clearly. Talking to Tamamo was so informative and satisfying. She didn't seem to hold anything back.

"Since you're being so open with me, Tamamo, and by the way I'm SO grateful for that, can I ask one more, really tough question?"

"Sure!" she said. "But careful, you might not like the answer if it's what I think it is."

"Is there a scenario where I might have to fight her?" I asked. "Because she talks sometimes as if it might be happening, and I know now that I apparently have to fight you, so…"

"I don't really know the answer to that," Tamamo said, being very serious now. "I can envision some possibilities, most of them very, very bad. That's another reason I'm determined to stop you if you enter that castle. I worry about her. She's a lot like her mother. I know I've been open with you today, but I can't say more than that. She would never forgive me. At least you didn't ask the question I thought you would."

That night, I waited in the carriage they used to deliver the sacrifice to Yamata. It didn't go as smoothly as I hoped. Many young men, resentful at not being the sacrifice, tried to beat me up and take my place. I was ready to fight, but to my shock Alice saved me the trouble, flashing them and causing them to go to sleep. She had been behind me when she'd done it, thus keeping my own eyes out of the line of sight.

"So where's Tamamo?" I asked her.

"She went back to the temple," Alice said. "It looks l like she didn't want to assist you directly."

"That's disappointing," I said glumly.

"She left this in her place," Alice said, handing me a small ball of fur. Okaaayyyy. "As usual, I won't assist you. If you fail, you really will be the sacrifice. You'll be stuck here for the next year. Two, actually. I've been told it takes a year for the men who come back to recover."

Alice vanished and the village chief showed up. "Thank you for waiting," he said. "Oh? Where is the Mighty Snake and the Mighty Fox?"

"It looks like I'm going in alone," I said, still disappointed.

"Do not be discouraged," he said. "Trust in the Mighty Snake and the Mighty Fox. They probably just don't want her to know someone else is coming. Now, I shall send the carriage to Yamata."

The carriage began to move of its own volition. Did it have a motor? No, it seemed to be magical propulsion of some sort. I decided not to worry about it. It would almost certainly take me exactly where it was supposed to go. I didn't have to wait long. Ten minutes later, it stopped in front of a cave. I wondered if I should get out and venture into the cave. Before I could, the carriage actually levitated and entered the cave! I wondered whose magic this was, the villagers' or Yamata's. After a few moments of slowly moving through the cave, it settled softly onto the ground.

A voice came from deeper in the cave. "Now, sacrifice," it said. "Reveal yourself to me."

I stepped out of the carriage, and faced the most bizarre monster I'd seen yet. It was eight women, with snake bodies, and yet all connected. Were they eight separate persons, or one? They all looked similar, with only minor differences. They were all beautiful even by monster standards. I could definitely see the appeal for the young men in the village. I decided that if I was going to lose, this would not be the worst monster to lose to.

"Come closer," Yamata said. "There's no need to be afraid. I'll drown you in the height of pleasure."

"Sorry, but I'm not a sacrifice," I said. "I'm here to defeat you."

"Defeat me?" she said. "Don't make me laugh. But this should be interesting. A little playtime before the fun starts is never a bad thing."

She was limited to pleasure attacks, but what pleasure attacks they were! The eight heads had long, supple tongues which crowded around me and attacked my entire body. I felt breasts pressing against me as well. She was so strong she didn't even bother to avoid my sword strikes, which seemed to have almost no effect on her. This did not feel like a battle I could possibly win. I was apparently very vulnerable to licking, because it was bringing me dangerously close to the edge. My will might be iron now, but my body was still too weak for comfort in that regard. Yamata could sense it as well. She was having fun with me. She had me beaten at least a few times but would purposely stop stimulating my penis to keep me lively. I was brought to the edge and let go at least three times. The best I could do was avoid being bound by the snake parts of their bodies through the use of Gnome's power. My rudimentary use of that power seemed to offend Tamamo, who revealed herself to be near.

"Sheesh, how hopeless," I heard her voice say. "Let me show you how to actually use the power of earth."

The ball of fur jumped out of my backpack. It grew and unfurled, revealing Tamamo. What a cool trick!

"Listen," she said. "to use the power of the earth you have to feel its breath. To be able to feel it underneath you, you need to imagine that your body itself is one with the earth. Here, like this!"

Tamamo did something that appeared to be almost like breathing through her feet. "What are you doing, you little beast?" Yamata said angrily. "I'll teach you to interfere in my business!"

It appeared that she could do more than pleasure attacks, because a tail whipped at Tamamo's head. It impacted her head with zero effect. "What the…"?

"The image is the most important part," Tamamo explained. "You must feel the energy of the earth coming through your feet, as if it's breathing right into your body. If you do that, blows against you will feel like nothing. Come on, give it a try. Having Gnome with you makes it so much easier than having to learn to use the power of earth without her. All you have to do is imagine it right."

I attempted to do as she instructed. To my surprise, it worked like a charm! It was a totally different feeling from the way I'd been using Gnome's power before. I felt nearly invincible.

Tamamo laughed, "See, you're a natural at this! Now let's take care of this nuisance!"

Tamamo punched one of Yamata's heads. The head instantly went from upright to prone, landing on the ground with a loud thud. "How can this be?!" Yamata raged. "What is this strange force!?"

"So I move the power into my fist, and punch the enemy?" I attempted to do the same thing. It was a pretty solid punch, but it didn't do nearly as much damage. The head I hit was still very much in the fight.

"Seems like the power is still a bit much for you," Tamamo said. "It takes time to learn how to control it fully."

Tamamo swung a tail at Yamata. I knew from experience how much force those tails carried. That tail took out another two of Yamata's heads. There were now only five still in the fight.

"Time to end this," Tamamo announced. She grabbed Angel Halo from me, raised it high in the air, and leaped. She came down with bonecrushing force at a point on Yamata's body where all the snake bodies seemed to join. The blow sealed the monster. The battle was over.

"Well, that solves that problem," Tamamo said with quite a bit of satisfaction.

"Tamamo, why did you teach me that?"

"I always teach my students things, " she replied. "It's just my instinct of instructing youngsters taking over."

"Well, thank you," I said.

"You don't look so good," Tamamo observed. "You look as bad as you did right after taking on Nanabi."

"She did almost have me," I admitted. "But unlike Nanabi she was toying with me."

"This is the second time I've stood in a cave in front of you, with you so close to the edge," she giggled. "I know you wanted to feel my special fluffy tail that day, but you needed the bell more. Even then you had more willpower than you gave yourself credit for."

"Thank you," I said, addressing her tails rather than her face, which seemed to amuse her even more.

"No, I should be thanking you for helping me with this problem," she insisted. "So how would you like me to thank you this time, Luka? I don't think I have anything that you want except this."

She waved a tail at me enticingly. Alice suddenly appeared. "He'd love some tofu," she said.

"Tofu?" Tamamo responded skeptically. "I don't hear his stomach rumbling. I think Luka can speak for himself."

I hated tofu. "I think I'd love some tofu," I said.

"Hmph…" Tamamo harrumphed. "You've got this one wrapped around your finger, Alice. His loyalty to you is commendable. But look at the boy, he's in terrible shape. Tofu won't fix what's wrong with him. In the state he's in it'll only take me a second."

Alice moved forward to get between me and Tamamo. "You're absolutely right, Tamamo, I'll take care of him right now."

"Wait!" Tamamo commanded. Alice stopped, presumably from old reflex, since technically Alice was Tamamo's ruler. "Maybe I want to do it. Or have you forgotten the rules, Alice?"

Rules? What was Tamamo talking about? Alice looked down, chastened. "I haven't forgotten," she said.

"Of course," Tamamo said. "if you were to claim him as yours alone, then I couldn't touch him. Do you want to claim him as yours, Alice?"

"Why are you doing this?" Alice said, starting to sound almost like a child.

"You're forcing him to be loyal to you without even placing him under your protection," she said."You let other monsters have their way with him, just so long as he doesn't enjoy it? Do you realize how wrong that is? He's either yours or he's not. If you want him to be yours, claim him. If not, let me thank him properly."

Alice stared resentfully at Tamamo. "Luka deserves an answer," Tamamo prodded. "What will it be?"

"Damn you, Tamamo," she said. "I don't claim him."

Tamamo exhaled a sigh of disappointment. I decided to intervene. "Alice, it's okay," I said. "My promise wasn't about whatever rules or customs you follow. I made that promise for my own reasons. I wanted to make you happy. I know I haven't always been satisfied with the way you've treated me but the good things you've done for me have been just so great…. I owe you a lot and it seemed like the minimum that I could do to repay you. Besides, the promise only applied to our time traveling together."

"It also applied to you being tortured and nearly broken by Alma Elma," Tamamo said, then pointed at Alice. "She put you in that position. I don't think she appreciates the kind of person you are."

I had never seen Alice look like a scolded puppy before. I was getting very uncomfortable with this. I had assumed Tamamo would take this up with Alice privately if she was going to do anything at all.

Alice's voice was barely above a whisper. She didn't look at me. "I release you from your promise, Luka."

"I don't release myself from it," I said firmly.

"Alice, you're a complete idiot," Tamamo spat. "Do you think men like this grow on trees?"

"It's not that simple," Alice said, her voice now rising, her anger up. "There are rules YOU made that insure it's not that simple! I am the Monster Lord! I don't even DARE to think of Luka in those terms! If you wanted me to think that way you wouldn't have made those FUCKING rules!"

I had never heard Alice use language like that, even in bed. What was she talking about? What rules?

Tamamo smiled knowingly. "What makes you think I was talking about that? That's WAAAAYYY beyond what I meant! That means it was on your mind, wasn't it?"

"It wasn't, I swear," Alice mumbled.

Tamamo pressed on. "All I want you to do is claim him as your lover! There are no qualifications for that! You can claim anyone you want for that purpose! He clearly wants that! You owe it to him after what he went through keeping his promise to you!"

"Tamamo, that's enough!" I said. "I'm happy with where we stand right now. The truth is, I don't even know myself how I feel about her. We both agree that we care about each other. I think we're good friends now. I enjoy the way she… um…."

"Feeds off of you?" Tamamo said. "I know you wish there was more to it than that. I can see it in your face. If you can deny that, you're lying to yourself. Alice, this kind of self delusion is unbefitting a Monster Lord. He's only human. I expect better from you. I'll ask one last time, as plainly as I can. Do you love Luka?"

Alice couldn't look at either of us. "No," she said softly.

Tamamo glared at Alice. After a minute of uncomfortable silence, she shrugged and resumed her normal sunny disposition. "Ah, you kids, so in denial."

She turned around to leave, but as she did so a tail lashed out and wrapped around my penis, rapidly stroking it. I started to ejaculate instantly. "Tamamo!" Alice cried.

Her tail continued to stroke me for the next fifteen seconds as I completed the long, intense, incredible orgasm. Her special fluffy tail was every bit as good as I had imagined it would be. I fell to the ground when she released me. She vanished, leaving Alice and me alone in the cave.

"I'm sorry, Alice." I said, mortified.

"For what? None of that was your fault. I hope you enjoyed her special tail. I'm not saying that resentfully or sarcastically. I really do hope you enjoyed it. You more than earned it and it's one of the few things I can't give you. She had a point. I had no right to let my jealousy force you into making a promise like that to me. I was serious when I said I released you from it."

"Like I said, I don't release myself from it," I said. "Besides, I paid too high a price to keep it to give up on it now."

For the first time ever, she rushed forward and hugged me. I hugged her back, hard. Maybe we were in denial. Maybe Tamamo was trying to shock us into getting real. But if we were going to take another step in this relationship it wasn't going to be in this cave. I was going to have to do some thinking and I imagined Alice was as well.