The villagers were screaming.
"Okay, calm down, calm down..."
One by one, they all fled into their homes and locked their doors.
"This is your chance..."
Windows were shut and curtains were drawn.
"There's nothing to be afraid of..."
And in an instance, the streets become completely desolate.
Ilias Village was under attack!
"You're a Hero...! And Heroes don't back down...!"
...
"...?"
Standing near the entrance of the small town, a confused looking slime girl tilted her head.
"..."
"A-A-Ahem..."
A boy approached the creature carefully. He took small and slow steps, and just in case, he had his hand on the hilt of his sword.
"Um... you're, uh..."
"...?"
The slime girl seemed to become even more confused at his appearance.
"Y-You, uh, seem awfully close to this village here..."
The boy spoke across the open gate nervously.
"By any chance, could you, uh..."
His lower body was involuntarily shaking.
"Turn..."
And for some reason, the inflection in his voice become extremely high-pitched at the last part.
"Back...?"
...
The monster girl placed a finger near her bottom lip.
"But... I'm hungry~ Ehehe~"
She giggled and scratched the back of her head.
"I... I-I see..."
Hesitantly, he gripped the sword in his hand.
"Maybe... maybe we can... talk this out... you know..."
"...?"
The slime tilted her head again.
"Is this your first time seeing a monster~?"
"E-Eh?"
"That's pretty cute~ You also smell good too~ Ehehe~"
She giggled again. And then she started approaching him.
"Err, uh..."
"Say, say~ Won't you let me have a taste~? I'll make you feel good too~"
"That's well, um..."
The boy was starting to get a really bad feeling from this.
"Oh~ This is bad~! Really bad~! At this rate, I won't be able to stop myself from attacking you~! Ehehe~!"
"E-EHHH...?"
The boy backed away, but then...!
…!
She leaped to his side and hugged his arm!
"Hey, hey~! Boy's like having this done to them, right~?"
The slime began pressing her cleavage up against him.
"W-W-Wait...! That's..."
...
And amidst his heavy blushing, he realized that his hand was, in fact, stuck inside the slime girl's body.
...
...not good.
"..."
Definitely not good... no, no, no, this isn't good at all...
The boy's face was blank. He was in quite the situation.
…
And in a sudden movement...!
"Errrgh! G-Get off...!"
The boy made a futile attempt at pulling his arm away from the girl. But like being glued to a giant boulder, all he managed to do was drag the slime further into the village.
"Hey~ If you do that, it'll make it harder for me to digest you~!"
"I don't want to be eaten...!"
He screamed.
"Eaten~? All I'm doing is breaking down you clothes~"
"E-Eh?"
He stopped for a moment.
"It's true..."
Looking at his sleeve he could see the fabric starting to dissolve.
But still...
Looking up at the slime girl, he saw her grabbing her face in ecstasy.
"Kyaa~! You're filling me up so much~! Kyaa~!"
I don't like this at all...!
"Hey, if you like clothes, I've got tons of hand-me-downs back at my house! I'll give you some if you let go!"
"..."
The girl stared with a blank expression.
"That's... impossible~"
"Huh?"
"Once I've started digesting, it'll take a good while for me to stop~ And at that point, you'll be stuck all the way inside me~"
She grabbed her face again.
"And then after that~ We can be together forever~!"
…
"Is... that so..."
The slime's fluids were slowly creeping up his arm.
He was quickly being taken to slime heaven...
"..."
The boy unsheathed his sword with one hand.
...
"This... might hurt a bit... but I really don't want to end up inside of you, so..."
Holding the blade high in the sky, he grimaced.
"I'm sorry!"
…!
Thud.
A dull sound.
"Sorry about what~?"
The blade slowly sunk into the slime's body with minimal effects. Upon pulling it, he realized that it too had become stuck.
"..."
"Damn it...!"
The boy raised his leg to kick her off, but his foot got stuck.
"Arrghhh...!"
"..."
My name is Luka...
A figure in the distance was struggling.
"BLOOOUGH-OOORGH-OOORGH!"
I was born and raised in Ilias village, and up until this day, I've trained to become a Hero.
"BLOOOUGH-OOORGH-OOORGH!"
Having three-fourths of his body already inside the slime girl's body, Luka only had one leg to maneuver himself with.
And once I receive Ilias's blessing today, I can finally start my journey to defeat the Monster Lord...
"BLOOOUGH-OOORGH-OOORGH!"
Of course, his head was inside the slime girl as well...
He really might die from this.
"Ararara~? Where are you taking me~?"
Though...
Unsteadily hopping on one leg while carrying the slime girl, he reached a well...
And threw himself inside of it.
…
"..."
...bubbles started to appear on the edge of the water.
As more bubbles started surfacing...
…!
"BWA-HAAAA-!"
Luka's head escaped to the surface. Finally free of the slime, he clung onto the side of the fountain, sucking in the open air heavily to catch his breath.
His clothes, though drenched, were only slightly disintegrated.
"I... I... I did it... Ha... ha ha..."
...
And so, in the battle between Luka and the slime, Luka had become victorious... !
Sort of...
"Uuuuu~!"
The boy looked beside himself to find the slime girl's face floating in the water. She seemed to be pouting.
"I can't take form anymore~! What's going to happen to me~?"
…
Still gasping for breath, Luka looked at the monster girl with a fatigued expression.
…
It's not like I hate monsters or anything...
Luka was walking towards the outskirts of the village with a bucket in his hands. Along the way, he met with and greeted a few soldiers, who all seemed to be looking for someone.
A long time ago, humans and monsters used to be able to live together in harmony...
While not a perfect relationship, it was a time where there were no open hostilities between the two groups. And in a way, there was a sense of coexistence that allowed both sides to accept one another without prejudice...
However...
30 years ago, an incident occurred...
The "Slaughter of Remina"...
Remina, a town near the Monster Lord's castle, was victim to a massive raid of monsters, turning it into a scene of hell...
There were no survivors, and only ruins proved that the event happened...
In an outcry, humans began to force monsters out of towns, and wild monsters in turn started attacking human settlements...
And then, the Monster Lord declared war on humanity...
…
Though I say "war", the degree of "conflict" usually varies by the area...
There are some places that are unchanged after the event, accepting of both man and monster...
Other places, however, aren't so kind...
That said...
I'm sure if I defeat the Monster Lord, who's forcing monsters to do evil, everything will go back to the way they once were...
My goal is coexistence. And for that, I must defeat the Monster Lord.
...
In the forest just outside of Ilias Village, Luka waved goodbye to the bucket shaped slime girl.
"It's dangerous around these parts, so don't come back."
"Oka~y!"
The slime slid off deeper into the forest.
The boy heaved a sigh.
"..."
Unconsciously, he rubbed the Keepsake Ring he was wearing.
Defeat the Monster Lord, huh...
"Damn!"
Luka was sprinting back to Ilias Village.
I took too much time...! If I run, maybe I'll be able to make it to the temple...!
That's right...! Today is the 'Day of Departure'...!
For every hero, they must receive Ilias's blessing on this day and this day only...!
And if I don't make to the temple by noon today, I won't ever be recognized as a hero...!
…!
Man...! I'm such an idiot...!
To think that I'd almost miss such an important day as today...!
I even spent all last night practicing being baptised...!
I was so excited about my baptism, I forgot to eat breakfast as well...
...
Slowly, a moronic grin appeared on the boy's face.
He chuckled at the cliched thought of running back home with a piece of toast in his mouth.
…
And then...
The skies darkened.
And a low rumbling sound vibrated throughout the area...
The clouds above spread apart abnormally, leaving a halo of empty black space in the stratosphere...
It was if the heavens were preparing to send something down at that very moment...
...
And of course, it was...
...
A girl fell from the sky...
…
Actually, rather than 'fell', it was more like 'crashed', as she impacted the earth like a bolt of lightning...
And with a terrifying sound, Luka was thrown up into the air from the force of reverberations alone. He didn't even have enough time to process what had happened.
...
"..."
Clouds dispersed.
Rays from the sun slowly started to bring back life to the area again.
And Luka was...
...
His arms shook as he attempted to lift himself from the ground.
"..."
Looking up, he noticed a crater filled with smoke.
This... This is...!
Struggling to his feet, he stepped in close enough to see through the dust. A lone figure was lying down in the rubble.
…?
A girl...? No...
A monster...?
Noticing that her lower half somewhat resembled a snake...
She's... a lamia...?
…!
But before he could delve himself any further into the situation, Luka glanced towards the village in the distance. The 'Day of Departure' was still racing in his mind, but...
Who was this that appeared before him...?
His mind wavered between the two as if he were balancing them on a scale...
...
He decidedly shook his head.
I... I can't just leave her alone...
...
Cautiously walking into the crater, he found himself almost tripping over broken bits of rock and dirt. He called out to her.
"H-Hey!"
He stepped closer to the creature.
"Are you..."
And stopped...
Seeing her up close, the boy was entranced. And seeing her lying unconscious added to the effect somewhat...
"..."
Her hair was silver, and her skin was discolored...
But her appearance could hardly be called ugly...
In fact, if she were a human, she had the type of looks that could easily be scouted to become an idol of some sort.
For Luka, to be in the presence of such a being for the first time, it was awe-inspiring...
…
"..."
And then her eyes slowly opened.
"...!"
The lamia used her tail to balance her upper body up-straight. She held on to the side of her head in pain.
"Ugh..."
In retrospect, it was quite amazing for a being to take a fall like that and complain like it was only a migraine...
But, she was a monster, so she was probably a bit more resilient than a human.
"Damn..."
She appeared to be muttering something, but Luka didn't catch wind of what exactly she said.
And it was a fact that Luka was still there, smiling like an idiot.
"..."
The monster girl noticed his presence.
"..."
"..."
It was if a staring contest had taken place...
But before it could get that interesting, she spoke to him in a cut-throat tone.
"You. Tell me where I am."
"...Eh?"
"I'm asking. Where am I?
"..."
"..."
Luka was still smiling like an idiot. It was probably because his mind was still trying to catch up to the situation at hand.
"..."
"Tch..."
Flash!
The lamia's eyes lit up with a strange light...
And in reaction, Luka jumped. Now standing up with his back straight, he somewhat resembled a toy soldier.
"You are currently close to Ilias Village, Miss Monster!"
The boy's words were stiff and automatic as they came from his mouth.
"Ilias Village...?"
"Correct, Miss Monster!"
Her eyes darkened at the information.
"..."
The lamia got lost in thought for a moment, but she broke the silence with another question.
"...and who exactly are you?"
"I'm just a lowly Hero apprentice from Ilias Village, Miss Monster!"
And then the boy broke free from his trance. He shook his head.
Wait, what the-?
The monster, taking no notice, continued with one-sided conversation.
"Apprentice...? That means you haven't been baptised yet, right...?"
She licked lips. And Luka instinctively stepped back.
"Come to think of it, you smell pretty nice..."
"...Urk!"
Taking this as his cue to leave, he promptly turned around.
"Well, uh, since you seem to be alright, I'll just be going then!"
"Hold on."
The monster stretched her tail to catch the boy's legs. And having not been fast enough to escape, Luka tripped over. He was dragged across the ground before being held upside down in front of the lamia.
"Why didn't you kill me while I was unconscious?"
"...Eh?"
"I was vulnerable at the time. It was a good opportunity."
"That's... I..."
...
Luka looked away from the lamia's eyes.
"I... I didn't have a reason to..."
"..."
For some reason, he was becoming increasingly nervous. It was probably embarrassing for him to explain his actions so suddenly. And having a monster in his face probably terrified him to some extent as well.
But, he didn't have a reason to lie...
"..."
"That's... an interesting answer..."
The lamia narrowed her eyes.
"But you're aiming to be a Hero, aren't you? In the end a Hero's goal is to kill the Monster Lord."
The boy was feeling the blood rush to his head.
"Well, that may be true, but it's not like I hate all monsters... that is, I don't necessarily want to kill the Monster Lord either..."
He was getting a little dizzy.
"I just want to stop her from doing evil things... so to say..."
"...?"
It didn't look like the lamia understood his words. Instead, there was a look of dismay on her face.
Luka tried to explain himself further...
"That is... my goal is to make a world where man and monster can... coexist peacefully... and currently... the Monster Lord seems to be in the way... so..."
…
"..."
"That's it."
"That's it?"
"Yes."
"..."
The boy brought his half-assed explanation to an end.
...
"...are you an idiot?"
And then... she totally rejected everything he's lived his life for with one short phrase.
"What kind of dream is that...?"
"...well, I wouldn't say it's a dream-"
"Hmm...? So you believe in that immature view of world peace, with everyone living in harmony without issues...?"
"...when you say it like that, it doesn't-"
"What an absurd joke..."
The lamia let out a breath and turned away from the boy. Without thinking much, she started rambling about the Luka's prospective goal as if wasn't even there.
"A completely childish way of thinking..."
"A child who doesn't understand the world he's living in..."
"As if monsters can live hand-in-hand with humans..."
Luka was getting really sick.
"Ha...ha ha! It's almost funny!"
The boy suddenly dropped to the floor as the lamia loosened her grip.
"...Guh!"
"I see. I understand now. You have a mind of a little child."
Luka struggled back to his feet as the lamia beckoned him to go away with her hand.
"You should go now... little boy."
…
Her hand continued to make its small movements, as if she were shooing away a fly.
...
He turned away silently and slowly started walking...
But...
Before that...
"W-What do you know! You idiot!"
The monster watched as the boy ran off with tears in his eyes.
"I'll show you! I'll... I'll definitely defeat the Monster Lord!"
...
...
In retrospect, that's probably the way a child would act.
It was noon.
Exhausted from running, Luka was gasping for air. He stood at the entrance to Ilias Temple, but...
"Illias isn't here. She won't celebrate your coming of age or baptise you. Go away."
The priest shut the door on Luka.
"A...uh...ah..."
…
"..."
"Are you poisoned! Quickly! Take this antidote grass!"
Luka received an antidote.
"..."
The boy began nibbling on the plant as he staggered his way home.
"..."
Closing the front door to his house, Luka aimlessly wandered to his bed, completely ignoring the lamia in the middle of the room.
"Took you long enough."
"..."
Luka sat in the corner and hugged his knees. He had the expression of a man that was drowning underwater and yet wasn't even trying to swim to the surface for air...
"..."
"Oi."
"..."
Breaking from his trance, Luka suddenly became aware.
"W-What...! You...!"
"Notice me sooner, idiot."
"Why are you here...!"
The monster crossed her arms.
"I just wanted to confirm something."
Luka jumped off his bed and started closing his curtains.
"Are you stupid...? This village hates monsters...! If anyone finds out you're here...!"
...
And then it occurred to him...
He stopped and turned around...
"How did you get here without anyone noticing...? A slime appeared outside the village awhile ago and everyone was in an uproar... "
"Tricking humans is nothing to me. Just who do you think I am...?"
I actually have no idea who you are.
The boy heaved a sigh.
He really didn't feel like knowing more about this monster. And plus, he was in the middle of sulking...
"In... any case, what kind of business do you have with me?"
...
A strange smile appeared on the monster's face.
"I heard Ilias didn't appear for your baptism..."
...
...Eh? Did she really just come here to make fun of me?
More like, where did she hear this from...?
"..."
Her expression changed.
"...I may have said too much earlier."
She slightly tilted her head and the pace in her voice changed as well.
"You just sounded so childish, I couldn't help myself. But..."
"I've traveled around the world and seen many things, and while your childishness is idiotic, it's a breath of fresh air."
"..."
Is it possible... that she's trying to comfort me...?
"Anyway, what do you plan to do now that you've failed to become a Hero?"
The boy reacted to her words as if they were stabbing him, however...
After staring at the monster, Luka heaved another sigh.
"Even if I'm not a Hero, I'll still go on ahead and try to defeat the Monster Lord. Not having Ilias's blessing worries me, but not going is out of the question..."
The monster girl put a hand to her mouth.
"Hahaha! You're interesting!"
The boy paled at her reaction.
"Being a person who can say something as ridiculous as 'I want man and monster to coexist', truly you are an interesting person!"
She's making fun of me... She's definitely making fun of me...
"Hahaha! I wonder how long this will last! I'll follow you to watch how this illusion of yours get broken!"
"Follow...?"
She can't possibly mean...
"If I'm going to travel around the world... I might as well travel around it with you."
…
And at that, Luka had received an ally.
To some extent...
"..."
"What's with that expression?"
"It's... nothing."
At my level, I probably wouldn't be able to ward her off anyway...
"That's right, it'd be pretty much impossible for the likes of you."
Did she read my thoughts...!
"As if I'd have such a convenient ability."
Ah, that's good.
But... now that I think about it, I guess it wouldn't be too bad to have a companion...
...
He surrendered to the thought and made a slight groan.
It beats traveling alone...
...
"Say, what's your name?"
"...?"
The monster girl paused for a moment, but in the end, she made a devilish smile.
"Arisufi-zu Fateburn."
"Fateburn...?"
Luka seemed to react at that.
"Can I call you 'Fate'? I always wanted to befriend someone named 'Fate'."
"Do you want me to strangle you?"
"I... I was kidding..."
It doesn't seem like she appreciates jokes. I should watch what I say when I'm around her...
"Though... I'll allow you to call me 'Alice'. Would that be alright?"
...
Alice, huh...
That name doesn't fit at all.
"Well then...
The lamia made a suggestion.
"Shall we head out?"
And so the two of us, Alice and me, began our journey, traveling across the world, and hopefully, eventually heading towards the Monster Lord's Castle. Even though I wasn't officially a Hero, I would go on without hesitation! While not baptised, I had a heart of hero! And that's what counts!
And this in only the beginning of our adventure!
The epilogue music plays.
Huh...? It's over already?
The scene starts to black out.
Seriously, it's ending?
And Luka's voice starts fading.
This can't be right...
END.
A/N: Before anyone asks, I suppose I should explain a few things.
This fic is a loose adaptation of a hentai VN, Monmusu Quest. Now why would someone make a fic about a hentai VN? The answer is not 'because I'm sick and twisted'. It's because I actually enjoyed the story. I found that if you completely ignore all the hentai scenes, it'd still end up being a pretty good VN. And so in here, I've made a loose adaptation of the story that doesn't include H-scenes. I also did other changes to the original story, but essentially, all the plot points should remain the same.
Next is categorization. There isn't a clear cut way to categarize a VN, since it's part game and part novel while retaining anime elements. That's three categories crammed into one. This may be cheating here... but I realized that this particular VN is arguably a parody of Dragon Quest, since it takes a lot of elements from that series. Even the names, Monmusu Quest and Dragon Quest, are similar. So I put it here. I suppose this is like making a fic for Red vs. Blue and putting it in the Halo section. While there technically isn't any canon, there's enough there to warrant its placement as it technically shares the same audience. At least that's what I hope.
For those of you who have played the VN, you may have noticed that the whole fight sequence with the slime was different from the original. You're right. It is. And all the other fights will probably be different too. The sequence of events also seem to be mish-mashed as well. Yeah, that's gonna happen.
For the majority of you who haven't played the VN, just don't worry about the source material. You shouldn't play it if you don't want to. And you definitely shouldn't play it if you're underage. Seriously.
Thanks for taking time out of your day to read this. And I'm out.