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The parchment, when turned over, reveals itself to be an advertisement for the 42nd Annual Bastapan Wrestling Tournament, a stylised drawing of a stadium painted onto the poster. The advertisement says anyone can join the wrestling tournament with a 50 rhea entrance fee or a 25 rhea fee to enter as a spectator.

Later, down the road from the campground....
"Fantine, don't give me that look."
"....."
"I personally dont see what's wrong with you just letting her blow something up every so often."
"A little quieter, please. I can't read this map with all of you talking....."
"You mean, aside from the massive property damage? Man, I'm halfway to broke paying off the guys we did our last quest off because Fantine here blew up the chest we were supposed to go grab! Can't you use, like, wind spells? You're half-sprite, your people are supposed to know wind spells!"
"Other forms of magic are inferior to fire magic! There's no way I'd use something like that!"
_{"Also, I..uh....might have also slept through those classes back in the Academy...ehehe..."}
"Well, I for one thought that was a success. They were happy to get rid of that flycatcher in their basement, weren't they? Besides, we still made a little money, so look on the bright side."
"You were enjoying the inside of that giant flycatcher's mouth way, way too much, Miria. Please, please don't talk about that being a success."
"How could I not? It was nice and warm and.....oh, I could feel the tendrils going places....it was so-OW!"
A sharp thwack on the head, courtesy of Fantine, silences Miria. The small, half-sprite girl crosses her arms disapprovingly.
"Not the kind of pain I like, Fantine!"
"T-too much information! We talked about this! Ugh, sometimes, I swear, if you weren't my roommate...."
"Dammit. Taro, have you figured out that map we got from that drunk yet? I wanna get to Primero so we can visit Borea's temple there, see if we can't figure out what happened to her."
Taro grimaces at Kazuto, as he holds up a stinking piece of parchment, scrawled and drawn upon with what might vaguely look like a map, the other hand pinching his nose shut. The map smells of strong alcohol.
"You could've gotten us a map from somewhere else. This thing's kicking off my inner hypochondriac."
"Well, my tablet's on the fritz and none of you guys somehow own one, so it was that or buying a map off those Anna chicks! What the hell were they selling, money trees?! Besides, you can blame our friendly goddess here for deciding to spend money on buying a map from that drunk guy!"
"He promised he'd help us if we paid him! He seemed honest...."
"He spent the entire conversation trying to look down your dress, Borea. And Miria's, not that she really minded."
Borea, as if suddenly aware of her poor fashion choices, places her hands over the top of her dress.
"O-oh. I....I thought he was just....he said he was trying to find something of his...."
"Well, we still got a problem, pervy drunk or no pervy drunk. Right now, we gotta pay back those guys AND have enough money to feed ourselves....which requires doing a pretty big quest. And we don't have enough party members to even think of doing the one with the Minotaur. So I'd like to find the fastest way to Primero so we can go pick up a larger party sometime in the next century-"

At that very moment, a woman in a maid costume with blue hair covering one eye sauntered past, carrying firewood back to the site, humming a tune only Kazuto and Taro recognised, followed closely behind by two gargoyles flying in the air, bundles of sticks under each arm.

"Oi, Rena, luv, ya think this'll be enough fer ta fire? We wuz thinkin' we'd roast up that big sal'ed pork we got in the tent, the one ol' Andy was keepin'."
"Jeff n' I are gettin' propa 'ungry. All dis fightin' business really gets yer a-puh-tite goin'."
"Yeah, we really need to go questing ourselves a little soon. I really didn't think this whole Rosencrantz thing through, huh...."

As the trio walked away, oblivious to the adventuring party they'd just passed, Taro simply looks over to Kazuto, eyebrow raised.
"Oh no. Don't you even think about it."
"You asked, the Adventurer Gods answered. Come on, beggars can't be choosers."
"You said that the last time, and look where it got us!" Kazuto complained, pointing at Fantine and Miria bickering about the earlier slap around the head.
"Kazuto, we're a bunch of Revivians, with a ditz of a goddess, a pyromaniac fairy and a masochistic elf woman. If you think any sane party's gonna want us, you've got higher hopes than me. Besides, that Rem lookalike was pretty cute. And besides, if we're going to wait for the perfect party, we'll never figure out how Borea here ended up....well, here."
"Can I ask what a ditz is? It sounds like a compliment. Is it a compliment?"
".....okay, fine, I'll ask them. But I'm taking Fantine with me and the rest of you can stay here. You got that?"
"....I'd still like to know what a ditz is, please...."

---

A week later, in Methiant...
Three figures stood atop a building over the bustling market of the capital of Bastapa. Even at night, the place was busy, with the sounds of people haggling over prices below, the furious sounds of arguments in the Bastapan Parliament down the road over what sounded like a law banning plaid from being worn in the city center, and the twittering cries of nightingales scarcely heard over the market.

Lucifer sits down, groaning, his legs dangling over the edge of the building.
"That Baron....he's a real hard man to tempt. He's.....not a man of many vices. Except maybe a good steak."
Satan, the second figure, crossed his arms, his messy hair flying about in the night wind.
"Lazy bastard. I bet you didn't even try."
"Oh? What makes you say that, Satan dear?"
"Are you seriously telling me that you, who manages to charm multiple men and women into your bed on a nightly basis, can't charm a single man into doing your bidding? Don't give me that bullshit, Luce."
"Well, it's not like Airmlaidre wants to sleep with me. You need a different touch. A man like him understands strength and only strength. Me playing up his confidence isn't going to work when he's got plenty of it without me trying."

Asmodeus, the third figure, takes this time to speak up, one arm rubbing the other, her bare skin emitting an unnatural warmth.
"Please. You're plenty strong, Lucifer. You know Mammon's scared of you, right?"
"Well, I figure I could give good ol' Mammy a beating, if I had to. But why would I do that? I got better things to do."
Lucifer rests his hands behind his head, and Asmodeus clenches her fists.
"You know, you need to take things more seriously, Lucifer. We've been down this road before."
"And you know exactly where that ended, Annie."
That seemed to bother Lucifer a little more than usual. He briefly casts his eyes towards the ground pensively.
"....Annie. That's not fair. You know I tried to-"
"I know you did. Sorry. Shouldn't have brought it up."

A moment passed, tension between the Generals of Pride and Lust. Satan, suddenly feeling an attack of awkwardness, pinched the bridge of his nose.
"....let's just get this over with, before Mammon and Leviathan shove their noses into this mess. Lucifer, you're not an idiot and this isn't below you, so just do it. Isn't that.....tournament thing on tomorrow?"
"That wrestling tournament? I heard he wanted to make a play for popularity then, but that's all I know. He's kept mum and none of my sources are getting much about what he wants to do."
Asmodeus snapped her fingers suddenly, an idea striking her.
"Maybe you should enter the tournament, make your own play for popularity."
"Me? Wrestle? Well....I AM fantastically in shape. Maybe I could pull it off. Drunk and with my hands tied behind my back-"

A man suddenly popped up onto the roof from a door leading to the building's interior, red-faced from the effort of running up several flights of stairs.
"Um....Mr. Prometheus, sir?"
"This is he. Yes?"
"A group of people are here for you, sir. They say they're admirers of yours. Great admirers."
"Ah, how oddly convenient. Sorry. I gotta take this. I.....also don't anticipate being back up here tonight, so...guess I'll see you two when I do, hm?"
Asmodeus and Satan knew exactly what their compatriot meant as he sauntered off behind the messenger, leaving them alone on the roof. Satan growled almost bestially.
"Idiot."
"Also, Annie, I-"
"No, it's alright. You bringing that up brought us back on track."
"Besides, it's over now. It's been over for three years. It.....wasn't good for either of us."
Satan snorted.
"Three thousand years old and still immature. Damn it, Luce. Damn it."

---

[Now Playing: Symposium magarum]
Meanwhile, in Ultima....
".....my, my. So....Lucifer failed in the mission he was charged with."
"Yes, my lady."
".....I see. Thank you for telling me. Please, continue doing your best, Sir Conrad."
"Thank you, my lady. I will do my best, for you and Lord Mammon."

The armored vampire before Leviathan bowed his head, before retreating. The General of Envy waited until he was out of earshot, before sighing. Conrad was a good servant of hers, given the unenviable job of watching Lucifer's every movement. After all, Leviathan didn't trust anyone aside from her husband to get their jobs done right.

It was a burden she and Mammon bore, being the voices of reason in a sea of idiocy.

"I saw this coming. Lucifer...that man has potential, if only he were to take this war more seriously."
"As it stands.....I cannot rely on Mammon's help for this. I don't want to burden him, not while he's having to handle his other affairs on top of Penultia."

Leviathan frowned. She knew what she had to do, even if she had no taste for it. Fighting had never been something she'd liked, but did for one reason, and one reason only.

This, too, she did for that same reason.

I do this for you, my love, so we may hasten the coming of the day where we can be together in peace.
"Sir Conrad, on second thought, please return to me. I am going to need you to fetch my things and help me load them onto a carriage, headed to Bastapa. I will.....need to take care of affairs there. And send word to my husband, I wouldn't want him to worry about me."
"I can handle Lucifer and that human Baron myself."

"Yeah, yeah, I get it. Big nobles, big problems."
And yet we're only IN this mess because you couldn't keep your little Wolfgang in your pants. Pretty sure every horny kid ever had that problem at some point.

As if summoned by Keith's words, Serena pops in, followed behind by Rena.
"When are we getting out of here? I mean, I like Wigglers as much as the next goddess....mainly because Wiggler people don't draw disgusting things like poop on my temples, but I don't wanna stay here forever. We got a Demon Lord to kill."
"We were planning to head back to the campsite and pitch camp for the night and head out in the morning. You guys would probably be fine if you rode out, and it's not far from Primero and then the border to Bastapa, if that's where you're going."

"Yeah, and if we leave him here, when we just handed his guards their backsides- sorry 'bout that, nothin' personal- chances are the smugglers'll be back for her and find him with a bunch of unconscious guards. I dunno 'bout you, but I don't feel like trying to fix one diplomatic incident and causing a whooooole new pile of crap."

"Uh, mister Steelhart, sir, do you know who this guy is?" she asked. The girl seemed to be the princess, given the address. Something was really off though. "Villain? No, this is a rescue mission-" she paused, sniffing the air a bit, "...Hey, why do you have her scent all over you?"

Aya just lifts an eyebrow at Aurelia as she joins the rest of the party in the room.

The situation was not a little bit amusing. If a little weird. And Aya was pretty damn sure she'd seen this before; it was these two feuding villages back home. Of course, the prince and princess of two different nations was a little bit of a far cry, but same principle.

Then Claire speaks.
"....you...really wanna ask that? The poor lady's redder than a ripe tomato, I think we all know what happened here."

Maul boss again

Transform, G5, maul boss, yis