Somewhere not-so-far Away...

The underground lair was dark and damp. It was filled with the echoes of dripping water, distant wails, and the rattling of chains.

In one room - the largest one - a hooded figure sits atop a throne made out of something eerily similar to bone, tapping one long, bony finger.

Before this figure stretches a long hall, flanked on either side by very small chambers carved into the rock. They've been blocked off by glass to contain the creatures within, like prison cells. Each one is lit by a single ever-burning green candle at the back, so that the floor of the main chamber is bathed in ghostly light with the shadows of monsters dancing forever over it.

The door at the far end of the chamber opens, and a monster with blue scales and razor sharp teeth walks inside. He crosses the hall towards the hooded figure, glancing occasionally at the gnarling beasts in their cages. The teeth and claws never scared this particular monster, but the tentacles... the tentacles made his scales crawl.

He kneels before the hooded one.

"Uh, your Majesty... Our forces released the Flaminotaur as you asked..." he says, making sure not to meet the eyes of the one on the throne.

"And?" a voice hisses. The sound alone is enough to make the kneeling monster shake.

"W-well... it was defeated, your Heinous... by magical girls. Just as you predicted..."

There's a pause, then the voice says, with blood-curdling pleasure, "Excellent. Prepare more puppets for release in the overworld. But none too powerful, yet. I want to play with these girls. To see what they are capable of. There is nothing so sweet as the touch of a magical girl, and I wouldn't want to break their pretty bodies so quickly!"

"Y-yes, your Ghastliness..." the monster says, still staring at the filthy, broken ground. "Which beasts shall I send?"

"Let's start with... the Ravenous, the Hypnotix, and... the Tentacle Lasher."

"Yes, your Horror..."

Of course. It just had to be the Tentacle Lasher...

"But send a steady flow of grunts as well, in the guise of humans. Perhaps we can sow some discord through simpler tactics. Humiliate the magical girls, or unmask their secret identities, if possible. If nothing else, it will be very fun to watch!"

"Yes, your Wickedness," the monster said.

"Now be off, and be quick!"

And the monster left with one more bow.

He was not looking forward to un-caging the Tentacle Lasher, or any of the monsters, for that matter. But the Tentacle Lasher least of all.