Olem struggled to push himself up. Bolem was destroyed yet again, but thankfully his core hadn't been shattered, so it'd be possible to fix him. Olem, on the other hand…
The golem grunted and rubbed his stomach. His core had been grazed, and a small chip had been torn out of it. He was leaking power, and he was doing it fast. That wasn't good.
Olem's attention shifted over to Neptune. The god was a bit banged up and had definitely gone through the works, but unlike the rest of them, he was still standing, looking just as confident as he had at the start of the battle.
The battle had shifted so suddenly. One moment he believed Davi, High, and Himvel could win, and then the next Davi was dragged into his Vault, High and Himvel were crushed beneath a giant fist, and his captain had been impaled yet again, all her wounds reopened.
Was this the end?
Did they lose?
Davi had gone on and on about reaching a good ending, but the way things were looking, the story was starting to shift into some very dark tones.
Was this the bad ending to their story?
Neptune had begun to walk away. He had no reason to kill any of them. The god was only concerned with finding the last two members of the seven and killed them. He had taken on enough damage.
As Neptune stepped forward, he suddenly sighed when he felt the ground begin to shake. The hand of shadows, which had smashed into Himvel and High, cracked and exploded in a wave of powerful atomic magic as a weakened High and Himvel stepped out of the crater. They were bruised and beaten, but they survived.
"Where do you think you're going?" Himvel managed to give a weak smirk as he leaned on his rapier for support. "The battle isn't over."
"You two are so annoying," Neptune grunted. "Like cockroaches."
"That's rich coming from you." Laerton also wobbled back up and held her blade out. "How long have you been fighting without any healing? The cockroach is you."
Neptune lifted his broken trident and aimed it at Laerton. Olem leaped up and jumped in front of her, ready to take the attack, but before the blades of water could fire, a pulse of mana caught them all off guard. A moment later, a zipper opened up directly above Neptune.
"Express delivery!" Pock announced happily as he dropped out onto the battlefield. The zipper kept expanding, and a burst of heat scorched the air as Cinder and Falco landed directly in front of Neptune and pointed their weapons at him.
"Vil Inferno Blast!"
"Vil Flame Ray!"
The two fire attacks swirled together and smashed into Neptune. A barrier of ice and water hastily formed around him, but he struggled to hold the full thing back as the attacks pressed into him. "You guys are also standing in my way?"
The zipper continued to expand and open, and soon enough every member of Phoenix Flight and Pantheon, save for a few stragglers and Vlad, landed on the battlefield. Without skipping a beat, Myth opened his tome and ripped a page out, summoning his strongest soldier.
The shadows howled and twisted as the pages grew into the image of the Ebony Knight. Neptune barely had a moment to collect his breath. One second, the fiery attack that slammed into him was dying down, and then the next, a black-armored man with a fury equal to hell rammed into him.
"That won't hold him for long." Myth grunted. "Use this time to plan."
"Myth?" Laerton raised an eyebrow at the dark-skinned captain. He was covered in bruises and blood and looked like how he did when she had left him, but what confused her was that he had mana left. He would have had to burn through all of it, healing everyone, yet he still had enough to show up and summon his strongest warrior? "How are you here?"
"Well, you can thank one of your guildmates for that." Myth managed a slight grin. "I have to admit, some of your members are interesting." He nodded to Olivia, who looked tired despite the fact that she wasn't all that injured.
It had been thanks to Polymorph that they were able to show up. Olivia had planned to use it on Davi, but since she had no idea where or when he'd arrive at the battlefield and they needed people to quickly fight Neptune, she had instead decided to use it on Myth.
She didn't bother coming up with a new form or reaching fully into his soul. She simply used it to give him a fully recovered body and mana amount. Once he had that, Myth then quickly used his Polymorph'd mana to heal everyone by summoning beings from his book. He wasn't able to get them all up, but he did restore most of the severe damage and ensure they could all fight.
Polymorph eventually wore off, and Myth went back to being beaten up. That was why he was still in the same state as when Laerton had last seen him. As for everyone else, they were all at about sixty percent of their full power. Everyone was banged up but had enough energy to fight, though Olivia was in the worst state.
Her body was fully healed thanks to her own impressive healing factor, but since she used Polymorph up, it meant she lacked a majority of her mana. Even with all her blood, she only had a single spell left in her.
That was why she didn't plan to use spells.
One of her hands gripped around the cursed knife Davi had given her, and the other wrapped around the handle of Storymaker. She had never held a proper sword, but it seemed perfectly sized for her hands specifically, and the more she held it, the more she was sure this blade was made for her.
Of course, she'd return it to Davi once he arrived, but he was still nowhere to be seen, so until he got here, she'd be using the blade. It did bond with her after all, and elven weapons were alive and had powers of their own. It wouldn't be anything huge, but all the Enchantments within it would obey her, and she'd be able to activate its ability, whatever that was.
At least in theory, she should.
Olivia took several gulps of air and looked around at the large group, then back toward Neptune. Most of Myth's power had been burnt up in the first fight with Rage, and then he further used a ton of mana up in the second-phase fight. That meant he was running on fumes and had only slightly more mana than her and Laerton. He had ensured the others got more healing and energy back then. However, this brought on another side effect, which was that he was far weaker, and so his construct was quickly torn apart.
It was almost funny watching the big, strong Ebony Knight be split in half by Neptune's fist. Olivia almost laughed when she saw it happen, but her mouth quickly shut when Neptune's eyes settled on them all.
"Again and again, you all just get up and fight. It's so pathetic." Neptune clicked his tongue. "You know, I'm not the weakest member, but I'm not the strongest either." He chuckled. "The Lord of Threads is ranked at the bottom in terms of power, followed by me. It's a bit embarrassing to admit, but maybe now that you all hear that, you'll see how foolish this is. I've managed to fight two whole guilds to a standstill, and the people above me are far stronger. If two guilds aren't enough to take me down, then how many are needed for someone like Tik or Rosette?"
"That's why we have the Holy Saint," Myth declared. "With her and the power of the King, nothing on this planet can truly match them."
"Oh, you small-minded fool. Since when have we been from your planet?" Neptune lifted his weapon to the sky, and his mana began to bubble once again. It kept growing over and over, getting thicker and thicker. "I've already slain the Inheritor of Thought. Body. Core. Heart. All three of you stand before me. I will claim them all, and the gates of Rome shall open. I, Neptune, the child who swam to the bottom of the ocean and was given the power of the Sea Spirits, shall put an end to this entire chapter! Adam's story- No. My story is going to end on a happy note!"
A massive swirling orb of water formed in the air. It steamed and boiled, flickering out before it erupted in a massive blast of burning fluids.
"Alright, everyone!" Myth called out, and they all powered up. "This is our final stand! We can't lose! Here and now, we have to win!"
Once more, the battle began.
***
"Why did you need me to take you to the arena?" Mel asked hesitantly.
The Queen hummed and ignored the question as she and Mel walked the dead streets of Enforcer City. It had gone eerily silent. This was because all the people were unconscious in their homes, forced into a deep slumber.
"You and I aren't fighters. We couldn't help out in the battle even if we wanted to." The Queen eventually said. She approached the arena where the Enforcer games should have been held.
"I understand that, but we could still be there to play a support role." Mel countered. "I could at the very least distract that monster even if it was only for a second or two."
"Don't throw your life away." The Queen clicked her tongue and scowled once she entered the ruins of her arena. The battle Laerton and Neptune had done a number on it. The stands were torn apart, the ground had several craters in it, and the arena itself was reduced to little more than rubble. "My goal is to save the Licht-Fulk race, and so what I'm doing is all being done in the hopes I can save them. If you were to die, it would mean losing a Licht-Fulk, and now that we've come this far, I simply cannot let such a thing happen."
Mel frowned. "So you're doing all of this because you want to be a good ruler and save your people now?"
"That's always been my plan."
"You trapped several of us in the Underworld," Mel growled.
"I did not. Himvel, or rather, High did."
"High only did that because he was fused with that sick fucker!"
"I wonder if that's actually true."
"What?"
The Queen rubbed her chin. "I've been thinking about that. Who really came up with all those plans? The ones before the Marriage were, of course, Himvel, but which one was in control of the body?"
"My brother wouldn't do anything as twisted as you and Himvel were doing."
The Queen let out a loud laugh at that. "Sure, sure, keep telling yourself that. In the end, I guess it doesn't matter. Himvel put your people down into the Underworld because he wanted to keep you all safe. You were the Licht-Fulk who had the best chance of changing. At the time I never knew what you'd become, but I now know it's the elves. It's kind of a joke in a way. No matter what I do, my people will cease to exist, as eventually you'll all become elves."
"Why did you never come to the Underworld?" Mel asked with narrowed eyes. "If you knew some of Himvel's plans, then you had to know he had his reasons for bringing the Licht-Fulk down there."
The Queen nodded. "Yes, I didn't know everything, but I did know he did it as a way to keep the Licht-Fulk race alive. He wanted to ensure they'd be able to live, so he got Bolem to agree to pretend to be him and then put everyone down there so that if anything ever happened up here, the Underworld would serve as a bunker. I always thought he was foolish, however."
"And why's that?"
"I'm leaving it for him. The one who comes after me." The Queen whispered softly, and she reached out. The air glowed softly, and the broken arena started to rumble. "Himvel doesn't know that I knew this secret. He thought that was the only piece of information I had on what Haru said, but that's not actually true."
The glow swirled around, and the destroyed black screen, which usually listed what games would go next, began to flicker. Words started to get carved into it.
'I'm leaving it for him. The one who comes after me. The Hawk with red Wings. This will let him build the path he needs so he can finally reach me.'
"The Hawk with red Wings? Reach me? Haru left a message behind for someone to come find her?" Mel felt a wave of confusion slam into her. Haru was alive? Of course, many people believed she lived, but just as many also believed her corpse was on the moon. Then again, Haru didn't say this person would reach a living version of her, so maybe they were dead?
"Haru was strong." The Queen spoke in a soft tone. "Even we who didn't live in the same world as her know of her feats. I am sure that she had the ability to glimpse that which lies ahead."
"You mean she could see the future?"
"I believe so. Why else would she do so many odd things, such as leave a message for someone else and seal the demon here? I never went with Himvel's plan because I believed a savior would one day come. I was never worried about the core unsealing, or if it did unseal, I assumed the savior would be here already and would ensure my people survived. Haru left us alive for a reason after all. She saw something. I'm sure of it. Let me ask you a question. Do you think Davi Hawker could be that person?"
"Well… His name does have the word hawk in it…" Mel frowned and rubbed her temple, getting a bad headache. She thought of Davi and all the things he did. "I think he's a good person, and I think he wants to help, but he's also weird and goofy. I highly doubt he's some being that Haru was waiting for."
"Perhaps. I also don't know. He did say he was going to help, however."
"And I do believe that part…"
The Queen nodded. "Maybe Haru's prophecy is wrong, or maybe Davi is that person. We honestly don't know. He's the best we have at this moment, though, so I'll put my faith in him even if I'd rather not." The Queen cleared her throat. "Ho!"
One of the debris piles twitched, and Ho came floating out. "Yes, Ma'am!" The little guy gave her a salute. "Ho, reporting for duty."
"Were you just hiding here the entire time?" Mel asked a little amused.
"Yep!"
"Fair enough?"
"Ho." The Queen spoke once more. "I need your help."
"I'm all ears, boss!" The little creature flapped his wings and did a little jig. "What do you need?"
"Everyone in the city is asleep. I need you to gather them all and take them to the Underworld." The Queen ordered.
"You got it, boss!" Ho flew up and began to leave.
"That's one weird Licht-Fulk." Mel snickered. "He's so small and has wings. How odd."
"I sometimes wonder if he even is a Licht-Fulk." The Queen admitted. "He has been around since the creation of this dungeon and operates the games. He made several of them, in fact. I never bothered asking Himvel what he was or why he was made."
"Weird."
"Indeed, but we don't have time to worry about that. Onto our next task. I need your help with it. It requires two people."
"What are you planning on doing?" Mel asked, suddenly concerned.
The Queen's smile just grew, and she glanced at the castle in the distance. "We're going to play around with the Core."
***
"Oh, my God." Sunny blinked in shock. "They've all been defeated. Again!"
Every member of Phoenix Flight and Pantheon was once again down. The captains had been taken out and were badly bleeding. All the Knights were in a pool of their own blood and badly burned.
Laerton's head was no longer attached to her body, and Myth had been split in half, his guts spilling out. Olivia breathed heavily, both her arms torn off her body, and next to her were the brutal remains of Ken, who had been crushed. Himvel, High, Ash, and several others were all impaled to death on spears of water. Mama Herta, Battery, Cinder, Ragna, Gormay, Pock, and Ghost—all of them were dead.
"No," Falco spat out, which was impressive considering half his face was gone. "No, no, no… Is this really how it ends?"
Neptune stood above everyone, battered and bruised but grinning. He had won.
"Sunny, you have to do something," Princess Ever urged. "We didn't run all the way over here for you to just watch!"
"The fuck do you want me to do?"
"Sunny!"
Neptune looked down at the unconscious bodies of Sieg and Susie. He lifted his weapon up and came smashing down with it.
"Sunny!"
"Damn it all." Neptune's trident was suddenly deflected as Sunny slid in the way and barely parried it with his sword. He glared up at the Sea God. "Alright! Surely you've gotten weaker, right? Your fight is with me-"
Neptune backhanded Sunny so hard the man's neck was snapped, and the guard was flung off his feet and smashed into the ground uselessly, now just a corpse. Then, before anyone else could jump in, he stabbed his trident down, ramming it through Sieg's neck, nearly beheading him, and he stomped down on Susie's skull until there was a loud crunch.
"I win," Neptune declared.
This was indeed the bad ending to a story.
Neptune laughed. He had done it. He won. "I can finally do it. I can reach Rome. Yes, yes, yes, yes! I'm about to get my happy ending!"
His smile quickly faded, however, when he suddenly felt a hot, burning sensation course through his body. His teeth gritted, and he winced.
"W-What the hell? What is this mana? No… I know it. No… No, no, no! That's not possible! You can't be here! You can't-"
"Again and again, you all just get up and fight. It's so pathetic." Neptune clicked his tongue. "You know, I'm not the weakest member, but I'm not the strongest either." He chuckled. "The Lord of Threads is ranked at the bottom in terms of power, followed by me. It's a bit embarrassing to admit, but maybe now that you all hear that, you'll see how foolish this is. I've managed to fight two whole guilds to a standstill, and the people above me are far stronger. If two guilds aren't enough to take me down, then how many are needed for someone like Tik or Rosette?"
"That's why we have the Holy Saint," Myth declared. "With her and the power of the King, nothing on this planet can truly match them."
"Oh, you small-minded fool. Since when have we been from your planet?" Neptune lifted his weapon to the sky, and his mana began to bubble once again. It kept growing over and over, getting thicker and thicker. "I've already slain the Inheritor of Thought. Body. Core. Heart. All three of you stand before me. I will claim them all, and the gates of Rome shall open. I, Neptune, the child who swam to the bottom of the ocean and was given the power of the Sea Spirits, shall put an end to this entire chapter! Adam's story- No. My story is going to end on a happy note!"
A massive swirling orb of water formed in the air. It steamed and boiled, flickering out before it erupted in a massive blast of burning fluids.
"Alright, everyone!" Myth called out, and they all powered up. "This is our final stand! We can't lose! Here and now, we have to win!"
Once more, the battle began.
Off to the side, Vlad watched the fight, now sitting on the remains of a dead kitsune. He was absently playing on his gaming device, but he now set it down.
"What are you doing?" Vlad spoke up. "Hurry your ass up, Davi. I don't know how much more I can reset this ending."
Meanwhile, somewhere far, far away, Davi stared out at a lake, looking down at his reflection.
"Is something wrong, son?" Orion asked.
"Is any of this real?" Davi questioned quietly.
"What do you mean?"
Davi glanced back up at him and glared. "You know what I mean. Is this real or is it in my head?"
Orion laughed. "Well, of course it's in your head. Does that mean it has to be fake though?" He threw his line out and began to fish. "Now come on. It's a nice day for fishing. Let's just relax."