"Why did you take Storymaker?" Princess Ever asked.
"Hmm. I broke the impossible barrier and traveled all the way back up to the Enforcer city, and that's what you want to ask?" High tilted his head and sounded a little disappointed. "Come on, isn't the teleporting way cooler?"
Princess Ever ignored the robed man, and she quietly looked around the room she was in. It was a place she was very familiar with. This was a place she had spent most of her life.
When Davi and his crew went to fight Himvel, she had followed High. Something about the masked Licht-Fulk caused her to be suspicious, and she was correct in assuming something was wrong, because the man somehow managed to get his hands on Storymaker, Davi's prized sword. Even now, he was holding it and waving it around so casually, as if it were a pointing stick.
She, of course, got caught, since she had no stealth skills, and what High had done next confused her greatly. He took her back up to Enforcer City.
That should have been impossible. After all, both he and Mel were going on and on about the barrier, but it seemed just as he lied about helping Davi, that was also a lie. High had never been on Davi's side to begin with.
"W-Why did you take me here?" Princess Ever demanded. "A-Are you trying to get me to change into a demon?"
"Relax. We're protected." High hummed. "Like me, you're covered up in a layer that fends off the effects of the radiation."
Princess Ever looked down at herself. Indeed, High had redressed her once they appeared back in Enforcer City. In fact, she was now dressed up exactly like him. She wore a trench coat and a mask, her body covered head to toe. The radiation of the room she was in washed over her, but it never reached her. The clothes were keeping her safe.
"This outfit was forged out of the blanket Haru was born on," High said casually and adjusted his sleeves. "It had been just a normal piece of cloth back then, but its ties to Haru caused its molecular structure to change and evolve into something that defies the logic of our world. The ancient elves of old discovered that this blanket could negate the effects of demonic radiation, and at one time, many of them attempted to form protective gear out of the stuff, hoping it would keep them safe."
"The elves are dead. So I take it, it didn't work?"
"It did not." High let out a sad sigh. "While the clothes produced are able to negate it for a while, they are hardly a permanent fix. Sooner or later, the radiation will devour these outfits and sink into the flesh beneath. We have about a week before that happens, being so close to it, but if we were further away, they'd last a while. Over the countless years I've been here, five cloaks have all burned up, and I keep the rest in the land below. The Underworld is the last place where radiation hasn't seeped in. I have four left, not counting the two we're wearing."
"Then why are we here? Why aren't we down there!" Princess Ever yelled. "This place is where hell itself has left one of its curses behind! It is not a place where discussions should be held!"
The room the two of them were in was deep beneath the ground. It wasn't like the Underworld, where it was another realm entirely; rather, this was a hidden floor beneath the castle. The walls were made out of an ancient black metal, the same for the floors, and lights infused with magic hung above. Runes were carved into the walls, glowing and pulsing with energy, and shelves of thrown-together gear Himvel once worked on were scattered around, as well as old inventions of his.
This place was Himvel's old workshop. A place where the elf resided, where he would create all manner of devices in hopes of fixing the issues with the dungeon.
Currently, the stench of death was heavy in the air, as several dead Licht-Fulk scientists were scattered around. Their blood-coated Storymaker, which High held in one hand. He had slaughtered them all, making sure not a single soul was able to get out and warn everyone else that he was here.
Most of the scientists were all tasked with studying Himvel's old inventions, figuring out how they worked and why he made them. At one time, she had been part of the science division. Before she fully stepped into the role of Princess Ever, she had been tasked with understanding the great core that Himvel made. The only reason she even stopped was because it started to speak to her, and her body began to mutate.
Speaking of the core, it was in the middle of the room. The core was where the great beast Haru sealed away, resided. It was built by Himvel and contained traces of the All Mother's light, which turned the cursed energy of the beast within into positive holy light that allowed their dungeon to thrive and function.
So… What did the core look like? The secrets of the Enforcer city, Himvel's greatest creation, and the only thing that contained an actual demon?
It was covered in eyes…
Long wheels within wheels, spun going all around, like a gyroscope, but there must have been hundreds, and they moved so fast that at times they looked still. It was impossible to tell where the first one began, and the last one ended. They just kept spiraling around one another.
Outside of the twisting gyroscope was an outer ring that was a halo of sunlight, and it floated alongside the circles. It also spun, but far more slowly, going around it like the ring of a planet. Most of the structure looked like it was made out of a mix of white and gold metal, but bits of flesh were carved along it, with fire shaped like eyeballs staring out.
From the ring, white wings extended. There were far too many to count, some small, which covered the flaming eyes; others reaching towards the unseen heavens above; and some still thin or thick like ivory blades.
The flaming eyes all wept, crying blood that never reached the ground, for it would steam and dissolve, becoming bits of iron that would be pulled into the mass of spinning circles and connected to it, starting a new layer.
Within the center of it was the core of the core. It looked like a glob of hands. They were all forged from pure light and radiated with an intense white glow, their fingers interlocking as they formed a ball around the structure of something that was contained within. That was where the great beast resided.
Overall, it had a grotesque beauty to it and seemed both alien and holy at the same time. It was also massive, being nearly fifty feet wide, and it took up most of the large lab. Tendrils, which worked like powerlines, were jutting out of the sobbing eyes, which sucked the energy from it and cast it out to the sky above, creating the sun.
The greatest thing this dungeon had to offer.
"Do you know what this is?" High asked casually.
"The core." Princess Ever frowned beneath her mask. "The greatest thing Himvel ever made."
"No, that would be Z.E.U.S. The core was grand also, but certainly not the greatest." High hummed. "This thing wasn't even truly built. It was more or less repurposed."
"Repurposed? Like, Himvel used something else to build the core?"
"Yep." High almost reached out to touch the strange core but stopped. It gave off a powerful heat and was like standing next to a bonfire. "This thing used to be a ship."
"That's one fucked-up-looking boat…" Princess Ever muttered.
"Ha! Yeah. I always thought that was weird as well, yet that's what I was told." High hummed. "My teacher said it was a boat that the angels used. This… thing allowed them to sail amongst the stars. This was a small one. Most of the big ships left when the Almighty left our world and went back to the stars. What few ships were left were either these tiny ones or were transformed into the Titans used by my teacher. Z.E.U.S., P.O.S.E.I.D.O.N., H.A.D.E.S., or even the lesser, H.E.R.M.E.S. The only big ship left would be the one in the center of the sun."
"Our sun doesn't have something like that in it?"
"I'm not talking about the sun of this dungeon." High shook his head. "I mean the actual sun. The one where the Lord of Order and a few of the other angels reside. He flew his ship up there back when it was just a cold rock and used his body to light up the solar system, transforming it into a working star. My teacher said his ship was still up there, but I guess only Haru and the Ebony Knight would know for sure, since they are the only two beings who ever went to the sun. Oh, did you know Haru defeated the Ebony Knight on the moon, but they started their fight on the surface of the sun? Isn't that so cool?"
"Who's your teacher?" Princess Ever asked, her eyes narrowing. "Are you referring to Himvel?"
"Ah. No. It's a little complicated." High shook his head and seemed to be in a bit of a daze for a moment. "I shouldn't bring him up. It would be pretty bad if you found out who my mentor was. Even someone like you would flip."
"What? Y-You're not making any sense! Tell me, why the hell did you bring me here, and why did you have Davi fight Himvel if you could just teleport? We need to break that core, don't you see!" She gestured to herself. "It's transforming me. My life is already over, but if we can break the core, we can save my people!"
High turned and looked at the princess. "Ah. Saving your species? Yes, that's an admirable goal. It's one I strive for myself, in fact."
"So then, why aren't you letting the core be destroyed? We can break it now!" Princess Ever raised her voice and pointed at it. "All we need to do is shut it off."
High sighed and pointed Storymaker at her. "I'm sorry, but no. If you shut down that core, everyone here is dead."
"Then why even bring me here?"
"I'm sort of debating what I should do with you," High explained. "I don't think I want you to die, but at the same time, I need you to understand something as well." He turned and pointed back to the core. "Long, long ago, the demons were created. Haru was pierced by a blade wielded by the Ebony Knight. All his hate and malice poured from her, and in turn, it created a situation no one foresaw. The elves were freed once Sylas was slain. They were able to reform and planned to join society once more, but upon Haru's blood being spilt, a great darkness came from her. One that latched on to the nearest elf and transformed him into a demon. The first demon, in fact. Addon, Borvus, Sleetdrazer, Gonro, and the greatest one of the first generation of demons, Elzebub. Like a human exposed to a magical mutation, the elves began to mutate and transform. Their minds snapped, their souls shattered, and their weapons forced their way out of their flesh. They became the children of Haru's inner darkness. The demons became the greatest threat to this world."
Princess Ever was transfixed as High spoke. Light radiated off of Storymaker, and it swirled in the air, taking shape, forming the words he said into images. The blade was making a story and painting a picture for her.
"Demons are far, far, stronger than normal monsters. They have a power on the same level as the great dragons and, in some cases, surpass even that. When it comes to elves, they're especially deadly. This is because the humans only turn into magical mutants when they are exposed to the dungeon, but elves become demons when they're exposed to other demons. Not just the living, but the dead as well. The elves who were slain, their corpses were forced back into a grotesque life. Many of them came back as twisted monsters, fusing with the ground itself. They were like gnarled branches or tree-like beasts."
Storymaker showed a large image, one depicting Davi Hawker and Olivia Lot battling inside of an old church. The very same dungeon in which he had found Storymaker. The two of them fought a monster that wore the robes of a priest and was fused into the side of a tree.
"The dead elves that came back weren't demons, but instead corpses being puppeteered around by the forces of evil. They could be slain like any normal monster, but what made them so deadly was the fact that a war had just happened, and so there were a lot of dead elves… Imagine how many monsters suddenly flooded this world that no longer needed dungeons. However, the true threat was the living elves. The mass of mutation was able to cross most of the planet, and so in less than a day, over eighty percent of the remaining elves were transformed into demons, which in turn spread the corruption even further. Demons lack a traditional soul and were made of pure hate, and so, as long as hate exists, they grow. Even the strongest being, Haru, struggled with them, and with a heavy heart, she slaughtered the elves to ensure that they wouldn't wipe out the races of man. This bloodshed allowed her to perform a ritual where the universe known as Hell was created, and she cast the demons out, banishing them from our world forever. The damage was done, though. The elves were wiped out, with fewer than ten of them being left, and most of them were killed by the humans who blamed them for the onslaught of the demons. What elves did remain fled to the dungeons and vanished, never to be seen again."
Princess Ever bowed her head, feeling remorse. "The death of our ancestors is a tragic one, I get that, but why are you telling me this?"
"Aren't you wondering why this demon is here?" High gestured to the core. "Elzebub… That's the name of this demon. When Haru banished all the demons, she left the first five alive. Addon, Borvus, Sleetdrazer, and Gonro were all allowed to escape. I don't know why she did this, but she let them run into the dungeons, and they're still out there somewhere. As for Elzebub, he was sealed away, but done so differently. Haru made his sealing sloppy. The seal to Hell is nearly unbreakable and is another universe entirely separated from our own, but for Elzebub, she put him in a thin bubble of magic, gave him to the Licht-Fulk, and told them to seal him away themselves. Then she transformed this dungeon and made it so that it'll travel the world every few years. But why? Why did Haru, why did a god, do this?" High pointed the blade back at Princess Ever. "You know, don't you? For it was told to the royal family. Your mother even offered this piece of information up for whoever won the Enforcer games of this year and performed the Rite of Marriage."
Storymaker glowed, and letters formed in the air.
'Yes. Princess Ever wishes to marry. As her mother, I decided it will be done when the games come to an end this year. Whichever player does the best will have a chance to win her hand and her heart. Of course, doing so will come with a few other rewards as well. It just so happens Princess Ever has a message from the legend herself. That's right. Princess Ever has a secret that came from Haru. But it will only be revealed to the one she marries as per Licht-Fulk tradition. So do try to do your best.'
Princess Ever's shoulders slumped slightly as she read the message her mother said during the games. This year's reward…
"The secret," the princess muttered. "One passed down through my family. When Haru sealed the great beast away, my ancestor asked her, 'Why did you not slay it?' And Haru responded with a phrase that echoed through time and carried us to this point."
Storymaker glowed and spelled the letters out.
'I'm leaving it for him. The one who comes after me.'
"Haru knew that one day a person would come who could slay Elzebub." Princess Ever spoke up. "She foretold it and entrusted our people. She knew that one day that seal would need to come down, and so she told us to wait for a great warrior. One who could defeat the beast. The demon Elzebub wasn't sealed because he was too strong. He was sealed because it was someone else's job to finish him off."
"And you believe that person to be Davi Hawker?"
"I do." Princess Ever nodded. "I've seen countless people from all over the world come and go, and only he has ever heard the voice speak to him, just as I did. He is a human; he has armor and mana similar to the Ebony Knight yet creates a warmth akin to Haru, bathing himself in a pure white glow. He even held a royal elven item before you took it from him. I believe that Davi is the one we were told of. The person who will save my people."
"Sorry, but you're wrong."
"Huh?"
"That isn't actually the message Haru left behind." High hummed. "I mean, it's part of it, but over the course of hundreds of years, it got a bit muddied up. The actual message was a little different. The one you have makes no sense, and it's because there isn't anyone who can stop Elzebub. Not anymore."
"You're wrong!"
"No. I'm just smarter than you." High tapped his head. "Think about this. A Saint is the only thing that can truly kill a demon. The only Saint left is the Holy Saint. I heard about her a few times from the people who passed through this dungeon, and it sounds like she isn't doing too well. If she did show up, sure, she might be able to beat Elzebub, but the battle would be long, and it would result in several of the Licht-Fulk that are around to turn into demons. Over the course of years, nearly ten percent of the dungeon is filled with Licht-Fulks that are on the verge of awakening elf genes. In fact, the next generation of Licht-Fulk will all likely be able to hear the voice openly, just as you can, and the generation after that will be able to use magic on their own. Then give it a bit more time, and soon there won't be Licht-Fulks left. They'll be elves. Many believed the elf king could see the future, and I can believe it, since he had you guys made knowing you'd eventually be turned into demons and rampage out in the real world. He had no hope of beating Haru, so he cheated and created a situation in which everyone lost, including him."
"W-We can't just give up." The princess cried out and shook her head. "There has to be something we can do!"
"There is," High announced. "See, I plan to bring the elves back."
"What?"
"The Underworld, I let it exist that way, hoping we could fit it with a ton of Licht-Fulks and let them thrive. See, this core, sadly, doesn't have much longer. In less than a year, it's going to blow, so I've been planning to turn the Underworld into a haven for quite some time. I gathered a ton of people up here, ones who had the best genes, and placed them down there. I made them think it was because the royal family wanted them to serve underneath the realm, but that was never the case. Nothing more than a lie. When this demon escapes, and trust me, he will, it'll cause several of the Licht-Fulks to mutate. After that, this guy will get out into the real world, open the gates to Hell back up, and then all life as we know it will end. But it doesn't have to. By placing the most optimal Licht-Fulk into the Underworld, I helped create a society that is mapped out to breed the best. This will quickly create the elves that I desire, and they'll return. That's also why I had Davi go down there. Humans are really good at making optimal kids, and so if he stays down there for long enough, eventually he'll have to accept it and join that new society. His genes have a bit of elf in them as well, so it'd speed up the process. The other humans help a bit, but I don't want too many so as to avoid a bunch of humans breeding and living on. I'm just interested in recreating the elves."
"T-That's insane."
"Nah, it's smart." High chuckled. "See, I'll be down there as well, and I'll make sure it all goes well. When the demon gets out, I'll separate the Underworld from the Enforcer city and make sure that they don't find us by using my magic. This will increase the odds of them leaving."
"W-Why couldn't you just throw the core down there and then cut it off from the city?"
"Again, that wouldn't work." High shook his head. "The demons can travel through dungeons pretty easily. If they were down there, once he got out, he'd just open a portal to the real world and leave. No matter what, he's getting out to the real world. The only real option is to hide away from the demons in the dungeons, which is what most of the elves did. The demon will most likely not come for the Underworld, as he doesn't know about it, and will instead be focused on breeding and creating more of his kind and opening Hell up to free the rest. After that, they'll spend forever destroying the planet and will then hopefully set out into the stars to chase after wherever Haru and the Almighty fled to. They'll either be stopped by the Lord of Order or kill him, at which point the universe is doomed. So, since it's a lose-lose, I decided we should just hide away, hence why I focused on setting that up."
"O-Okay, then why not take my people and put them down in the Underworld, and then when the demon does escape, we'll all be safe?"
"Wouldn't work. He'd figure something out if he woke up and this dungeon was empty. He'd likely come hunt us down. I need to make it look like the entire kingdom lives here, which is why I've slowly taken members of the population instead of most. Also, the Underworld isn't infinite in size; it's quite small, so it can't hold a ton of people and maintain the necessary resources."
"A-And what if you're wrong?" Princess Ever growled out. "What if you make a mistake and the demons do find you?"
"Then everyone dies," High said bluntly. "But right now, it's either everyone dies, or most of everyone dies. You're proof that we're too late. You're becoming a demon as we speak. It's happening. We can't stop it. The demon will escape. Luckily, I'm more convinced that we have a chance at survival now that I have Storymaker."
"Why's that sword so important?"
High lifted the blade, and it glowed softly. "Because. This is an elf. One who had her soul trapped within her own weapon. I'm sure that between her and me, we can weave an illusion in the Underworld and keep it hidden from the demons. She greatly boosts our odds."
"Y-You mean that you're going to-"
"Yes." High confirmed. "I'm going to undo her sealing and free Storymaker! At least if I could!"
"If you could? So you're saying you can't?"
High gave a sad nod. "That's right. I can not. Only King Sylas can undo it. I tried hard to find a way but it just isn't possible. That's why my plan has changed!"
"Okay?"
"Do you want to know my new plan?"
"Not really..."
"So, basically, I decided that someone else would be a better fit for Storymaker! See, I have an Atomic Core, which falls into the dark magic category. Davi has a Shadow Core, which is also dark. Storymaker is light, though. That means she needs to be used by a mage with a light Core. Those are exceptionally rare, however. I originally had the plan to trap a few humans underground and wait out the demon invasion, as I told you, but after seeing that Rage is here, my plan has changed slightly. I think I found a way to save everyone in the dungeon."
"You did?" Princess Ever's eyes lit up. "That's amazing! How?"
"We just have to sacrifice every human!"
"And there it is..." Princess Ever sighed. She looked defeated. "I don't like this."
"Sorry."
"No, you're not…"
"You're right."
"Why did you tell me all this anyway?"
High rubbed the back of his neck. "Because I'm going to kill you."
"What!"
"Yeah. I felt bad. Like, I don't want to, but you're turning into a demon, you know? So, you kind of have to die. I can kill you, get Storymaker to the person it belongs to and trick them into using it, then I just need to convince Rage to go along with my plan, and all the Licht-Fulk here will live. From there, they'll eventually become elves, and the race will at long last be back!" High said proudly. "Oh, but for it to work, you do have to die, cause you know, demon and all that."
Princess Ever fell back and raised her arms. "Wait, wait, wait!"
"Sorry." High lifted the sword. "It's nothing personal. For what it's worth. I liked talking to you." Then, he brought the blade down.
Storymaker was deflected and nearly torn out of his hands as another blade blocked his blow.
High's eyes widened as he came face-to-face with Sunny.
"Oh shit." High then shrugged. "Nah, actually, I knew you'd be here. Oh, by the way, most of what I said was a lie. Or is it? Hahaha. I'm going to open the core. Or am I?"
"Will you just shut up?" A voice called out from behind Sunny. High turned and froze when he saw four Squires. Ken, Sieg, Olivia, and Ash. It was Olivia who spoke, but there was a fire in her eyes as she stared at the sword he held. "Where did you get that?"