King Sylas roared! It was not an elegant sound, nor was it a battle cry. He screamed to the heavens above like a wounded beast, and his hands shot out, grabbing the nearest elf. He placed a palm on their head and heart and forcefully turned them into a weapon. They became a spear of energy.
"Face me, oh holy one! You who bathed in his blood and saw beyond the void! I demand you fight me! Battle me!"
Sylas glared at the cosmos above, and then he saw it.
An ocean of red.
Blood poured down from the sky as the stars above bled and space was slashed open, leaving gaps that bled, filling the world below in a sickly fluid that drowned most of the soldiers.
King Sylas sputtered as the cracks in reality grew, and he was bathed in the blood of a dead God. The battle, the final attack, had been over before it even began. He never stood a chance. Haru had beaten him.
Now he knelt in the red, a sure sign of his defeat, the blood pouring in a never-ending stream, washing over him and the rest of his men. He was drenched in it, his golden locks stained, and his purple eyes practically crimson. Every being on this battlefield was turned scarlet as the fluids rained.
All but Haru.
She stood on the blood, her feet not sinking into it. Not a drop touched her flawless skin, and she hadn't even broken a sweat. She stood there before him, as glorious as the day she was born.
No armor touched her skin, if one could even call it that. She was naked, having no need for modesty or protection. The only thing of note about her was the white blanket, which had been draped over her shoulders, a gift from someone else, for a robot like her knew no shame.
She almost looked human, but Sylas knew the truth. Beneath that mockery of flesh was an unfeeling being. Weakly, the strongest elf, the king of his race, gazed up at Haru, his eyes full of hate, yet all he saw was an empty gaze.
Golden hair fell down her back, and her eyes were half closed, unseeing and unthinking. It was the gaze a sword would give the enemy, should it have the ability to see.
Truly, this couldn't be called a battle because that requires people, and Haru was most certainly not a person.
Everything was brought to ruin.
The kingdom he had created. The nature of the world. The path he followed. The sacred God. Even the Almighty, whom he worshipped. None of it mattered.
Himvel shook and placed a shaking hand over his mouth. There was no way something like this could be called a battle. No way at all. Here he stood, ankle deep in a sea of blood, while he watched his king come to ruin. All because he challenged that which should not have been faced. Haru, the Bright. Haru, the Golden. Haru, the White.
Haru… The Saint who reached Rome.
"You think you're special?" Sylas let out a weak laugh and kept his gaze focused on the naked saint. "You survived oblivion. You walked outside of the wall and gazed into the abyss, but so what? You're not the first, and you won't be the last." He let out a weak cough, spitting up bile and blood, due to the shards of Z.E.U.S. that were still rammed in his flesh. "It's all one big joke. We're the punchline, you know? You, the King in Red, the Sea God, the Knight of Lunar… Hahaha. You don't even know how easy it is, do you? Seeing past the source. They're not blind. Up there, above our little cage, past the stars, past the walls, the angels watch, and I bet they laugh, because they've already won. The plug's been pulled, and the dream will end. Do you think they left a backdoor open? Perhaps they planted their own little agent. One who can fulfill any role. What do you think he'll do? What will he become?"
Himvel had absolutely no clue what the hell his king was talking about. At a certain point, he began to wonder if Sylas even knew what he was saying. These were the words of a madman. A rambling fool on the verge of death.
Sylas wasn't a good elf. There was no tragic redemption behind him. He wasn't a soul who was wronged, nor did he have some plan for the greater good.
Sylas was far simpler.
King Sylas was a bastard. A monster. An evil villain placed into a story for the hero to defeat.
And Haru was the hero.
"Got nothing to say?" Sylas sneered. "I've always hated your kind. Those who make it past the wall and can reject the truth of it all. You're all idiots. Nothing more than fragments of a dream long forgotten. I hope it hurts when you wake up, and the dream ends."
Haru raised her arm, and the concept of space and time twisted, forming into a blade. With one swipe, she removed Sylas's head from his body, killing him.
Her gaze didn't change. Her expression never shifted. She remained pure and untouched, even as the corpse of the Mad Tyrant King dropped into the ever-quickening sea of blood, which eagerly consumed him.
The king of elves was dead. Slain by a human.
No…
To call this 'thing' human was simply wrong. Himvel stared at the corpse of his king, his mentor, his father, in silence. "Goodbye, Dad…" Himvel then looked up, and his eyes met Haru's. "Well. Go on. Do it already."
He didn't see her move. She just appeared in front of him. Himvel squeezed his eyes shut and awaited the death that he deserved. After all, he was related to the mad tyrant, and he doubted Haru would be willing to just let him go. At least, that was what he assumed, yet he didn't feel any pain. Instead, he felt a warm hand on his cheek.
Himvel's eyes cracked open, just enough to see that blank face staring up at him, those eyes silently studying him. Her hand was on his face, embracing him.
"W-Why?"
And for the first time since he saw her, the weapon spoke. All she said was four words. Four measly words.
"Because. I see you."
And then she was gone. One moment she was there, and then the next, she was gone. Haru, the saint, left, and the elves who had expected death after their king fell were left to mull over everything that had just happened.
"S-She left?" One elf asked nervously, crawling through the puddle of blood that was now waist-deep. "H-Himvel sent her running!"
"H-Himvel! Y-You did it!"
"I-I didn't, though? I didn't do anything-" Himvel gasped as several elves picked him up and tossed him into the air.
"Himvel the hero!"
"Himvel the hero!"
"Himvel the hero!"
Himvel the hero… Yeah right. Some hero he turned out to be…
***
"You good?"
Davi blinked. "What?"
"I asked if you're good." Olem nudged him with an elbow.
"Oh. Yeah, I'm good."
"Really? Because you've been staring off into space for quite a while now."
"Have I?"
"What's on your mind?"
Davi gave a half shrug. "Nothing. I guess I'm just thinking about everything. He looked around at the rather large group they now had. All of Himvel's men: Olem, his captain; Susie; and finally, Myth and his group. They were a mini army, and currently they were all heading for the mountain that Himvel had stored the gate to the realm above at. With his magic, Himvel had been constantly moving it around, but now that they had formed a truce, this meant they could just leave, all without fighting. Along the way, they also got Mel and the Queen. "I'm not used to things going this well," Davi admitted.
Olem let out a low chuckle. "To tell you the truth, I had most of my trust in you."
"You did?"
"Yes. I didn't think of the saint stuff, but I knew if anyone could help, it'd be you." Olem roughly patted Davi on the back, causing the scarred man to stumble slightly. "You're good at helping people, and most tend to trust you. I wasn't fully on board with the 'hide underground' plan, but I'd have done it if it meant saving the rest of the guild. Luckily for all of us, you pulled through and got an outcome where everyone wins."
"I just wanted a happy ending for everyone," Davi admitted. "I like it better when everyone good gets a win."
"Those tend to make the best kind of tales," Olem agreed. "Davi Hawker, member of the Phoenix Flight guild, professional trouble-maker, and the savior of the Licht-Fulk. Yes, you're certainly going to have a pretty title when this is all said and done."
"Let's at least wait until we all make it out alive first." Davi cracked a smile. "You should especially be careful. The Captain has been giving you some nasty looks."
Olem sheepishly glanced at his captain. Laerton had a large frown on her face and was glaring at him. "Yeah. I don't blame her for being annoyed with me. Hopefully, she'll take it easy on me."
"I'll pray for you." Davi lightly punched Olem's shoulder.
Eventually, they all arrived at Himvel's base. The armored elf led them down the steps and to the backrooms. The gateway out of here was all the way at the furthest reaches of the base and looked almost like a well. It was forged from stone and formed a circle of bricks, rising from the ground. A glow of white light seeped out of it and connected all the way to the roof.
"Is this really the exit?" Myth asked, a bit skeptical.
"It is." The queen spoke up first. "This was created by Himvel way back in the day as an emergency bunker for our main dungeon. It is, in fact, connected to the top, and it is the only way out of here."
"It currently has a rune stored on it." Himvel began. "I imbued it there and made it impossible to use unless the rune was taken down. Luckily, I have the key."
"What about the other Licht-Fulk?" Mel asked, her eyes narrowing.
"We can have them leave later," Laerton said. "We don't have time to get them all to the top and explain. We need to leave now. After we deal with the horse monster, I'll go get the Saint. During that time, Myth can help get everyone up top and ensure it all goes smoothly."
"Why do you get to go get the saint?" Myth grunted.
Laerton rolled her eyes. "Fine, you can go get her, and I'll stay. Can we just get up there now?" She glared at Himvel. "Open it."
"Right." Himvel walked in front of the large well and then stopped suddenly. He hesitated and reached up to his helmet, but then stopped again.
"What are you waiting for? Just do it." Myth ordered.
Himvel turned back to the group. "First, I have something to confess." Everyone grew tense. "I'm not Himvel, the hero." The armored man admitted. His hands twisted the helm, and it cracked as he began to pull it off. "I lied to you all."
Beneath the helmet wasn't the face of an elf, nor was it of a Licht-Fulk. In fact, he lacked a face completely. There was no head either. The armor broke away, revealing a stump where the neck should have been and a body forged from hard clay stone. He was far skinnier than Olem, and his limbs were a little lanky and awkward, but as the entire armor fell away, it became obvious that he was actually a golem.
"My real name is Bolem. Bolem, the golem."
"Yeah, we know."
"You're likely shocked by this reveal, but allow me to- What do you mean you know?" Bolem recoiled, and he turned to Davi, who had spoken up.
"The queen told us everything." Davi gave a thumbs up. "You're just a stand-in, right? The real Himvel is somewhere else. I have a pretty good idea; I know who it is."
Bolem let out a sigh and folded his arms, a bit disappointed that he didn't get the big reveal. "Yes, it's true. The real Himvel is someone else. He came down here long ago, turning mad. This is because of the radiation of the core. Even with his suits, it slowly infected him, and physically, he might not be a demon, but mentally, his mind is giving out. Elves aren't immortal, and he's been alive in these conditions for a very, very long time. As such, you can imagine how badly his mental state began to fail and collapse. When I found him down here, he was a raging lunatic, yet sometimes he would snap back to normal and be able to speak to me. That was when he first told me of the plan to use this place as a bunker for the core above. I became his shadow, and it was my job to pretend to be him while he would come and go as he pleased."
"For years, we all thought you were the real Himvel," Mel spoke up and shook her head in disgust. "You were a horrible, horrible man, and you gained all our ire and hate. Why? Why go through all this trouble? I don't get it."
"Because of a story."
"A story?" Davi perked up. "I don't like where this is going."
Bolem hummed softly. "I know not all of it, but my creator, Himvel, was once given a very important task by the legendary Haru. When this place was created, it was she who put him in here and gave him a job. The reason we have waited so long is that someone was supposed to come." He looked to the queen. "Give them the message."
All eyes were on the queen, and she let out a sigh. "I'm leaving it for him. The one who comes after me."
"What the hell does that mean?" Laerton raised an eyebrow.
"It is a message Haru left." The queen said, shocking them all. "Long, long ago, before any of us were born, Haru sealed the great demon Elzebub away, and when she did so, she gave a message to Himvel. Unfortunately, only Himvel knows the full thing. That verse I told you was simply one line, and it is the only line that I know. From what I have been able to guess, someone was supposed to come here and would actually deal with the demon."
"Why couldn't Haru do it herself, though?" Laerton frowned. "I mean, she was a Saint, she could have killed it. Also, is that seriously why you guys have been bugging Davi? Because you think he's the one who comes after Haru? Couldn't it be any guy?"
"You'd need to ask Himvel. He was the one who thought Davi might be the one Haru spoke of."
Davi rubbed his chin, deep in thought. "I hope that prophecy is wrong."
"Why?"
"I'm leaving it for him. The one who comes after me." Davi repeated it. "I'm leaving it for 'him'. The Holy Saint is a girl, right?"
"Maybe it just means you'd be the one to come up with the plan?" Laerton suggested.
"Nah, that's stupid." Davi shook his head. "But still, I can't kill a demon since I'm not a saint, and putting it in my vault is bound to fail? Well, unless I try 'that', but I'd rather avoid it since I'd die."
"What?"
"Nothing, it's just a last resort I have been cooking up." Davi hummed again. "Yeah, I don't think I'm the one Haru spoke of. I can't stop this guy. At least, not in a way Haru couldn't do herself."
"There might be something," Olem suggested. "Haru was basically a god, but she still was fully human. Perhaps there's some technique only you can do due to your unique circumstances of birth?"
"You mean like, something I can do since I'm an elf?"
"Yeah."
"Maybe." Davi gave a slow nod. "There is this one thing I could try. Not sure if it would work, though."
"We can discuss it more later." Laerton shook her head again and turned to Bolem. "Enough with the time wasting. Open that gate!"
"Right." Bolem's body suddenly made a strange creaking sound. A line formed from his crotch to his neck, and pebbles of stone broke away. He snapped open, his chest coming undone, the same way Olem would. When he did open up fully, he reached into himself and pulled out a stone cube. It was small and covered in glowing runes that swirled around it. "This is the key." He placed it against the wall of light and pressed in. "This is what will open the gate."
The cube cracked and shattered, the runes spilling off it and twisting around the pillar. The white glow started to flicker, and it became red, then blue, then yellow, and kept going, the flickering getting faster and faster until eventually it turned back to white. It looked the exact same, but Bolem pulled his arm back, and his body sealed shut once again.
"Is that it?" Myth asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yes." Bolem nodded. "The gate is now unlocked."
"So, how does this work?" Susie questioned.
"Simply jump in and the energy will carry you to the top."
"Will we go through the roof?"
"Yes. It will not hurt."
"So, we're good to go?" Laerton asked eagerly.
Bolem once again nodded and turned to face the pillar of light. "Indeed. We can take the bridge, and it will send us directly to the square. Now, let us be off-"
A sharp black object suddenly jutted out of the pillar of light. It looked like a sharp stalagmite and rammed directly through Bolem's chest, ripping out of his back. All of them were caught off guard and then sent flying back as a shadow erupted out of the light, and something massive appeared in the room, using the gate to arrive down below.
Davi's eyes widened when he saw scales and something slithering around. His ears then rang when he heard booming laughter.
"I thought you would hold them off a bit longer than that, stupid golem. I'm so disappointed in you. My master will not be happy." The voice came from a Lung. One that was now taking up most of the room, due to its massive size.
Davi's look shifted into a glare as his gaze met the dragon-like beast. "Farkiss."
"Hello, Davi."