Hole: Thus Hero Gold-Hair Fought

House Ulgo was a family of demons—one of the four great houses who

served the Dark Army. During the time when Yuigarde had reigned as Dark

One, however, Bacchus, the head of the family, had made the decision to

join forces with Zanzibar's rebellion and had left the Dark Army. He had

hoped to make his own family the reigning power in the Dark Army, but

instead he found himself crushed by Dark One Yuigarde. As a result, most

of his family was arrested, and their fortunes fell to ruin.

◇Somewhere, in a Tavern◇

Demmie, the current head of the very same House Ulgo, eyed Hero

Gold-Hair dubiously from a table in the far corner of the inn as he and his

companions raised their typical raucousness, laughing and drinking with

wild abandon. "M'lady," said her companion, the iron-arm demon

Genbushein. "That man they call Hero Gold-Hair is completely off his

guard. Just say the word and I could take his head right now. If we defeated

the Hero, they'd have to restore House Ulgo's rights!" He seemed poised

even now to rise to his feet and do the deed.

Demmie, however, only seemed alarmed by the suggestion. "W-W-WW-Wait! Hold on!" she cried, waving her arms in a panic. "I want our rights

restored as much as you, but it's sure to go badly if we attack him with so

many people around! I would hate to involve someone I've never even

spoken to, even if it was for the family's sake. I-I would much rather try to

befriend him..."

"Hm," Genbushein grunted. "I suppose there is some merit to your

words as well..." He frowned, glancing between Hero Gold-Hair and

Demmie.

Just then, Valentine, who had noticed Genbushein looking over at their

table, came sauntering over his way. "Well, hello there, old man!" she said.

"You've got a rather nice-looking body, don't you? What do you say? Care

to have a drinking contest with little miss Valentine? Hero Gold-Hair made

a killing with that last magic beast he caught, and I'm in the mood to

party!" She grabbed a cask and began gulping down the liquid inside.

Valentine was just in a good mood and looking for someone to drink

with—it didn't matter who it might be. But Genbushein saw it differently.

"M'lady," he whispered. "This woman is clearly trying to start a fight with

House Ulgo, under the pretense of a drinking contest..." He rose from his

seat. "Fwah ha ha!" he laughed, stretching his shoulders as he stepped

forward to meet Valentine's challenge. "You'll rue the day you challenged

me! A little lady like you, outdrink me?! Absurd! You'll give me stitches!

Here, watch this!" He seized the cask from Valentine and drained it dry in a

single, heroic glug.

"Ohhh?" sang Valentine. "Not bad, not bad! All right, then, it's on! And

the loser pays for all the drinks!" She grabbed one of the largest barrels—so

large it typically took several workers to carry—and lifted it up with one

arm like it weighed nothing, drinking furiously.

Genbushein's eyes opened wide in awe at the sight. "Nh! So you're not

all talk after all, then... In that case, I'll show you what this old body can

do! Genbushein will never lose to a tiny girl like you!" He grabbed a fresh

cask and drained it as quickly as he had the first.

The tavern keeper gleefully watched the pair finish cask after cask. "Go!

Go!" she cheered. "Oh, excellent, excellent... This will be just great for my

business! You there! Keep bringing them casks!" Her staff followed her

instructions with equally excited grins, keeping the contest going as a gang

of onlookers started to form, taking bets on who was going to win. And, of

course, the onlookers needed drinks as well. The tavern was full of voices

cheering the pair on. It was shaping up to be a wild night.

◇Some Time Later◇

Genbushein clutched his cask tight as if for dear life, not moving an

inch. "Oh dear, reached your limit already?" mocked Valentine, draining yet

another fresh cask. "I suppose you were a lightweight after all." She had

already drunk a considerable quantity of alcohol before even starting the

contest, but her pace still showed no sign of flagging. She kept drinking on

and on with single-minded enthusiasm.

The rest of Hero Gold-Hair's party watched Valentine's exploits from

their table a short distance away. Currently the party members were Hero

Gold-Hair himself, Tsuya, who had been accompanying him since he was at

Klyrode Castle, Riliangiu, a former familiar for the Realm of Evil, Wuha

Gappoli, the mansion djinn, and Aryun Keats, the carriage djinn. Together

with Valentine, who was off drinking with Genbushein, they were a party of

six.

"That's what happens if you challenge Valentine expecting an ordinary

woman!" said Hero Gold-Hair, eyeing the motionless Genbushein as he

finished off his own glass.

Across from him, Aryun Keats lay unconscious in her seat, three

separate bottles still in her mouth. She had been drinking them three at a

time before she collapsed in a drunken stupor. "Meanwhile, Aryun always

starts strong and crashes fast!" laughed Wuha Gappoli, stealing bites of

Aryun Keats's leftover food between small sips of her own drink.

Riliangiu just stood silently, her arms folded. At a glance, it looked like

she was keeping watch. But the truth is, she too had already passed out

from the alcohol.

"Weeell..." said Tsuya, holding out her glass to Hero Gold-Hair for a

toast. "I guess thaaat guy's paying the taaab tonight, so we can drink all we

waaant!"

"Tsuya..." said Hero Gold-Hair, glancing her direction with a smirk as

he clinked his glass against hers. "You're quite savage when it comes to

someone else's dime, aren't you?"

"Of cooourse!" said Tsuya. "I'm in chaaarge of the party's fiiinances,

after all! I'll take aaany excuse!" She finished the rest of her glass in one

gulp and called over a waitress right away to order more. "Excuuuse me!

Get me the beeest drink you have!"

Meanwhile, at the table in the corner, things were as different as you

could imagine from the party-like atmosphere at Hero Gold-Hair's table.

"Wake up! Please, Genbushein, open your eyes!" Demmie pleaded, her

hands clasped together in desperate prayer. But her companion had gone

utterly still. He wasn't even twitching. "Please, you have to get up! You

can't lose! I can't afford to pay for all those drinks!"

Tears streamed down her eyes as she wished with all her heart, but in the

end her prayers were in vain. Genbushein had drunk far, far beyond his

limits. He wouldn't be getting up anytime soon.

◇Later...◇

Valentine stood before the tavern, the clear winner of the drinking

contest. "Well?" she said, still drinking from another full cask. "Anybody

else wish to challenge me? I'll take you on, wherever and whenever!"

"You're out of this world, miss!" cheered one of the onlookers.

"Where does she keep it all, with that slender body of hers...?"

wondered another.

"Who cares?" said another. "All hail the queen!"

Basking in the praise, Valentine finished off yet another drink as the rest

of Hero Gold-Hair's party prepared themselves for another round of

feasting.

And amidst the scene in the tavern, a certain waitress was making the

rounds. "W-Welcome..." she said, greeting a new arrival. This was none

other than Demmie, the current head of House Ulgo, wearing an apron like

the rest of the tavern staff. Unfortunately, since Genbushein had suffered a

decisive loss in the drinking contest, and since she wasn't carrying nearly

enough money to pay off the tab, she had no recourse but to agree to work

as a waitress until she could pay back the rest of the bill.

Nhhh... Demmie cried internally. How could things come to this? To

think that I, the head of House Ulgo, would have to work at a place where

they make the waitresses wear such short skirts? And why is there this big

opening in the outfit's chest?! She could feel herself blushing as she

worked, embarrassed to be walking around the room in such a scanty outfit.

Her eyes stayed fixed on the ground as she walked.

"Hey now!" said the tavern keeper, smacking Demmie's back with a

boisterous laugh. "A pretty girl like you oughta walk with her back straight

and head high!"

"Y-Y-Yes ma'am!" Demmie exclaimed, snapping to attention with a

start.

Two workers glanced over from the kitchen—the golem Rozen Laurel,

and the cottonflower demon fencer Rosalina. The two were some of the few

remaining vassals of House Ulgo.

"That fiend..." hissed Rozen Laurel. "How dare he treat our lady like

that! Hero Gold-Hair has made an enemy today."

"I quite agree," Rosalina whispered back as she continued to clean

plates. "What would I give to slice him to bits..."

◇ ◇ ◇

After closing, Demmie stayed in the tavern to clean while Rozen Laurel

and Rosalina kept on washing dishes in the kitchen. Genbushein lay on the

sofa with unfocused eyes, muttering "It's so stuffy in here... Wanna get

out..." before falling into incoherence.

"Ahh..." Demmie sighed. "What should I do? One night of work won't

be enough to cover it, huh?" Hero Gold-Hair's party had kept drinking and

eating straight up until it was time for the tavern to close, and Demmie was

being forced to foot the bill for all of it. It was enough to bring tears to her

eyes.

"How dare he make our lady cry..." Rozen Laurel muttered, glancing

over from the kitchen and crying bitter tears of her own.

"I may have to slice him to bits after all..." agreed Rosalina, crying

herself as well.

"You three can go home," said the tavern keeper, walking up to the

House Ulgo party. "Good job tonight."

"What?" Demmie, Rozen Laurel, and Rosalina all stared in disbelief.

"B-But we still haven't earned enough to pay back the rest of the tab..."

protested Demmie.

"Oh, don't worry about that," the tavern keeper said. "That goldenhaired man paid the full sum when he left." Then she set one of the tables

with four hot meals—one for each of them. "You worked hard today. Get

yourself some food." And with that, she went back to the tavern's

backroom.

Demmie looked over at the food the tavern keeper had set for them. "A

golden-haired man?" she repeated. "That has to be Hero Gold-Hair, right?"

◇ ◇ ◇

While the head of House Ulgo was settling down for a meal, Hero GoldHair's party was staying at a riverside inn some distance away from the

tavern.

"We used to have to camp at times like this," Hero Gold-Hair remarked.

"But thanks to Wuha Gappoli's ability to turn into buildings, now we can

live in luxury!"

"Ah ha ha," laughed a psychic voice coming from the building itself.

"Keep praising me, and maybe I won't digest you with my stomach acid!"

"Hey!" Hero Gold-Hair replied. "Don't even joke about that!" Despite

their words, Wuha and Gold-Hair were in good humor. They were both

pleasantly drunk and enjoying the banter.

"Hero Gooold-Hair!" Tsuya whined, sidling up beside him. "Whyyy did

you give our money to the girl who looost?" She looked absolutely

outraged as she checked on the state of their finances.

"Ha ha ha!" Hero Gold-Hair laughed, patting Tsuya on the shoulder. "I

just felt bad for them, getting wrapped up in a contest they had no way of

winning! They paid what money they had, so I see no reason to go hard on

them."

"I gueeess that's true..." Tsuya admitted, pouting sulkily. "But if I had

knooown you were gonna do that, I would've held baaack a little on the

food and driiink..."

"You really are savage on someone else's dime..." Hero Gold-Hair said,

smiling in amusement.

Around them, the rest of the party was sleeping peacefully in their beds.

◇The Next Morning◇

The four members of House Ulgo slept in an inn off of the back roads in

a run-down part of town, all four of them in one room.

"M'lady..." Genbushein hung his head before the head of the family as

she sat in bed. "I am truly ashamed of my conduct last night. Not only did I

lose to a member of Hero Gold-Hair's party, but we were forced to accept

charity from the likes of them..."

"We must not take this lying down!" declared Rosalina, raising her

sword. "I, the cottonflower demon swordfighter Rosalina, shall send them

to their doom with my flowering sword techniques!"

"And I, the golem Rozen Laurel, will use my sheer strength to pound

them into dust!" said Rozen Laurel, crossing her fists in front of her chest in

a dramatic pose.

"Well..." Demmie said, glancing over the room. "More to the point, let's

not bet any more of our money on contests like that. We don't have a lot left

as it is..." She squeezed the nearly empty coin purse tight in her hand.

"Don't worry about that, Lady Demmie!" Rozen Laurel said, pumping

her fists and posing like a bodybuilder. "Once we claim the bounty for

defeating Hero Gold-Hair, we'll restore our name and resolve our money

problems in one go!"

"On that note," said Demmie, looking Rozen Laurel's way, "I don't

suppose you know where Hero Gold-Hair and his party went?"

Rosalina and Rozen Laurel both began glancing awkwardly around the

room at that question. "Well..." started Rosalina. "About that..."

"None of the inns we went to said they had anyone like that staying

there."

Demmie sighed. "In that case, we should start by looking for Hero GoldHair. But first, let's take a rest. The two of you have been up all night

looking for him, after all."

"L-Lady Demmie..."

"You're so good to us..."

The pair couldn't help themselves from crying tears of passion at

Demmie's kindness.

◇Still Morning◇

Hero Gold-Hair and company made their way along the road in the

carriage-transformed Aryun Keats.

"Ahhh," Aryun sighed telepathically. "Liquor truly is the chief of all

medicine! After all the drinking I did last night, my transformative abilities

are in tip-top shape!" Indeed, her carriage form seemed to be a little more

lavish than usual. But everyone else seemed decidedly uncomfortable as

they rolled along.

"Keats..." said Hero Gold-Hair, holding his nose and furrowing his

brow. "I'm glad you're feeling well, but this whole carriage reeks of

booze..." The other members of the party were acting similarly, holding

their noses or covering their faces with their hands.

"What a horrible thing to say, Sir Hero Gold-Hair!" Aryun protested.

"You mustn't tell a girl such a thing! That's sexual harassment!"

"If you're gonna make a fuss about being a girl," Hero Gold-Hair said,

casting open the carriage window, "then stop drinking until you stink!"

The stench of alcohol wafting from inside the carriage filled the forest as

they traveled along, leaving the town behind them with Demmie and her

companions still fast asleep in the inn, unaware that they had let them slip

between their fingers.

◇Some Days Later◇

The party arrived in another town in due time and set out at once to relax

in the local tavern, when a human woman appeared before them. "Excuse

me," she said, pressing her glasses up the ridge of her nose with her index

finger. "Might I have a word with Hero Gold-Hair?"

Hero Gold-Hair recognized the woman despite the human form she'd

assumed. "You..." he began. "You're Phufun, right? Dark One Dawkson's

minion?"

"I am," she said. "I come to you today to request your assistance with a

certain matter..."

"Hmm..." Hero Gold-Hair grunted. "Well, at the very least I'll hear you

out."

Phufun nodded her head, adjusted her glasses once again, and began...

◇ ◇ ◇

Hero Gold-Hair furrowed his brow in consternation as Phufun finished

her story. "Is that all true?"

"Yes," Phufun answered. "There is no doubt about it. My master, the

Dark One Lord Dawkson, ordered myself and the Infernals Lord Zanzibar

and Lady Belianna to investigate the sudden increase in missing person

cases, and we've discovered that a certain organization has been abducting

demons to use as test subjects for their experiments. Yes, I am quite

certain..."

Tsuya, who was standing next to Hero Gold-Hair, scowled at the news.

"You knooow..." she said. "I heard there used to be a kiiingdom that used

huuumans as test subjects like that. But it turned out to be suuuper

dangerous, so they banned it a looong time ago..."

"I've heard as much myself," said Phufun. "It seems that a group of

researchers from that kingdom have joined forces with several demons to

restart their experiments in secret." She placed a crystal on the table in front

of them and held out her hand. The crystal responded to her gesture,

displaying images of three kidnapping victims. "The most recent case

involved these three. One boy and two girls. They are all scions of one of

the great houses among demonkind, and possess uncommon magical

power."

Hero Gold-Hair peered into the crystal as Tsuya and the rest tried to get

as good a look as they could from behind. "I see... But can't the Dark Army

rescue these people? Why are you asking us?"

"Well..." said Phufun. "As it happens, their laboratory is within the

borders of the Magical Kingdom of Klyrode. We can't dispatch the Dark

Army."

"Makes sense," Hero Gold-Hair replied. "The humans and demons

signed a peace treaty only a little while ago. I can imagine it would cause

all sorts of problems to send an army into human territory now of all times."

Phufun nodded and opened her mouth to continue, but suddenly, the

tavern began to shake violently.

"Wh-What's going on?!" demanded Hero Gold-Hair.

"I don't know!" said Wuha, looking out the window. "It looks like some

weird purplish thing is attacking the tavern!"

Hero Gold-Hair rushed to the window to get a look himself. "Wh-What

is that?!" Before his eyes stood what could only be a bizarre magic beast. It

had a long, slender purple body, and a score of long tubes protruded from

its back.

"Grooaaaaaaaaar!" the thing wailed, smashing at the surrounding

buildings with its sharp appendages. It wasn't just attacking the inn, but

everything nearby.

"That magic beast..." Phufun muttered, adjusting her glasses as she

looked out the window herself. "Could the organization have sent it after

me for looking into the kidnappings?!"

The purple thing flailed its arms wildly, ferociously attacking everything

nearby, when suddenly, with a khrck sound, a large hole appeared in the

ground beneath the monster's feet. It fell, its right leg caught in the hole,

until it was stuck in the ground and could no longer move.

"Phew!" said Hero Gold-Hair, sighing with relief. "I made it just in

time!" He had emerged from the floor of the tavern through a giant hole, his

face and clothing covered in dirt, holding the legendary item: the Drilldozer

Shovel.

While the monster had been rampaging with its deadly arms, Hero GoldHair had been digging underground, all the way to under its feet. He felled

the beast with a well-placed pitfall trap and appeared back inside instantly.

This super high-speed underground movement was an ability granted to him

by his legendary item.

"You did it, Hero Gold-Hair!" Tsuya clapped her hands, jumping for joy.

"No time for that!" Hero Gold-Hair barked. "Valentine!"

"Just leave it to me, Hero Gold-Hair!" Valentine replied, weaving

threads of darkness with her left and right hands. "Now, settle down!" she

shouted, swinging both hands in front of her together, causing the threads to

wrap tight around the immobilized magic beast. "Wah ha ha ha ha!" she

cackled at a high pitch. "After that feast the other night, my threads are

stronger than ever!"

Wrapped in thread, the magic beast looked like an enormous cocoon as

it writhed in pain. "It wouldn't do to leave it here," said Valentine. "Shall I

finish it off?" She crossed her arms, causing the dark threads to tighten,

when a great magic circle appeared on the ground next to the magic beast,

and another magic beast appeared—this one blue. "A-Another one?!"

Valentine exclaimed, quickly readying a fresh batch of threads. But before

she could act, the blue magic beast's right arm transformed, sharpening like

a knife. It cut through the threads trapping the purple one.

"Gh!" exclaimed Hero Gold-Hair, readying the Drilldozer Shovel once

more. But as they watched, the blue magic beast took the purple one in its

arms, still wrapped in Valentine's cocoon, and vanished back through the

magic circle.

Hero Gold-Hair's party stared out the window in disbelief. "What in the

world was that?"

Phufun pressed her glasses back up the ridge of her nose. "This is only a

guess..." she said. "But perhaps that is the fruit of that laboratory's research.

Turning demons into magic beasts..."

◇ ◇ ◇

"Ow ow ow ow ow..." Wuha Gappoli protested as Tsuya tended to her

injuries. She had been hurt by some of the falling rubble. "Be a little

gentler, jeez!"

"Oooh!" said Tsuya. "I'm sooorry!"

Around them, Aryun Keats and Riliangiu were doing what they could to

treat the people who had been injured. And nearby, Hero Gold-Hair and

Phufun were having a conversation.

"So you know something about those magic beasts?" Hero Gold-Hair

asked. "From your investigations?"

"I do." Phufun held out her crystal, showing Hero Gold-Hair images of

the selfsame blue monster they had seen earlier. "It seems they had been

researching ways to turn humans into giant magic beasts, until they decided

that demons were more suitable to the process and switched test subjects.

This image is a picture of a beast they produced as a result."

"So then, what are they going to do with all these magic beasts they're

producing?" asked Hero Gold-Hair.

"Most likely," said Phufun, "they intend to sell them as weapons of

war..."

At this point, Aryun Keats walked up to them, interrupting their

conversation. She gave a smart bow with her usual rigid poise. "Forgive me

if I am speaking out of turn," she said, "but perhaps we should not waste

more time on idle conversation. I, the carriage djinn Aryun Keats, am ready

to depart for this laboratory at once!"

"Yes, I agree..." said Hero Gold-Hair. "But, Phufun, do you know where

this laboratory is, exactly?"

Phufun shook her head, holding her glasses in place with her index

finger. "We identified several likely locations, but they all turned out to be

nothing more than laboratory outposts. Their main base still eludes us..."

"Mrh!" Aryun Keats stomped her foot. "How vexing!"

Hero Gold-Hair folded his arms in thought.

"Sir," said Riliangiu, approaching the three of them. "I believe I can use

my Search ability to locate the presence of the magic beast from earlier."

"I see!" said Hero Gold-Hair. "Then let's get moving at once!"

"Yes, sir!" Aryun Keats bowed again before transforming into a

carriage. The rest of the party, along with Phufun, did a quick check to

make sure there were no more injured people in need of help, and got on

board.

◇Some Time Later—In a Forest◇

The remnants of House Ulgo, who had been busy looking for leads on

Hero Gold-Hair's location, found themselves fleeing through the trees for

dear life.

"Wh-What in the world is that red magic beast?!" Demmie cried, tears

in her eyes as she ran for dear life. "Why is it attacking us all of a sudden?!"

Behind her were the iron-arm demon Genbushein, the golem Rozen

Laurel, and the cottonflower demon fencer Rosalina. And farther behind

them was a strangely elongated red magic beast, long tubes protruding from

its back, using its four limbs to chase after them at breakneck speeds.

"A-As long as I've lived, I've never seen anything like it..." muttered

Genbushein. The old iron-arm demon stopped and turned around to face it.

"Rosalina! Rozen Laurel! I leave m'lady to you! I'll stop this thing!" He

focused power into his arms, which grew and grew until they were truly

massive hunks of metal. "Take this, you beast!" he shouted, swinging his

arms all around, but the red beast leapt deftly out of his reach. Scores of

tiny white magic beasts with wings emerged from its back, flying at

Genbushein from all directions.

"Ngh!" Genbushein exclaimed. "Afraid to face me yourself?! Coward!"

Gritting himself, he swung his arms and knocked the white beasts out of the

air. The red magic beast lowered itself for an attack. "N-No!" Genbushein

had been too focused on the white flying magic beasts to react in time.

"Gwaaah!" he cried as the beast struck him head-on, sending him flying

back and toppling a row of trees with the force.

The white ones swarmed Genbushein as he fell, pummeling him

furiously as he lay on the ground. He did his best to guard, but there were

too many to stop, mercilessly targeting the gaps in his defense. "They're

weaker than the red one, but damned if they don't have numbers! Gah!

Ouch!"

"That's enough!" Demmie turned around and leapt at the white magic

beasts, wielding her scythe—the traditional weapon of a devil like herself—

and carving a wide arc through the air. There was a sound like ice cracking,

and a moment later, the white magic beasts were sent flying like they had

been blasted away. "Genbushein! Are you all right?"

Genbushein pulled himself to his feet as Demmie ran up with her scythe.

"Nothing to worry about, m'lady!" He laughed. "I'm just glad for the

opportunity to see one of your splendid counterattacks!"

Demmie sighed with relief to see Genbushein in such high spirits. But in

that moment, she let down her guard. Suddenly, she felt something blunt

strike her on the back of the head. "Ah..." was all she could say before she

fell unconscious.

"M-M'lady!" Back on his feet, Genbushein chased after the red magic

beast as it screeched with triumph, carrying Demmie's unconscious body

under its arm as it vanished into the trees. "You scoundrel! Give m'lady

back!"

Rosalina and Rozen Laurel followed shortly behind.

"Stop!" cried Rosalina.

"I'll beat you to a pulp!" shouted Rozen Laurel.

The rest of the white flying magic beasts that Demmie hadn't taken out

with her attack darted in to block their path. "Out of our way!" exclaimed

Rosalina, cutting her way through the swarm. The cottonflower demon

looked fluffy and harmless from the outside, but her sword skills were the

real deal. Genbushein and Rozen Laurel helped too, clobbering as many of

the white beasts as they could.

As hard as the three fought, however, there were simply too many of the

white things for them to handle. They had started out strong, but they soon

found themselves driven back.

"I knew it..." Rozen Laurel lamented. "There's no way..."

"What are you saying?!" Genbushein huffed, full of bravado even as

sweat ran down his brow. "We'll turn the tide any second!" But things were

looking bad. The magic beasts descended from the sky, landing all around

them, when suddenly...

Khrck!

Hole after hole began appearing beneath the white beasts' feet, sending

them plummeting into the earth. A number of them flapped their wings as

hard as they could to avoid falling, but all they received for their trouble

was a shovel strike on the head. "And stay down!" bellowed Hero GoldHair. They fell, impaling themselves on the spikes lining the bottom of the

pit.

House Ulgo stared in disbelief at the man smacking magic beasts back

into the hole with his shovel as they did their best to escape. "You're...Hero

Gold-Hair..." muttered Genbushein. Indeed, the man wielding the

Drilldozer Shovel could be no one else. "Wh-What are you doing here?

No... First, I should thank you for coming to our rescue." He bowed his

head, teeth gritted tight. Rozen Laurel and Rosalina followed suit, bowing

as well.

"Never mind that. We have bigger fish to fry..." Hero Gold-Hair stepped

up to the edge of the pit and looked down. "Following that monster's

presence led us here," he observed, cocking his head as he peered into the

pit. "But what in the world are those things?"

Phufun leaned down to touch one of the white magic beasts. A magic

circle appeared around her hand, enabling her to analyze its structure.

"From a preliminary examination, their rudimentary structure bears a

resemblance to the purple and blue magic beasts we encountered earlier..."

she said, pressing her glasses back up the ridge of her nose. "If I had to

guess, I would say these are inferior, or else mass-produced models. See,

their fists and jaws have been abnormally hardened, leaving their core body

fragile. Perhaps they are designed for pure attacking power, with no thought

whatsoever for defense..." She adjusted her glasses once again as she

concluded her analysis.

"So that's the sort of thing they're making..." Hero Gold-Hair muttered

darkly, folding his arms. "We'd better hurry before something worse

happens!"

"Then what's your plan, my dear Hero Gold-Hair?" asked Valentine.

"The scumbags who made these things have their headquarters in the

Magical Kingdom of Klyrode, no? Aren't you worried about getting more

items added to your criminal record?" Hero Gold-Hair was a wanted

criminal throughout the human world for stealing treasure from Klyrode

Castle, as well as releasing a dangerous djinn and the Grand Magus of

Midnight from their seals.

Hero Gold-Hair turned to face Valentine. "Who cares about that?" he

scoffed. "This whole affair is causing all sorts of problems for Dawkson! I

can't just leave it be!"

"Hee hee!" Valentine laughed happily. "I had a feeling that would be

your answer, my Hero Gold-Hair!"

"Hero Gold-Hair..." said Genbushein, who had been listening in on the

conversation. "Forgive me for eavesdropping, but are you heading for this

group's headquarters? That red magic beast abducted m'lady!"

"We need to save her at once!" agreed Rosalina, worry in her voice.

"Next time I see them, I'll snap their spines in half!" said Rozen Laurel,

pressing her fists together in front of her chest.

Hero Gold-Hair looked over the remnants of House Ulgo. "Hmm... Well,

I understand how you feel. But I'm afraid we don't have any idea where

their headquarters actually is."

The three House Ulgo members slumped their shoulders in

disappointment.

"Hee hee hee..." Valentine chuckled, a mysterious grin on her face. "I

wouldn't be so sure of that!"

"Y-You found something?" Hero Gold-Hair, as well as the members of

House Ulgo, turned to face Valentine as she held up her finger. Attached

was a single thin dark thread, leading somewhere far off into the distance.

"I simply attached this to that red magic beast earlier!" she said. "Not

bad, hm?"

"Then..." said Gold-Hair. "That thread should lead us to their home

base?"

Valentine nodded decisively.

◇Later◇

A woman wearing a black mage's robe turned in her seat to face the old

man in a white mage's robe standing behind her. "Tell me, Vintermann,"

she said. "How fare our demon magic beasts?"

The man called Vintermann stood up straight as he replied, his arms

folded neatly behind his back. "The experiment is proceeding on schedule,

Creatrix Auncor, and we have succeeded in achieving mass production as

well. However..."

"You're concerned about the test subject who went on that rampage?"

the creatrix guessed. Vintermann nodded.

"They are meant to treat their operator's commands with absolute

obedience," he said. "We can't sell them if they're going to lose control like

that..."

"Have you identified the cause?"

"Most likely, the original demon was lacking in affinity. I hypothesize

that utilizing demons with greater magical power will resolve the issue."

As Auncor and Vintermann discussed the matter, two women stepped up

from behind them to join the conversation, both dressed in matching black

gothic lolita-style outfits. "What are you two whispering about over here?"

the shorter one asked. "You'll have the demon magic beasts ready by the

deadline, won't you? We already have a buyer, you know? Both the white

beasts and the demon beasts must be ready to ship by the agreed date." As

she spoke, she began doing calculations on her oversized abacus, clacking

the beads back and forth.

The other woman opened her eyes to reveal two pitch-black orbs. "And

until then it's work, work, work!" she sang, twirling her body in a strange

dance.

Vintermann clicked his tongue in irritation, too quietly for the two

women to hear. "We are very grateful for the Shadow Conglomerate's

assistance. We will deliver the demon magic beasts as promised."

"All is well," said Auncor in a quiet voice. "There is no problem. After

all..." She glanced at the crystal in front of her, displaying an image of the

red magic beast on standby in a large laboratory, grasping an unconscious

Demmie in one of its arms. "We've just captured a demon with a

tremendous amount of magic power. She will be the perfect material."

◇ ◇ ◇

"Where...am I?" Demmie, the young girl serving as the current head of

House Ulgo, opened her eyes in utter darkness. She was bound to a crossshaped platform, her arms held out at her sides and a magic collar around

her neck. With her limbs and neck restrained, she found herself totally

unable to move her body.

A devil like Demmie could have easily broken free from the likes of

rope bindings or steel shackles, but the magic collar around her neck was a

first-class restraint. It sealed her power, leaving her unable to bring her

strength to bear. Nonetheless, Demmie struggled to escape for all she was

worth.

"Ah, the demon girl. I see you've awoken." A woman stepped out from

the darkness in front of Demmie. She had a very peculiar appearance—it

was impossible to say whether she was as young as twenty or as old as fifty

—and was wearing a black suit.

Demmie glared daggers as the woman slowly stepped towards her.

"Who are you?" she demanded. "Release me at once!"

The woman did no such thing. Instead, she grabbed the sleeve of

Demmie's outfit and ripped it violently.

"Eeek!" Demmie cried, blushing with embarrassment at having her

clothing torn even as she continued to protest. "What do you think you're

doing?!"

The woman, however, did not give Demmie a response. Instead she

spoke to someone in the darkness behind her. "Vintermann," she said as she

unceremoniously ripped Demmie's clothing right off her body. "Didn't I tell

you to remove the test subject's clothing before we begin the demon beast

fusion procedure?"

Vintermann, an old man who was now donning a white suit, stepped up

beside the woman. "But Creatrix Auncor," he said, cocking his head in

confusion, "the clothing will dissolve during the course of the procedure

regardless."

Auncor shot Vintermann a glare. "Even so, we must remove all

unidentified materials from the experiment site, no matter how small. I

expect all of our preparations to be at one hundred percent efficiency at all

times. Don't tell me you simply ran out of time?"

"My apologies..." Vintermann said, bowing his head low.

Demmie, who was now completely naked, lowered her head, blushing

furiously. Auncor inspected her body from head to toe, causing Demmie to

squirm with humiliation at her gaze. "Fascinating..." Auncor muttered

quietly to herself. "So demons experience shame as well, do they...?"

"O-Of course we do!" Demmie shot back, tears in her eyes and anger in

her voice. "Now let me go! And give me something to cover myself with!"

Creatrix Auncor raised her arm. "There's nothing to worry about. That

shame of yours will be gone in only a moment." At her signal, three demon

children stepped forward, one boy dressed in purple and two girls, one

dressed in blue and the other in red, leading a magic beast. The magic beast

wore the same collar as Demmie, its mouth was covered, and its limbs were

bound together to restrict its movements. The three children were utterly

expressionless as they led it along.

Auncor removed the bonds on the beast's mouth. It let out a low

rumbling roar and turned its attention to the immobilized Demmie.

"Grrrrrrrr..."

"A-Ah!" Demmie cried, frightened by the look the beast was giving her.

A long, hollow tongue protruded from its mouth, attaching itself to

Demmie's head and spreading out to envelop her entire body. "S-S-Stop!

Wait! Gaaah!" Demmie shouted, but soon her mouth was covered by the

beast's tongue, leaving her unable to speak.

Auncor watched dispassionately as the tongue enveloped Demmie's

body all the way down to the waist. "What is the fusion rate?"

Vintermann opened a magic window to check. "Incredible..." he said,

his eyes opening wide. "The fusion rate is over two hundred percent. These

are higher numbers than we've seen in any human or demon test subject to

date."

The corners of Auncor's mouth twitched upwards in a slight smile as she

nodded triumphantly at the news. "Then we'll be able to make our delivery

to the Shadow Conglomerate on time after all. We'll use the money to

increase our production of demon beasts, and soon the very world will...

Hm?" Suddenly, she interrupted her train of thought and glanced over at the

three expressionless demon children. Something was stuck to the girl in

red's clothing around the hip. Auncor reached out to touch it and found a

thin thread leading away out of the door the children had come in from.

"This thread could be a bad sign. Vintermann, investigate—"

She cut herself off. It was quiet, but she thought she heard a voice from

somewhere. Creatrix Auncor looked up and down and all around, trying to

pinpoint where it had come from. A second later, she heard the voice again,

this time clear as day.

"Now!" a man bellowed, and the laboratory wall immediately blasted

apart with a terrible clamor.

"Wh-What is this?!" Auncor exclaimed. Before her eyes was a veritable

tank, its magic cannon at the ready. "A Magitank..." she muttered, backing

away. "The ancient magitech weapon from another world... I had heard

rumors that Germaniana was secretly working on its reconstruction, but to

think it would already be complete!"

The carriage djinn Aryun Keats had the ability to transform into any

vehicle she had ever laid hands on. The Magitank was just one of the many

forms in her repertoire.

"Ha ha ha!" Aryun laughed telepathically. "Walls are no obstacle to the

carriage djinn Aryun Keats! My Magitank form blasts them all away!"

"M'lady! Are you hurt?!" Genbushein the iron-arm demon ran into the

room with the rest of the House Ulgo retainers, followed by Hero GoldHair's party.

The boy in purple began to tremble at the sight of Hero Gold-Hair and

Valentine. "A-A-Ah..." he stuttered. "Falling...hole... Threads...hurt... No...

No!"

"Not again! It's out of control!" Creatrix Auncor ran towards the boy,

but before she could reach him, he let out a loud wail, growing in size and

turning back into the purple magic beast Hero Gold-Hair's party had

encountered earlier. The girls in blue and red reverted to their magic beast

forms as well in some kind of chain reaction. The laboratory room,

however, was too small to hold the demon beasts' massive bodies—they

began to break through the ceiling as they grew.

"Hero Gold-Hair! Watch out!" The mansion djinn Wuha Gappoli

quickly transformed her body into a small hut, protecting Hero Gold-Hair's

party and the House Ulgo retainers from falling rubble.

The room now in ruins, the three magic beasts turned to face Wuha,

leaping to tear her down.

"This won't do!" cried Hero Gold-Hair. "Wuha! Turn back!"

"Yessir!" said Wuha, quickly turning back to her humanoid form.

"All right, you beasts!" shouted Hero Gold-Hair, brandishing the

Drilldozer Shovel. "The lot of you can sleep at the bottom of a hole!" He

struck the shovel on the laboratory floor.

The demon magic beasts stopped their attack and leapt back at the sight,

apparently afraid of the shovel in Hero Gold-Hair's hands. They kept their

distance, wailing with their horrible voices.

"That shovel you're holding..." Auncor narrowed her eyes as she looked

in Hero Gold-Hair's direction. "Is that the legendary item, the Drilldozer

Shovel?"

"And what if it is?" Hero Gold-Hair replied.

"We have the lady!" said Rosalina, interrupting. Next to her, Rozen

Laurel was holding Demmie in her arms, wrapped in her own cape. The

head of House Ulgo's body was limp, seemingly unconscious.

"Great!" Hero Gold-Hair called out. "Now, let's get out of here! Hurry,

Keats! And Valentine! You keep them where they are!"

"Yes, sir!" Aryun Keats nodded.

"Just leave it to me!" replied Valentine.

Aryun transformed into a carriage as Valentine released an array of dark

threads from her fingertips, wrapping them around nearly everything in the

ruined laboratory.

"Wh-What is this?!" Auncor demanded. Unable to move her body, she

simply glared at Valentine. The magic beasts were bound as well, unable to

move or do much of anything but continue their horrible wailing.

"Au revoir, everyone!" chirped Valentine, stepping towards the carriage,

only to find her way blocked. A girl had stepped in front of her path,

smoothing back her silver hair and regarding Valentine with a piercing,

expressionless gaze. "And you are?" Valentine asked, furrowing her brow.

"What trouble..." the girl muttered. "My only role is to cast the spell that

fuses the demon with the magic beast. Why must I bother myself with

nonsense like dealing with intruders?" Sighing, she took a step towards

Valentine. "Well, no matter. I don't mind performing a song of battle from

time to time. Perhaps I'll show you what I can do." Her right arm elongated

as she spoke, lashing out like a whip.

"Oh? Is that all?" Valentine taunted, severing the arm. "Wait...what?!"

The girl's detached arm simply continued past Valentine's guard, wrapping

around her and immobilizing her body.

"Hee hee!" the girl laughed, dancing around and waving her

reconstructed arm like a conductor's baton. "My melody is sublime, you

know! But I suppose you can't hear it yet, can you?" Her fingernails

elongated to claws, and she moved to stab Valentine.

"Good job Dablys," said Auncor, still unable to move thanks to

Valentine's dark threads. "Don't harm that woman further. We're taking her

with us."

"Such a busybody..." Dablys sighed, glancing over Auncor. "Well, all

right." She turned her nails back to normal and went to retrieve Valentine,

unwrapping her. "Wh-What?" A worried expression crossed her face. Inside

the arm was not Valentine at all, but one of the hefty logs they kept in the

corner of the room.

Suddenly, she heard Hero Gold-Hair's voice, coming from the main pile

of logs. Looking again, there was a hole underneath. "Valentine! Riliangiu!

Now!"

"You caught me off guard last time," said Valentine, leaping out from

underground. "But it won't happen again!"

"Lady Valentine!" said Riliangiu, emerging next. "I'll provide support!"

The moment before Dablys's arm wrapped around Valentine, Hero

Gold-Hair had used the Drilldozer Shovel to swap her out with a nearby

log. He jumped out after Valentine and Riliangiu, brandishing the shovel in

a high guard as the three advanced on Dablys.

"Th-The Drilldozer Shovel?!" Dablys recoiled in shock at the sight of

the weapon in Hero Gold-Hair's hands. "How?! Why?!" Up until that point,

Dablys had been expressionless, seemingly without emotion, but now she

was in a panic.

"I knew it," said Hero Gold-Hair, nodding to himself. "I had a sense

those magic beasts were afraid of the Drilldozer Shovel! And it seems

you're the same! Well, what's the matter? Can't handle my trusty shovel?"

Dablys's face twisted in rage. "Unforgivable!" she howled, her body

shaking violently. "I won't allow such dissonant notes in my presence!"

Valentine and Riliangiu stood facing off against her, when suddenly

Hero Gold-Hair grabbed Valentine by the arm. "That's enough! Let's retreat

for now!"

"But Hero Gold-Hair!" Valentine protested. "I wanted to show you what

I can do!"

"Don't push yourself! You're nearly out of magic!"

"Huh?" Valentine's eyes shot open with the realization. She was so short

on magic, in fact, that her body had shrunk from her usual voluptuous adult

self to a flat-chested young girl.

Valentine was a djinn hailing from the Realm of Evil. In order to sustain

a physical body in the world of Klyrode, she needed to absorb vast amounts

of magical energy every day. Her threads of darkness in particular depleted

her magic in the blink of an eye. Hero Gold-Hair had sensed that Valentine

was about to push herself past her limits in her determination to defeat her

opponent, and gave the order to retreat at once.

"All right, Keats!" Hero Gold-Hair barked. "Let's go!"

"Yes, sir!" The carriage accelerated at once to top speed, zooming away

through the wrecked laboratory wall.

"Perhaps we should use that Magitank cannon of Aryun's to blast this

dreadful place to smithereens?" Valentine suggested.

"I would rather not," said Aryun. "I use my own magic to fire that

cannon, you know. If I use it too much, I'll run out of magic as well! I've

already used quite a bit breaking through that wall..."

"So it only looks like an impressive weapon..." Wuha muttered, pursing

her lips with disappointment.

And so, Hero Gold-Hair's party escaped, riding in Aryun Keats.

Dablys heaved a heavy sigh. "And things were going so well...but never

mind. They won't evade me." She took off after them, only for Auncor to

stop her before she took more than a step.

"Wait," Auncor said. "There's no reason to overexert ourselves." She

held up her hand, revealing a magic item—a small bundle of thread. "How

does the saying go? An eye for an eye...and a thread for a thread."

◇ ◇ ◇

Aryun Keats sped away from Creatrix Auncor's laboratory, escaping

into the forest. Inside, Valentine was devouring an entire feast by herself

with extraordinary fervor. The party kept Tsuya's Bottomless Bag well

stocked with food in case Valentine needed emergency rations.

"Ahh..." Valentine sighed. "It looks like we made it just in time..." Her

body was growing steadily bigger as she ate, but at a very slow pace. Eating

food, unfortunately, was a very inefficient way for Valentine to absorb the

magic energy she needed.

"Good," said Hero Gold-Hair, sitting across from her in the carriage.

"So, how much more do you have to eat before you go back to normal?"

"Hmm... Munch munch..." Valentine said, speaking between mouthfuls

of food. "If all I have to recover with is food...gobble snarf... Around

twenty times this much, I suppose..."

"T-Twenty tiiimes?!" Tsuya reeled, her eyes going wide. "I-I brought

pleeenty of food, but not thaaat much!"

"I see...crunch gulp... Well, if we had some magic gems, I could get it

done with a lot less...chew chew chew..." Valentine didn't stop eating for a

second the entire time she spoke.

"Magic gems? I have one right here," Phufun offered, taking out a

particularly large specimen. "My master, Lord Dawkson, told me you might

need this, Lady Valentine. He personally charged it with his own magic."

"Oh, that Dawkson! He's so thoughtful!" Valentine gushed, snatching

the magic gem out of Phufun's hand and swallowing it in a single gulp. For

a second, nothing happened. Then, with an audible poof, her body suddenly

returned to its usual size. "Dawkson's magic really is the best," she

remarked, grinning as she looked over her body to make sure everything

was still there. "This should tide me over for some time."

Thank goooodness... Tsuya thought, sighing with relief. It didn't even

cost us any moooney...

"Well then," said Phufun, pressing her false glasses up the bridge of her

nose. "Now that Lady Valentine has recovered, what is our next move?

We've found the enemy's headquarters, but now that they know we're

aware of them, they will likely move their operation to a different location."

"First, let me ask you something..." Hero Gold-Hair began, folding his

arms as he glanced over at Phufun. "The demon magic beasts and that

silver-haired girl all seemed like they couldn't stand my Drilldozer Shovel.

You have any idea why that is?" He took the Drilldozer Shovel out of the

Bottomless Bag he wore on his belt and gave the item a searching look. "If

we understood that, maybe we could use it to fight those magic beasts."

"You make a good point," said Phufun, adjusting her glasses again.

"Very well. I will return to the Dark Citadel for the time being and see if I

can learn anything from the others involved in the investigation." Without

missing a beat, she spread her succubus wings wide and leapt from the

quickly moving carriage, taking to the sky.

Hero Gold-Hair watched her fly away, and then turned his attention back

to the others in the carriage. "Valentine still needs time to recover on our

end. So until we hear back from Phufun, let's just keep an eye on them from

a safe distance."

"Whatever do you mean?" Valentine asked with a smile, holding out her

hands. "I'm fully recovered, I assure you!"

"You said it yourself, didn't you?" said Hero Gold-Hair. "You need lots

of rest to recover that magic of yours! You're part of the team, you know, so

don't push yourself past your limits!" He grabbed Valentine and forced her

to lie down, resting her head on his lap in the carriage seat.

"H-Hero Gold-Hair...?" Valentine said, her cheeks blushing red. "ThThis is a little...embarrassing..."

Hero Gold-Hair patted the djinn on her head. "Look," he said, looking

intently into her eyes. "We're all going to die someday. But you aren't

allowed to go off and push up daisies before I do! Got it?!" He flicked her

once on the forehead before giving her a few more comforting pats.

At first, Valentine didn't seem to know what to make of Hero GoldHair's behavior. But after a moment, her expression resolved into a happy

smile. "Yes, sir..." she said, closing her eyes and allowing herself to drift off

in Hero Gold-Hair's lap.

Tsuya, Riliangiu, and Wuha Gappoli gazed enviously at the scene

playing out in front of them.

"Hero Gooold-Hair is sooo considerate towards aaall of us..." Tsuya

gushed.

"My loyalty towards him grows ever deeper," agreed Riliangiu.

"Still... I wish I could trade places with Lady Valentine right about

now..." griped Wuha Gappoli.

Suddenly, Aryun Keats's telepathic voice rang out through the carriage.

"I apologize profusely for the interruption, but it seems the enemy is in

pursuit."

"So they've shown up after all, have they?" Hero Gold-Hair stuck his

head out the window as the rest of the party followed suit behind him. "The

same magic beasts as last time?"

"Looooks that way..." remarked Tsuya. "The puuurple and the bluuue

and the reeed!"

Hero Gold-Hair nodded, keeping his frustrations to himself. I don't want

to push Valentine further... Which means the only ones who can fight right

now are me and Riliangiu. What to do...?

As he was deliberating, however, Demmie opened the door on the

carriage's opposite side wide. She was dressed in the clothing her retainers

had prepared for her. "Mister Hero Gold-Hair!" she called out. "You make

sure to escape! House Ulgo will hold off the magic beasts!" And with that,

she jumped from the moving carriage, Genbushein, Rozen Laurel, and

Rosalina following along behind.

"You're a decent fellow, Hero Gold-Hair!" said Genbushein. "Keep

looking out for those ladies, you hear?"

"I guess we were wrong about you," said Rozen Laurel. "Next time we

meet, I'm gonna hug you so hard you'll feel like your spine's about to

snap!"

"Now, allow us to show you what we can do!" proclaimed Rosalina.

The three magic beasts were running after the speeding carriage when

their way was abruptly blocked by the remnants of House Ulgo. "House

Ulgo never forgets a kindness—or a grudge!" shouted Demmie, spinning

her scythe dramatically as she charged the monstrosities. "Those are our

two absolute rules!"

"You got the better of us last time! Don't think we won't pay you back!"

Genbushein ascended from behind Demmie, increasing his arms to an

enormous size and striking the purple beast with his heavy fists. The demon

magic beast staggered from the blow and collapsed. "Regretfully, we had to

be saved by Hero Gold-Hair. But we will repay our debt!"

The red magic beast tried to slip through in the melee to pursue the

carriage, only to find its way barred by Rozen Laurel. "And we'll pay back

the shame of having our lady captured—with interest!" she declared,

locking arms with the magic beast and keeping it pinned to the spot.

The blue magic beast jumped up on the red beast's shoulders as it

grappled with the golem, bounding after the carriage. It seemed poised to

clear the distance and catch up with Hero Gold-Hair's party when Rosalina

appeared, floating in midair like a tuft of cotton caught by the breeze, her

sword flashing valiantly. "House Ulgo may be reduced to four members,

but each of us is a warrior worth a thousand men!" The blue magic beast

was sent flying by her sword strike, back to where Demmie was waiting,

her scythe at the ready in a high guard. Spinning it in an elegant dance, she

slashed at the beast's head, scoring a direct hit.

The magic beast collapsed to the ground, unconscious. Its body grew

smaller and smaller, eventually transforming into a blue-haired young girl.

"That girl..." Demmie started. "She's the girl from back in that room, isn't

she?"

Demmie covered the naked girl with her cape, and turned to face the

others. "Which of you is next?" she snarled, holding her scythe high. "I

won't let you pass!"

◇Later Still◇

As Aryun Keats sped along, Hero Gold-Hair sat with his arms folded,

deep in thought, Valentine fast asleep with her head in his lap. She had put

on a brave front, but it was obvious that she needed time to recover.

Suddenly, Hero Gold-Hair's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of

someone knocking on the door of the still-moving carriage. Riliangiu, who

was sitting near the window, poked her head out to see Phufun flying

alongside them. "Lady Phufun?" she gawked, quickly opening the door to

let the succubus into the carriage.

Hero Gold-Hair leaned over, careful not to disturb Valentine's rest.

"Phufun! That was fast! Did you learn something?"

"I did," Phufun said, pressing her glasses up the ridge of her nose. "Lord

Zanzibar gave me a very interesting bit of information..." She took out a

sheet of paper and handed it to Hero Gold-Hair. It was an image—a relief

taken from some ancient artifact. "This is one of the relics of Lilia, the Dark

Divinity allegedly worshipped by Auncor, whom we met earlier. The

inscription reads as follows: 'And so the rampage of the fused beasts,

descendants of Lilia, came to an end. Their souls were sealed deep

underground, with the aid of the legendary item, the Drilldozer Shovel...'"

She adjusted her glasses. "The forbidden spell they use to fuse demons with

magic beasts comes from the Dark Divinity Lilia herself, and it is known as

Xenofusion. But only someone of Lilia's bloodline can use her magic. In

which case, we can guess at the identity of the girl with silver hair..."

Hero Gold-Hair nodded. "I see... So if this inscription is to be believed,

those magic beasts and the girl who uses fusion magic have good reason to

be cautious of this shovel of mine..."

Just then, the carriage began to rock violently. "Keats!" Hero Gold-Hair

barked. "What's wrong?!"

"It's them! One of them stuck themselves to me at some point when I

wasn't looking!"

"Them?" Hero Gold-Hair asked. "But that House Ulgo bunch stopped

the three magic beasts, didn't they?"

"No! It wasn't just three! There was another in that room...!"

"Dablys..." Hero Gold-Hair said. "The girl with silver hair, who uses

fusion magic!" No sooner had the words left his mouth than the roof of the

carriage was torn open to reveal Dablys herself peering straight at him from

above.

"I've finally caught up with you, O master of the Drilldozer Shovel..."

she growled, her body transforming into a beast before their eyes.

Hero Gold-Hair's eyes fixed on the item she was holding in her hands—

Demmie's scythe. "What did you do with House Ulgo, you scummy

magician?!" he demanded. Dablys, however, gave no answer. Fully

transformed into a silver magic beast, she merely howled as she brought the

scythe to bear against Hero Gold-Hair.

"Not on my watch!" Aryun Keats cried as the carriage roof split apart

right where Dablys was standing, sending the silver monster and the roof

itself tumbling behind them. Now roofless, Aryun sped along at top speed

as Riliangiu cast a wide-area Scan spell to keep an eye on their

surroundings.

"This is bad," she said. "The demon magic beasts are surrounding us

and closing in. Three in total."

Hero Gold-Hair furrowed his brow. "If our old friend Dablys from

earlier counts as one, that means House Ulgo managed to take out one of

them..." You idiots had better be all right... he thought as he took out the

Drilldozer Shovel. "Well, we have our information. Time for a

counterattack! First we capture the magic beasts attacking us, and then we

go assist House Ulgo!"

"Yes, sir!" replied everyone in the carriage.

"They're coming!" Aryun telepathically screamed in extreme distress.

Hero Gold-Hair took to his feet, shovel in hand. "Tsuya! Wuha! The two

of you look after Valentine!"

"I'll do what I can," Wuha said, smirking sardonically and shrugging her

shoulders. "But didn't you know? I'm the weakest djinn you'll ever meet!

Aside from my ability to turn into a mansion, I'm even weaker than your

average human! Still...I'll do my best, since you're asking and all."

"Don't wooorry, Lady Gappoooli!" said Tsuya. "I'll be there to heeelp!"

She flexed her slender arms to no effect whatsoever.

"Don't get yourselves hurt," said Hero Gold-Hair, glancing at the two of

them. "I'm counting on you." He climbed up the side of the carriage and

stood tall, surveying the land.

Without warning, two demon magic beasts—the purple one and the red

one—jumped out in front of their path, coming at them in a pincer attack

from the left and right.

"Ngh?!" Hero Gold-Hair swung the Drilldozer Shovel at the purple

beast, leaving an opening for the red one to take a swing at his unprotected

right flank. But Phufun leapt into the air, interposing herself between Hero

Gold-Hair and the beast and spreading her arms wide, casting Magic Shield.

"Think again!" she yelled as the beast's claws rent at her shield with a

sickening scrape, standing strong against the assault.

"Hya!" With a shout, Riliangiu seized the opportunity to deliver a string

of agile attacks, her arms transformed into blades from the elbows down.

The beast bent over backwards to avoid the flurry of blows, dodging by a

hair's breadth.

A split second later, while the beast was still on the back leg, Tsuya

leaned out of the carriage, taking a large wooden box out of her Bottomless

Bag. With a mighty, "Taaake that!" she hurled it at the demon magic beast,

taking the creature completely by surprise and somehow managing to knock

it off its feet.

"This is our chance!" Phufun beat her succubus wings, flying through

the air to deliver a devastating kick to the red beast while it was still prone.

"Grwaaooooooow!" the beast cried, reeling backwards from the force of

the direct hit.

Phufun landed with a flourish and adjusted her glasses. "They return to

their demonic forms when they lose consciousness, so please try to knock

them out if you can."

The red magic beast, however, still had some fight in it. It leapt back,

landing vertically on a nearby tree, and used the tree as a platform to launch

itself at Hero Gold-Hair, who was still busy fending off the purple beast.

"Off the carriage!" said Hero Gold-Hair, leaping down himself, followed

by Riliangiu. "No fighting inside Keats! Keats, you head north! Just a bit

farther and you'll be outside Klyrode territory!"

"Understood!" Aryun Keats sped off to the north through the woods,

leaving Phufun, Riliangiu, and Hero Gold-Hair behind. The demon magic

beasts let the carriage go and moved instead to surround Hero Gold-Hair.

Drat and damnation! Hero Gold-Hair thought as he brandished the

Drilldozer Shovel at the beasts, turning between them to try and keep them

both at bay. I need to find an opening to dig a hole!

"Hero Gold-Hair!" Riliangiu shouted. "Behind you!"

Hero Gold-Hair dove forward just in time to avoid Dablys's claws. She

struck at the spot where he had been only a second ago, gouging out the

forest earth with the force of her attack. If he had been even a moment later,

those claws would have found his flesh.

"Hero Gold-Hair, are you hurt?!" Asked Riliangiu.

"I'm fine!" Hero Gold-Hair sprung up to his feet. "Thanks for watching

my back, Riliangiu!" Riliangiu stood beside him, keeping her arm-blades

trained on the demon magic beasts.

Dablys raised her head to look at Hero Gold-Hair, not bothering to pull

her claws out of the ground. "What a pity..." she muttered. "You should

have let me kill you there. It would have been a much less miserable death."

She sneered wickedly as a horde of the white, winged magic beasts

sprouted from her back, mobbing Hero Gold-Hair from all directions.

Between Dablys in her beast form, the red and purple demon magic

beasts, and now the seemingly endless swarm of white magic beasts, Hero

Gold-Hair, Riliangiu, and Phufun soon found themselves overwhelmed.

They were forced back-to-back-to-back, unable to move.

No! Hero Gold-Hair despaired, beads of fearful sweat running down his

brow. The white beasts figured out my pit trap plan! They're staying in the

sky!

◇ ◇ ◇

As Hero Gold-Hair fought for his life, Aryun Keats raced through the

forest as fast as her wheels could carry her.

"Aryuuuuuun!" whined Valentine, who had since woken up. "Turn back

around this instant!" She kicked and kicked at the carriage floor, but as

weakened as she was, she could hardly put any power behind the strikes.

The kicks were only making her feel light-headed from the exertion.

"There's no point, Val," said Wuha Gappoli as she tried to coax the

former Evil General into lying back down in the carriage seat. "You still

need time to recover! If you go like this, you'll only get in Hero GoldHair's way."

Valentine, however, shook her head violently. "No, no, no, no, no!" she

shouted. "Couldn't you tell how powerful those magic beasts were?

Especially that Dablys woman! Hero Gold-Hair's in danger! I have to help

him! Oh... If I were at full strength, I could handle them easily..." She tried

to stand, but Tsuya and Wuha held her tight from either side, keeping her in

place. "Lady Tsuya! Wuha! Let me go!" Valentine protested, desperately

trying to wrench her arm from Wuha's grip.

"Nooo!" cried Tsuya. "You caaan't! In yooour state you'll just get

huuurt! Seeee? You can't even handle me and Lady Gappoooli!"

Tsuya's argument seemed to finally convince her. Valentine crumpled

back in her seat, thoroughly miserable. "Please..." she prayed, casting her

eyes up to the heavens. "Someone, anyone, help Hero Gold-Hair in my

stead!"

Suddenly, as if in answer to her prayers, she noticed a large masculine

figure peering down at her from overhead. "Well, what's this about?" the

man asked. "I got a report saying there was a disturbance in the forest near

the human border, and who should I find but..."

Valentine's face broke out into a huge smile when she realized who it

was. "Oh!" she exclaimed. "That's why Hero Gold-Hair told us to head

north!"

◇ ◇ ◇

Dablys's attack struck Hero Gold-Hair in the leg, knocking him to the

ground.

"Geh!" he yelped, wincing in pain.

"Hero Gold-Hair!" cried Phufun, who was busy fighting the red demon

magic beast a short distance away. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine!" Hero Gold-Hair insisted, holding the Drilldozer Shovel out

in front of him as he took to his feet once more. "Focus on your own fight!"

The white beasts drew back as if they were afraid of the shovel, only to

divide their ranks and attack Hero Gold-Hair from his left and right flanks.

Worse, Dablys and the purple beast were inching closer, carefully avoiding

the Drilldozer Shovel. Riliangiu and Phufun had their hands full defending

against the white beasts' attacks, leaving them in no position to come to his

aid.

Hero Gold-Hair adjusted his grip on the shovel, his shoulders heaving

with the effort of catching his breath. The magic beasts took to the sky

whenever he tried to dig, rendering his strongest weapon ineffective. And if

he wasn't careful about where he dug, he might get in Phufun or Valentine's

way instead. All in all, he had found himself thoroughly stymied by these

monsters.

They'll kill us all at this rate... Hero Gold-Hair thought. I should see if I

can create an opening for Phufun and Riliangiu to get away... A smile

crossed his face. It's funny. Back when I had all those knights working for

me I wouldn't have thought anything of sacrificing my subordinates to get

away. I guess I've changed a bit after all...

"Smiling when things look darkest, hmm?" mocked Dablys as she

inched her way closer in her magic beast form. "Well, I suppose you fought

quite hard, for an unmodified human. I must say, I'm impressed." She held

out a hand, a triumphant grin on her monstrous face. "Don't worry, we'll

use all of you as materials for fusion. If it goes well, you and I will be

comrades!"

Hero Gold-Hair met her gaze. "Sorry," he said, his smile not faltering

for a second as he got back on guard. "But I've got plans. I don't have time

to join your club!"

Just then, an enormous man fell from the sky, forcefully landing right

between Hero Gold-Hair and Dablys, shaking the earth. "You've got

plans?" he said. "That's a damn shame. I was thinking of inviting you for

drinks after this!"

Hero Gold-Hair's brave facade burst into a genuine grin. "Don't be

ridiculous! When have I ever turned down an invitation from you,

Dawkson?"

"Valentine told me the gist of what's going on," Dawkson said,

stretching his shoulders as he readied himself for a fight. "Ready to kick

some ass?"

"Th-The Dark One himself?!" Dablys exclaimed, reeling despite herself

at the sudden appearance of the ruler of demonkind on the battlefield. "BBut what about your peace treaty with the humans?!"

"What about it?" Dawkson shot back. "I mean, we're close to the border,

sure, but this is demon land."

Suddenly, Dablys realized her error. "I see... We crossed the border

while we were chasing after them..."

With the Dark One on the field, the situation was completely different.

"Taaaake...that!" Dawkson bellowed, swinging his arm and sending a whole

group of the white magic beasts flying into the distance. They tried to

overwhelm him with their numbers, but Dawkson simply swatted them

away like bothersome insects.

Dablys clicked her tongue at the sight. "What a pickle... We have a good

stock of the mass-produced models, but they're no use at all against him. I

guess we're at an impasse." She locked eyes with Hero Gold-Hair, who was

taking advantage of Dawkson's cover to catch his breath. "Aim for that one!

If we can kill the holder of the legendary Drilldozer Shovel, we will

eliminate the greatest threat to the Dark Divinity Lilia!"

The purple and blue magic beasts, as well as the surviving white ones,

changed their targets immediately, leaping directly for Hero Gold-Hair as

Dablys herself scuttled forward, her body low to the ground. The massproduced white beasts were close behind, ready to mob him with their

numbers.

"Damned nuisance..." Hero Gold-Hair muttered. "You think you got the

better of Hero Gold-Hair? Think again!" Surrounded, he took the Drilldozer

Shovel and stuck the earth, digging with furious speed.

"Digging more holes?" Dablys taunted him as she leapt into the air. "Is

that your only trick? Well, we know how to deal with that!" Suddenly,

however, Hero Gold-Hair flung a lump of earth into the sky, striking Dablys

directly in midair. "A-Ahhh?!" she cried, caught off guard by the attack.

She plummeted to the ground. The purple, red, and white beasts caught

clumps of dirt and rock to the face as well. One by one, they fell from the

sky.

Phufun seized the opportunity and leapt for the red magic beast. "That's

enough of that!" she shouted, striking it on the top of its head with a

powerful axe kick, bringing her heel down hard.

"Groaaaaaar!" the beast cried as it collapsed, unconscious.

"How dreadful..." Dablys shivered. "I'm absolutely covered in dirt!"

She stood up, wiping the filth from her face. When she opened her eyes, she

saw the Dark One Dawkson, who was still busy smashing up the magic

beasts. His back was turned. "This is all your fault... If only you hadn't

come here and ruined our harmony!" She leapt at him, sharp claws at the

ready, but...

"Not happening!" Hero Gold-Hair flung the Drilldozer Shovel itself this

time, aiming right for Dablys.

"You again?!" Dablys contorted her body in midair, narrowly dodging.

The movement, however, cost her enough balance that she wasn't able to

properly launch an attack.

Hero Gold-Hair, though, had disarmed himself. The purple beast wasted

no time in launching an attack. "Gh!" Hero Gold-Hair exclaimed, doing his

best to dodge, but the monstrosity was on him before he could even move.

It stabbed its claw into his shoulder.

"B-Blondie!" Dawkson panicked and tried to get over to Hero GoldHair, but the white beasts kept attacking one after another. "You dumb

pests! Get outta my way!" he cried, battering them out of the sky. The gap

in power between the Dark One and the mass-produced beasts was evident,

but no matter how many he struck down, more took their place. They

weren't able to hurt him, but they had effectively locked him down, along

with Phufun and Riliangiu.

Hero Gold-Hair glared at the purple beast and grabbed hold of the claw

stuck in his shoulder. "Damn nuisance!" he cried, kicking the creature in the

midsection as hard as he could.

The beast, however, didn't even flinch. Fresh blood was flowing from

Hero Gold-Hair's wound as his face twisted in pain.

Suddenly, an explosion rang out. "Kaboom!" Something blasted the

purple beast from the opposite side, sending it flying and ripping its claw

out of Hero Gold-Hair's shoulder, trailing blood.

Aryun Keats had come to the rescue. She had turned around and raced

here as fast as she was able. Now she stood in the forest, in her Magitank

form. "You won't lay a finger on Sir Hero Gold-Hair!" she declared,

releasing a volley of blasts in the beast's direction. "Not as long as Aryun

Keats is here!"

The hatch on top of the tank opened, and Tsuya, Wuha Gappoli, and

Valentine came rushing out.

"H-Hero Gooold-Hair! Are you all riiight?" asked Tsuya, quickly taking

a roll of bandages from the Bottomless Bag and rushing to patch up Hero

Gold-Hair's shoulder. She was in a terrible rush, though, and did a sloppy

job, wrapping the bandages all the way around his whole upper body.

"T-Tsuya!" Hero Gold-Hair told her. "Calm down!"

"Awawah?! I-I'm sooorry! I'm tryyying!" Flustered out of her mind,

Tsuya tried to pull her hands away. Somehow, however, she only ended up

getting Hero Gold-Hair even more tangled, and he began to resemble some

sort of mummy.

Aryun Keats kept firing shot after shot, protecting Hero Gold-Hair from

any beasts sneaking up behind. Valentine weaved her threads, ensnaring the

white beasts. Wuha Gappoli, meanwhile, could do nothing but hide behind

Aryun, cheering on the rest of the party.

Even with Keats and the rest here, there's just too many of them! Hero

Gold-Hair thought. There must be a way to save everyone...but what do I

do?! He stood up, still wrapped in Tsuya's bandages, when suddenly, he

heard a voice in his mind.

"Hero Gold-Hair..."

"Hm?! Who's that?!"

"It's me! Your partner!"

"My partner?"

"That's right," the voice said. "You want to save your friends, don't you?

Then, fuse with me..."

"Wh-What was that?! Fuse?!" Hero Gold-Hair looked all around in a

panic, before suddenly his eyes settled on something glittering with golden

light by a forest cliff—the Drilldozer Shovel he had thrown to save

Dawkson, lying on the ground. "I see... So it's you. My partner..."

Hero Gold-Hair held out his arm and the Drilldozer Shovel responded,

flying through the air, to reunite with its owner. When he caught it, his body

began to glow as well. There was a flash...

And standing there, cape fluttering in the breeze, stood a giant shovel, its

head firmly planted in the ground.

"Huh?" said Valentine.

"Huuuh?!" said Tsuya.

"Excuse me?!" demanded Wuha Gappoli.

"What just happened?!" asked Aryun Keats.

Hero Gold-Hair's party stared, mouths agape at the sight. The magic

beasts, however, reeled back from the glowing shovel. Dablys glared

daggers in its direction, creasing her monstrous brow. "I have to stop him..."

she uttered. "Before he unleashes the true power of the Drilldozer Shovel,

the power that sealed away the Dark Divinity Lilia!"

"H-Hey..." came a telepathic voice from inside the shovel. The

assembled parties all stopped to listen. "Drilldozer Shovel? Partner?"

"Yes?" said another voice in reply. "Is there something you need?"

"This form's all well and good..." said the first voice. "But how exactly

are we supposed to attack them?"

Silence.

"Partner?"

There was no answer.

"H-Hang on! You can't just leave me hanging without explaining how to

operate this thing! Hey!"

A smirk crossed Dablys's face. "Wonderful!" she said joyously. "Just

listen to those notes of despair! Now we can be rid of you miscreants who

keep ruining my harmony, and perform a song of jubilation!" Extending her

claws, she raced forward towards the shovel—but she wasn't the only one.

"So, you're telling me I just gotta use you to attack, huh!" With the

white beasts busy fleeing from the sight of the shovel, Dawkson finally had

his hands free. He ran for the shovel, transforming into his full demonic

form as he moved.

"Don't interfere!" hissed Dablys. "The likes of you are nothing but

noise!"

"Shaddap!" Dawkson shouted, grabbing Hero Gold-Hair by the handle

moments before Dablys closed the distance. "I can't stand music! It pisses

me off!"

Dablys made a desperate leap at Dawkson, trying to attack him from

above as the red and purple beasts followed from behind, soaring through

the air.

"Graaaaaaaaaaaah!" Dawkson bellowed. "Let's go, brother!"

"You've got this, Dawkson!" answered Hero Gold-Hair's telepathic

voice.

Thwack! The shovel struck Dablys solidly across her entire body,

sending her flying. "Riliangiu! Phufun! Get down!" ordered Dawkson as he

swung Hero Gold-Hair side to side. The two ducked down just in time to

avoid getting clipped by the red and purple magic beasts as Dawkson

knocked them spiraling back through the air as well.

As they flew, the demon magic beast fusion came undone. The magic

beasts and demon children landed separately, falling into an unceremonious

heap in the dirt.

Dablys watched in disbelief, sprawled out on the ground herself.

"Undoing the Dark Divinity's Fusion magic..." she muttered. "Drilldozer

Shovel... So you would ruin us once again..." She had been glowing with

light ever since being struck by the accursed shovel, and the outlines of her

form were growing indistinct. She closed her eyes, and her body vanished

without a trace.

Without Dablys giving them instructions, the remaining white magic

beasts began hesitantly glancing around at their surroundings. Dawkson,

however, had no intention of showing them mercy. "Take that! And that!

And that! I'm not letting any of you get away!"

Soon, there was nothing left of the loathsome magic beasts.

◇Meanwhile—Creatrix Auncor's Laboratory◇

"It's over..." Auncor sighed as she watched the battle through a crystal

from her underground emergency shelter. "The demon magic beasts... The

mass-produced magic beasts... Dablys, who could use the Dark Divinity's

Fusion magic... They're all gone..."

"How dreadful..." Vintermann agreed. "Now we have nothing to deliver

to the Shadow Conglomerate!" The two of them exchanged a worried

glance, cold sweat starting to form on their respective brows.

"I don't relish the idea of being in debt to them..." said Auncor.

"Indeed. And we've already used the money they gave us. I can't

imagine those two from the Conglomerate will simply look the other

way..."

"If we run now..." Auncor hesitated. "We could still get away..."

"Indeed," agreed Vintermann. "That may be our best hope for making it

out alive..."

The two stood up and turned towards the exit, only to see two women

already standing in the doorway—the one with the oversized abacus and the

one who never seemed to stop her strange, twisting dance, both dressed in

the same matching black gothic lolita style outfits. They regarded Auncor

and Vintermann with icy glares.

"My, my, my," said the woman with the abacus. "Running away because

you can't fulfill your contract? I hope you don't expect the Shadow

Conglomerate's one and only Lady Shanderena to take such behavior

lightly."

"Naughty, naughty!" the dancing woman sang. "Lady Yanderena might

just have to punish you!"

As the two drew near, Auncor and Vintermann clung to each other tight,

shaking and trembling with fear. "N-No!" Auncor protested. "W-We

weren't trying to run!"

"Th-There are still some of the mass-produced models left!" pleaded

Vintermann. "Perhaps there's something we can—"

"Not nearly enough, I'm afraid," said Shanderena, hefting her abacus. "I

find you guilty...of failing to uphold your contract."

"Torture! Torture! Torture!" Yanderena cackled as she twirled. "It's been

so long! I can't wait!"

◇The Following Morning◇

In a forest, on the bank of a gentle stream, Wuha Gappoli sat

transformed into a mansion. Inside, Hero Gold-Hair's party was gathered in

the living room.

"Phufun's people looked it over, but those bastards picked the laboratory

clean..." Dawkson grumbled. He was sitting on the sofa, relaying the news

with evident irritation. "They found a hidden underground room, but that

one was empty too..."

"Still," said Hero Gold-Hair, "we were able to save the children who'd

been kidnapped! I'd say that's a job well done if you ask me."

"Yeah." Dawkson nodded. "True enough..." After a moment of thought,

he turned to look at Hero Gold-Hair. "By the way, brother..."

"Yes?" Hero Gold-Hair asked.

"So...how long are you gonna be in that form?"

"Well, that is the question, isn't it...?" remarked Hero Gold-Hair, who

was still stuck as an oversized shovel. Right now Tsuya was carrying him

around, since he couldn't move under his own locomotion. "I'm afraid I

don't know myself..."

"You don't know..."

"Not a clue." Hero Gold-Hair's voice sounded genuinely worried. "I

keep bugging the Drilldozer Shovel, but it hasn't been responding at all!

Without its help, I have no idea how I'm supposed to turn back into my

original form..."

"I even tried using some spells I know from the Realm of Evil..."

Valentine sighed, slumping her shoulders in defeat. "None of them were any

use..."

"Don't wooorry!" said Tsuya, holding the shovel tight and sandwiching

the shovel head between her hefty breasts. "Until you're back to nooormal,

I'll take gooood care of you!"

"M...Mhh..." Hero Gold-Hair grunted stiffly, doing his best to ignore the

sensation.

"Hmm?" Tsuya asked innocently. "Hero Gooold-Hair? What's

wrooong?"

Hero Gold-Hair and his band of misfits had survived the ordeal more or

less intact, and everyone was in good spirits as they began another day.