The two fighters looked at each other and then turned toward me in unison. Their eyes were filled with different emotions: anger, confusion, and amazement.

Kalistra recovered first. She put her left paw on the human monk's chest and pushed.

Receiving the hint, Alsaj sheepishly released the cat girl's tail. It was so soft and cuddly. The sister could imagine snuggling up to it at night. Perhaps, she could find another cat person more willing to accept the human's overtures . . . A giggle escaped from her lips, and the cat girl's eyes turned back to her. "Sorry," Alsaj mouthed silently and it placated the fickle fighter.

The angry cat girl dismissed the silly human girl from her mind. Kalistra had more important matters to worry about: namely, the judgment of one Lawrence Eugene Mulligan. She slowly approached her prey, her tail lashing out back and forth. The master buckled her scabbard to her belt and stood haughtily in front of her pupil. "Why did you call the duel a 'draw?'" she demanded to know.

Alsaj casually leaned against a wall, her arms folded in front of her chest. Despite her outward demeanor, the sister was listening closely to our conversation. She was prepared to interrupt if I wilted under pressure to change the result of the duel and award a win to my master.

I stared right back at the cat girl. It was obvious that Kalistra was trying to pressure me to change my ruling. Nope, it wasn't going to happen. As Lord Bane was my witness, I REFUSED to be intimidated by the cat girl. I raised a finger and pointed at her nose. "I gave permission for you to participate in your duel with certain conditions that you agreed to. I was the judge and my decisions were final," I reminded her. "I watched this fight very closely and I determined that you managed to hit her at the very same moment that Alsaj grabbed your tail," I explained my decision. "It was a draw, no matter how unhappy you are with this outcome." There, I stood my ground!

Hiss! "You made it sound like I was losing," Kalistra hissed again. How could anyone think that the cat girl was losing to that giggling monk? Was I blind?

"You were!" I retorted. "When you and Alsaj were circling each other, and she came within reach of your scabbard, you should have attacked her. But you didn't do that. Instead, you waited for her to come within arm's length of you. That was a huge mistake and, in my opinion, it cost you the win." I wagged my index finger at her for emphasis.

"You know nothing!" the cat girl yelled back and stomped her foot on the ground.

"Oh, I know the reason why you didn't attack earlier. You felt Honor bound to give your opponent a fair chance to retaliate. I understand your reason. I just happen to disagree with it," I explained calmly.

"The foundation of the Butterfly School of Swordsmanship is its Code of Honor. As the Heir of the dojo, I am the living embodiment of our Honor. Every action that I take reflects on the school itself. Therefore, I must act Honorably no matter how many or how few people are present to witness my actions," she responded. How could I question her on matters of Honor? Was Kalistra such a bad instructor that her pupil totally missed the point?

The monk finally chimed into our conversation. "As a Chaotically aligned human, I care nothing about Honor. All I care about is winning the duel and that means taking whatever opening I saw during the fight to achieve my goal. All these rules and codes of Honor are simply too exhausting to follow," Alsaj flickered her left wrist dismissively. "That being said, both duelists agreed to have Lawrence serve as the judge of the match, and we must abide by his decision. Believe me, I think I won this fight but our judge ruled otherwise. Perhaps, the dojo could train him to develop better eyesight." She giggled at her joke.

Kalistra gave me one last hard look and then turned her head away. Hmph!

I rubbed my temples with the heel of my palms. This was too much for me to handle. Dealing with these girls were already wearing me out. And we were still stuck under the mountain. "Let's just find our way out," I said diplomatically and approached the blocked doorway. Suddenly, I felt something grab my left shoulder.

"Allow me to inspect the doorway. There may be traps," Alsaj said as she pulled me back. She held the fire orb in her left palm and brushed past me. The monk leaned her head and her orb closer to exam the wall and the doorway.

I tilted my head up to the ceiling; I expected to see another slime monster drop down on me. Alas, this time the ceiling was empty. I remained cautious and wary, fully expecting an ambush any second now. However, our party was left alone at the doorway.

"It seems we need to do something else to open this door," the diminutive monk announced.

"Like what?" the cat girl asked. She tried to read the words on the wall, but she couldn't decipher them.

"'None shall pass 'til his deepest fear is revealed,'" Alsaj read aloud.

"Is that all?" Kalistra's eyes glowed and her whiskers twitched. "That's an easy one for me. I'm afraid of losing my birthright to serve as the successor to my father as grandmaster of the dojo," she said.

In response, the wall lifted slightly.

"It worked!" I marveled. "My fear is obvious, too. I'm afraid that I'll be stuck here inside this gaming world for the rest of my life," I said.

The wall lifted again. Alas, the space wasn't wide enough for any of us to slip under.

My eyes turned toward Alsaj, who had an anguished look on her face. Seeing how upset she was, I slowly approached her.

The sister sensed my presence near her and turned to face the wall. She was shivering.

"What's wrong?" I asked softly.

"I just want to go on a quest with you," she whispered.

"And that's what we're doing," I replied.

"If you learn my secret, I don't think you will continue," she whispered.

I was taken aback by this remark. What secret did Alsaj carry that would change my opinion of her so dramatically if it was revealed? My mind started reviewing every encounter I had with this mysterious monk. I came to a startling realization: I knew very little about her. When I tried to read her aura, I was shut out with migraines. And why was Lord Bane himself nearby during this quest? Was he watching me . . . or someone else? As the pieces of the puzzle began to come together, I had a suspicion. I immediately took a few steps back.

"What's happening?" Kalistra asked. She noticed my tension right away. Something was wrong and it related to the human monk somehow. Following my lead, she pulled out her blade and stood in front of me.

I looked up at the ceiling and yelled, "Lord Bane! Show yourself!"

At first, there was only silence. After a few seconds, I heard a chuckle. "Kekeke."

Black smoke appeared above us and then the demigod finally revealed his presence. "You rang?" he grinned, revealing his large fangs.

"Cut the bull! You were here as an invisible spectator the whole time!" I rebuffed him.

The demon lord flapped his wings. "What can I say? You're a rather entertaining man, Lord Mulligan."

I shook my head. "Nice play at misdirection, Lord Bane. You're not here for me. I may be entertaining to watch, but you could scry on me from afar. There's no need for you to be here to observe me in person. Since you have shown absolutely zero interest in Kalistra, you're not here for her, either. So, by the process of elimination, you're here to watch over Alsaj," I concluded.

"Why?" my master asked as her tail twitched. The cat girl realized that she was missing something important but couldn't figure out what.

"I'll show you," I declared. I closed my eyes, placed the image of Lady Musa's mark in my mind and cast the Divine spell, "Unveil." Dice started rattling inside my head and continued for a few seconds before they finally stopped. "Intelligence saving throw SUCCESSFUL. +100 XP."

A blue aura enveloped Alsaj and burst into motes. Slowly, the true form of the monk was unveiled. She grew taller. Her jet-black skin turned to alabaster white. Her petite, girlish figure morphed into a busty, hourglass figure. She sprouted a pair of bat-like wings and a long tail which ended with a pointy tip.

The cat girl tightened her grip on her sword upon seeing Alsaj's true form.

"Hohoho! I'm impressed. How did you know, my little hamster?" the succubus said as her eyes glowed red. She licked her luscious lips with her forked tongue.

"Why are you here, Jasla?" I asked brusquely while ignoring her question. I was thankful that Kalistra stood in front of me and the demoness couldn't see how badly my knees were shaking. The daughter of Bane was the one person I was truly afraid of in this gaming world. How long before Jasla gave in to the temptation to kidnap me and imprison me in her home to play dress-up as a human Ken doll? I shivered at the cruel fate awaiting me in the near future.

Slam! The wall lifted all the way up. But none of us cared about the doorway because we had a more important matter to settle first.

The father dropped to the ground and landed next to his precious daughter. He patted her lightly on her left shoulder. "Should I ask my follower to be nicer to you?" he whispered. Lord Bane was annoyed at the way these mortals were treating his precious daughter and making her upset. Perhaps, a nice, long whipping session will teach me and that insufferable cat girl to treat Jasla better! The demigod grinned with delight at the thought.

Jasla's eyes burned even redder. "Don't you dare!" she hissed. "Stop following me around and leave me alone! I can take care of myself! Go home!"

The demon lord took a step back. Her daughter's temper was legendary, and even Bane didn't want to make her angry. He turned toward the mortals. "Since I'm not wanted here, I'll take my leave now. Reach out to me if you need anything, Larry," he grinned. A portal of flickering fire appeared before the demigod. He stepped through the fire and the portal winked out of existence.

With her overbearing father gone, Jasla's mood suddenly brightened. "Hohoho!" she said. With a flap of her wings, she flew up in the air and then landed right behind me. She wrapped her arms around my waist and pressed her ample chest against my back. The succubus breathed deeply to inhale my scent and nuzzled her face against my neck. "I missed you so much, my little hamster," she cooed.

"Lawrence, who is this girl and what is your relationship with her?" Kalistra demanded to know in a harsh tone of voice. The cat girl was absolutely furious. Not only was she deceived by this evil demoness, but the succubus was trying to seduce me as well. My master folded her arms. "Well?"

Huh? Why was I suddenly the one in trouble? Wasn't Jasla the naughty one here for deceiving the two of us? I was uncomfortable and too embarrassed by Jasla's antics to answer my master.

The demoness decided to answer for me. "We're lovers," she declared and licked my right cheek with her forked tongue.

"This. Is. Not. Acceptable!" Kalistra said while trying desperately to keep her anger in check. She unbuckled her scabbard and used it to point at me. "Lawrence, you are in a relationship with Amelica. I will not tolerate you cheating on her! It is dishonorable! As your master, I must punish you!" Suddenly, she charged and swung her scabbard at my skull.

However, Jasla flapped her wings and pulled me into the air just in time to avoid the strike.

"Get down here and take your punishment like a man!" the angry cat girl yelled as she waved her scabbard.

"Shall I take you to my home on the Plane of Fire? I'm not sure you will survive your master's punishment," Jasla said.

"And whose fault is that?" I shot the mischievous demoness an annoyed look.

"I have to be honest and true to my feelings," Jasla pouted. "I like you a lot. You're not afraid of me and you're so much fun to be around. Hohoho!" she laughed.

Uh-huh. The succubus had no idea how much she intimidated me. "Jasla, please set me down on the ground. I'm going to tell Kalistra you were only playing with her," I said.

Jasla's arms around my waist tightened for a moment. "Fine. We have to finish our quest anyway," she admitted. The demoness chose a spot away from the angry cat girl, landing in front of the blocked doorway.

Once we were grounded, Kalistra approached us slowly like a hunter approaching her prey. She was still holding her scabbard. Yikes!

Suddenly, I noticed something at the opened doorway and shouted out a warning. "Kalistra, behind you!"