Ken finally stood back up. She wobbled and nearly fell over, but Susie and Sieg both managed to steady her. Numbly, she looked around at all the damage. Tori's attack had caught them all off guard.
Several members of the Pantheon guild were now dead. Most were low-ranking Knights, but a few notable ones like Martel had been impaled with spears of light, leaving him dead.
Phoenix Flight also wasn't in a good position either. Pock had a large hole in his stomach and was trying to seal the wound close. Mama Herta and Clause were both bleeding from bad gut wounds but were too focused on Ragna, whose leg had been bloodied by the Demon, and Ghost was panically shaking Falco, whose face was covered in blood.
Olem weakly stood up, chunks of his body crumbling away. "I'll try to heal everyone." He said in a defeated tone.
"This is madness." Battery also managed to stand up and stare off at the gate through which the demon had left. "None of this makes any sense. How could it get to this point?"
"It's their fault." Cinder's voice caused a hush to fall upon them all. Her eyes were devoid of life and hope as she stared at the members of Phoenix Flight with cold fury. "They did this. They're always behind it. Our members are dead because of them. Neptune or Rage or whatever that bastard was called was the same one who killed Snow. Do we really think it's a coincidence he showed up here? And now a demon is about to end the world." She spat out a glob of blood and a shattered tooth. "Their curse. We got too close."
There were several mutters of agreement through the crowd, and Phoenix Flight found itself being glared at.
"I agree," Battery said softly and held his hand up. "Phoenix Flight are the reason everything went wrong, all because of their curse, but we shouldn't be focused on that right now. We have bigger fish to fry. We can figure out what to do with these monsters later."
"Monsters?" Ken's face twisted into a scowl, and she glared at the swordsman. "As far as I'm concerned, the only monsters here are you guys. How long were the Licht-Fulk stuck here with nothing being done because none of you bothered to look into the Core or figure out what the beast Haru sealed away was? Why did it take until now for something to be done? Why weren't you guys able to stop threats like the Lord of Threads or this Neptune guy? Why did your precious Lance of Victory impale someone I love? You think we're monsters because we're unlucky? Sure. But by that logic you Knights are monsters because, as far as I'm concerned, all of you are so fucking useless."
Battery gave Ken an even colder look. "I don't want to hear that from a Yuan-brat. When Crow hears what happened here, I'm sure he'll revoke his previous decision. You should be executed."
"Oh, for Haru's sake, will you all shut up!" Susie screamed and stomped her foot down. "I thought Knights and Martial Cultivators and whatever else were supposed to be cool and heroic and brave, but you're all being a bunch of babies! Demon! Right there!"
"None of us can kill the Demon," Ash said quietly and bowed his head. "Not just because you need a Saint, but because we're way too weak. You feel that thing's mana, don't you? That power… It has no limit. Like looking into the bottomless ocean. It goes down and down and down and further still."
"Then someone find the Saint," Sieg suggested.
"She's likely dead." Pock winced. "Or at least Father is. I doubt the Saint and the Demon even came to blows."
"Fuck!" Clause ripped several chunks of his hair out. "Tori! She did this. She's part of the ritual and able to reseal the Holy Saint. Father once told Myth and me how it worked when we were still in training. I bet she sealed it away the second the Saint came out. How long was she planning on betraying us?"
"Why did she even betray us?" Sieg questioned. "Does she want the world to end?"
"She's going to get her wish if we don't do something," Miranda called out.
"Do what?" Cinder gave a bitter laugh. "Face it. We're dead. We lost."
"We can't just give up," Ken yelled.
"Do you have the power of a Saint?"
Ken shook her head and then glared at Vlad. "No. But do you?"
Everyone turned to Vlad, who had gone back to being silent. The cloaked member awkwardly shrugged. "Look, we don't have time for me to explain everything. Just view me as an observer. I'd rather not get involved in the first place."
"Vlad…" Mama Herta's eyes narrowed.
"There's seriously no time to explain." Vlad held a hand up. "Not even I planned for things to get like this. I was trying to prevent the Prettiest Flower from pulling any of her schemes. I never dreamed she'd use Tori like that. She never did that before, but then again, a ton of stuff hasn't been right this go around."
"What?"
"It doesn't matter." Vlad shook his head. "The thing we should all be focused on is getting out of here. Now that the demon left, this dungeon no longer has a boss and will be resetting soon. We have less than an hour. Pock, you and I will go get Captain Laerton and Myth. Hopefully they're both still alive."
"Where do we go?" Pock asked hesitantly. "The world's about to end."
Vlad snorted. "No, it's not."
"What?"
Vlad folded his arms and looked to the sky. "Long, long ago, there was a girl. Her name was Hope Lauren, and none of you ever met her, but I can vouch and say that she was a hero. One who would always save the day when the moment arose. That's what heroes do, don't you know? They save the day." As he spoke, the sky suddenly lit up with a bright light, and the sun flew forward, bursting through the gates of the dungeon, catching everyone off guard. "That's what heroes do," Vlad announced. "They always save the day. For better or for worse."
Outside of the dungeon, Elzebub hummed a little tune and moved his hands back and forth. The sky began to twist and bend, and he felt space, time, and gravity all shifting. He was going to open a portal to hell. Once the portal was open, the demon race would be free to plunder and devour to their hearts' content.
This had been Elzebub's plan, but it quickly got derailed when a sun smashed into him. Quite literally.
One second the Demon's fingers undid the universal locks on the cosmos, and then the next a giant spinning ball of fiery metal smashed into his back, catching him completely off guard. The Demon actually winced and then felt his focus slip as the ball of fire began to rise up, taking him higher and higher.
Elzebub's eyes narrowed, and he twisted around and stared at the familiar ship that had rammed into him. The Angel first built it to be a ship that could sail the stars, and then Himvel later turned it into a Core. Now it seems it was once again being used for its true purposes.
The ship was heavily damaged, the fire going in and out, and several spinning blades stopped as well as a few wings. They all flowed around a large orb of metal that was still split open, and inside was someone the demon was starting to resent seeing.
Davi Hawker was seated in the Core, though that wasn't the exact word he would use. The inside of the orb was small and cramped, and he floated in a void of nothingness. White hands jutted from the walls, and they grabbed onto his body, going over his flesh and face, and their fingers dug into his skull, tearing part of it open and plunging into his brain. His very thoughts controlled the broken ship, and he willed it to go higher.
The angelic ship was able to fly so fast it ignited the air, and in only a few seconds, both he and the demon were well above the clouds.
"What are you doing?" Elzebub's smile was gone now, replaced with a small frown. "Are you stupid?" He went to throw himself off the ship but suddenly became bound as several of the wings and spinning blades wrapped around him and shoved him down directly in front of the opening where Davi resided. "Let go!"
"No."
"And why not? You think you can kill me with the vacuum of space?" Elzebub suddenly smirked. "I'll survive, you know. But you won't. Humans can't live out here. You'll freeze, or your lungs will explode, or some other bad thing. Meanwhile, I'll be fine, and I'll simply grow wings or thrusters and fly back to the planet. Are you trying to get me far away? Sorry kid, but even if you took me to the other side of the universe, I'd be able to get back in no time at all. At most, you'll buy your world a week. It'll take a lot longer than that for the Saint to be ready. Your world is doomed. Stalling for time won't work."
"I'm not trying to stall for time," Davi said coldly, and then he lost his voice as he fully left the planet. The cold that hit him was as bad as being in the dungeon. His skin began to get covered in ice, and all sound went out. His veins burned, and his eyes only saw red as blood vessels popped and froze over.
There is no atmosphere in space. In fact, it is a vacuum, which causes pressure to rapidly escape. Should a person find themselves in space without proper equipment, their lungs and body would rapidly depressurize with such a powerful force that it tears the lungs to bits. The temperature is also extremely cold, being far into the negatives.
For most living beings, surviving in space without proper equipment is simply impossible. A few notable mages are able to do so thanks to an extremely powerful mana skin and other various techniques, but even for them, surviving outside of their atmosphere for long periods of time could prove fatal.
Without a suit, not only would you suffer the effects of your lungs bursting, you'd start to freeze to death.
Unfortunately, no one explained how space worked to Davi Hawker, and so when faced with an overwhelming cold and a pain in his chest, he redoubled his efforts, and his mana expanded even further as he tried to battle the curse he assumed the demon was inflicting on him. Then he aimed for his destination. Now that the ship wasn't on the planet anymore, it was held back by nothing, and it began to speed up, getting faster and faster. It defied logic and physics, just as Davi himself was doing.
Elzebub felt the restraints around him start to tear. It wouldn't take him long to break out and free himself. He was a demon, and so he could survive in deep space just like a Lordian or a Great Being, but even if it wasn't fatal for his health, he didn't want to stay here for too long. After all, it was really cold.
And then it stopped being cold.
Elzebub felt a sudden heat. One that burned his back and crept in all at once. It was followed closely by the feeling of a pair of eyes settling on him.
The Demon twisted his head and stared in horror at the sun, which was getting closer and closer.
Davi Hawker was going to ram them into the sun!
Elzebub twisted back around and glared at Davi but then stopped when he saw the look in the human's eyes. This wasn't a bluff, nor was it a trick. Davi already looked to be on the verge of death and was about to take the two of them out together.
Davi didn't know where he could find a Saint, but he was willing to bet that a demon ramming into the Lord of Order's home at mach-stupid speeds would likely do a number on the creature and possibly even kill it.
Elzebub opened his mouth and screamed a screech that went unheard in the vast void of nothingness. His eyes now fully glared at Davi, and he struggled with the bindings even harder. The heat grew more intense, and Elzebub managed to rip one of his limbs out and pointed it at Davi, blasting a hole into the raven-haired man's chest. That should have killed the human, but instead the ship somehow got even faster.
The ship fed off mana, and every time Davi got damaged, his mana would swell and grow. The pain was increasing his power, increasing the ship's speed, and increasing his resolve to kill the Demon!
Elzebub fired several more shots and even aimed for Davi's head, putting a hole through his skull, but still the ship didn't slow down. It was like the man was using some twisted form of bodily fusion.
Elzebub's glare grew, and he glanced back at the sun, which had gotten even closer. All he had done was sped up his own demise. The demon's teeth gritted, and then he raised his hand and formed a Vow.
It wasn't one for the Lord of Order, however.
Trillions upon trillions of miles away, so far that even the galaxy was nothing more than a tiny speck, Haru felt a child calling out to her, trying to create a new Vow.
One that went through.
The ship blasted forward, but it never reached the sun. The space before it shunted and broke as a shimmering portal formed. Davi was unable to react in time as he flew straight through the portal and then rammed headfirst into the moon.
The entire ship shattered and crumbled, exploding in on itself, and jagged clumps of metal stabbed into the ground.
Davi felt more pain as his body was impaled by metal shards, and he was sent spinning across the ground, the hands ripping out of his body. He smashed into the ground and hit his head hard enough to crack another section of his skull open.
The only good thing to come out of landing on the moon was that the pressure on his body faded. The ground was made out of an ivory-colored grass, and far, far in the distance he saw ruins of old cities. There was a gray sky above, and though it was cold, the sun did cast some warmth, heating him up. Air returned to his weak, shattered lungs, and he greedily gulped it down.
The only thing keeping him alive was his magic. He had used Shadow Vault and was plugging the pieces of his damaged body up with magic, filling in the gaps, which allowed the circuits of his brain and damaged organs to still function, but at a much slower pace.
He had gotten the idea after seeing Neptune do something similar. It wouldn't hold out for long, however, and once it wore off, his brain and body would be littered with holes.
He was going to die.
Although he might not have to worry about that. After all, the Demon was certainly going to kill him.
The twisted remains of the ship were ripped apart as Elzebub stood back up. His body was a bit damaged, but the signs of injury were already fading and healing.
"Do you know what you did?" Elzebub gave the downed Davi a cold look. "You forced me to use a Vow. I had to quickly split space-time open and shift us over here. I couldn't get us to the planet, but I did manage to get to the moon. It'll only take me a few hours to return, but now I won't be able to summon my siblings. I had to sacrifice the ability to open the gates of hell."
Davi suddenly felt a wave of relief as he heard the Demon's words. He closed his eyes and let out a sigh of relief. "So, it's over."
"One day."
"What?"
The Demon's smile returned. "I had to sacrifice the ability to open the gates of hell for one day. Just one. In twenty-four hours, that power will return." He peered down at Davi. "You saved your planet for a single day. Congrats, hero."
Davi's eyes lit up. "Row Shadow-Light Armor!" Shadow and Light reformed over his damaged body as he donned his suit. "Row Shadow-Light Vault!" He replaced his missing arms by opening his vault, a pure white left hand and a dark black right hand forming. They were mana constructs and far weaker than his actual striking power. They'd also crumble the moment he lost concentration, but he didn't have time to worry about that. In the same breath he spoke, he sank into his Vault. Space was dark. So, so dark and filled with shadows.
Davi reappeared directly behind the Demon, and he wrapped his arms around Elzebub's waist. "What are you doing?" Elzebub let out a sigh, completely done with the situation. His elbow tore an entire section out of Davi's body, ripping the man open. Guts spilled out, and Davi nearly let go as he felt his heart slow and then stop. "You can't defeat me."
"Then I'll fight you forever." More hands spilled from his wound, grabbing at his torn flesh, and Davi did his best to hold his body together. "Vil Shadow-Light Vault!" Blades and blocks of stone and whatever else he had came ramming out, and of course none of them hurt the demon, who easily broke out of his grip. Davi jumped back and grabbed one of the swords, but it already shattered as Elzebub punched straight through it with a finger.
"You can't even harm me. You can't kill me. You can't fight me. You're lucky it's me that is fighting you. If it had been any of my other brothers, they'd have long since devoured you and this world."
"And yet you don't because of your arrogance."
"Arrogance? Do you feel fear when an ant attacks you?" Elzebub snorted.
"I'd feel fear if that ant almost threw me into the sun," Davi confirmed. "You looked like you were about to shit yourself when that happened. Let me guess, the Lord of Order can kill you-"
Elzebub grabbed Davi by the throat and lifted him up. "I don't like you anymore." He brought his other hand up, and then blood and guts rained to the floor as he sliced Davi in half, sending his legs falling to the ground. Once that was done, he tossed the remains of Davi to the ground. "Bodily fusion allows one to defy the limits on their body, merging flesh with mana, but even a master of it will die if enough blood spills out, and you're far from a master. Still, I must admit I'm rather impressed. None of the Knights seemed to have figured out how to do this, yet you could? You must be a genius. Way to go." Elzebub clapped mockingly as he stared down at Davi, who was now armless and legless.
A person being split in half would die in mere seconds. Even for someone like him, such a thing was true. He was dead. Beyond saving. Still, he had meant what he said earlier. Elzebub was a very, very cocky person.
Mages fight with mana. They use it to sense what the enemy will do. Even those without true mana sense can do it instinctually, and yet time and time again Elzebub was caught off guard by the strength of people for either being weaker or stronger, and he had even let the angelic ship sneak up on him.
The Demon couldn't sense mana. Either because it was a skill he lacked or because Elzebub was so powerful that such a technique was beneath him, the Demon never even noticed that when Davi had thrown random items in his Vault out, someone had also exited it.
Himvel jumped onto Elzebub's back, wrapping his remaining arm around the demon's neck and his legs around his waist. "Got you!" Himvel announced, flicking his chalk. "Now, Davi! Ril Atomic Shift!"
"Vil Shadow-Light Vault!"
Their magics mingled and then combined as Davi and Himvel combined their spells. Shadow-Light Vault could travel a large amount of distance so long as there was light and darkness. Atomic Shift could move matter and take it somewhere the user had been before.
They had gotten close to the sun.
Close enough.
All three of them reappeared where their ship had last been thanks to Himvel's spell, and then Davi's further moved them forward! His spell deposited them directly onto the sun.
The heat was intense. It was the direct reverse of the empty void, and the only thing that stopped Davi and Himvel from melting instantly was due to their mana. Himvel managed to hook an arm around Davi's waist and poured all of his energy into a barrier that would shield them.
Under normal circumstances, that wouldn't work, and they'd be reduced to ash; however, this star defied logic and wasn't actually trying to burn them. This was because all of its heat and focus was centered on the true invader.
The sun was actively killing Elzebub, and no amount of mana would shield him. Since it was focused on him, both Davi and Himvel were only hit with one percent of its total heat, while the other ninety-nine percent devoured Elzebub.
All around the three of them was a sea of fire. Lava flowed above, below, and around, and thick golden mana poured into their flesh. Elzebub screamed, and his red skin sloshed off his body, leaving him looking like a black skeleton forged from metal. His cries of anguish went unheard, however. Not because they were in a void, but instead because the sun screamed back in anger.
Suddenly the gold was washed out by a sea of blue. Something massive reached down, and Davi realized it was a hand. One that only grabbed Elzebub. That was all he saw before Himvel used another spell and teleported them back to the moon.
Elzebub was not given that mercy, however. The Demon was dragged further and further into the star, pulled into its very center. Elzebub stood on the palm of an almighty being. One made of pure blue fire that held the shape of a person, wearing a cloak of orange flames. The Lord of Order, the Brightest Star, stared down at Elzebub, and then its hand curled into a fist.
A Saint can only kill a demon. Who decided that? The Lord of Order. The one who created the Saint system. The first and true Saint of the universe.
Davi had guessed that such a powerful being who held as much grace and lore as Haru herself would be capable of slaying a demon.
His guess paid off.
Back on the moon, Davi and Himvel landed flat on their backs. "Looks like we did it, kid." Himvel chuckled. Davi made no sound. "Sorry I couldn't take us back to the planet. There's a barrier around the world. It prevents something from simply teleporting in or out. If you want to leave or enter our world, you have to actually travel past the sky, both up and down. That's why that demon and I took us to the moon, as it's the closest place you can appear." Again, Davi stayed silent. "You did good, you know that." Himvel sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "You stopped the Demon from causing any lasting damage, and you saved all the Licht-Fulk. Because of you, the elves will one day return. They're going to need someone to lead them. I-I shouldn't die here. I'm the last one. I…" Himvel fell back and sat next to the corpse of Davi Hawker. "I'm sorry things turned out this way."
Himvel stared up at the dark sky above, feeling the rays of the sun coat his beaten form. He was tired; he was exhausted. He had a job to do.
"I was a young man when my father went mad. Like a few beings, King Sylas was selected to be one of the destined people who would reach Rome. He became a Greater Being, and what he saw drove him mad. My father would often talk about Oberon the Fairy King, and his plan to reach him. Time and time again he'd fail, and eventually he'd be slain by Haru. And so my father would die. Yet we elves would not. We would survive and thrive until the day of the end came about. The Ebony Knight helped bring the Demons into this world, and our downfall began. I had hidden myself in the Enforcer Vault, hoping to hide, yet it didn't work, for that demon arrived. That was when Haru sealed him away. I still remember it."
Himvel smiled softly as he recalled that event with perfect clarity. All the Licht-Fulk stared in awe as, with a single swipe, Haru nearly blew the Demon to bits, and then with another wave of her hand she sealed him away in a tomb of metal.
It had been so easy.
Too easy.
"Why don't you just kill the Demon?" A young Himvel demanded. "You killed my father, but you won't kill that monster? Why! Why show a demon mercy?"
Haru was beautiful. That was a fact Himvel had to admit. She was thin and almost delicate-looking, lacking any muscles or any signs of being a warrior. She was flawless and lacked any wounds, and not a bit of her body was covered in dirt. A thick white cape was tied around her neck, which barely gave her any modesty, and golden hair fell down her back.
This machine, this weapon, this fantastical being turned to face him at his outburst.
"Mercy?" Haru's voice was quiet. So, so quiet. Himvel had to strain to hear. She was soft-spoken and sounded as if she might be in a dream. "Rest assured. He will have a fate that will result in a painful death. I will not show him any mercy."
"What? Why not just kill him yourself?"
Haru gently shook her head. "No. That is not my job. 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?" Haru's gaze was dreamlike. Her eyes were half-closed, and she had a soft smile on her lips. "That's it? You're leaving this thing here so some other person can do it for you."
"You will meet him one day, and when you do, there's a message I'd like you to pass on to him."
"Seriously? You're even lazier than I thought."
Haru's smile didn't fade. She just leaned in and whispered. Himvel's eyes widened.
Of course, this was nothing more than a memory. Himvel shook his head as it faded, and he once again found himself sitting on the moon next to a corpse.
Slowly, he stood up and looked down on Davi's body. By now, the man had lost all of his blood, leaving him lying in a puddle of red. "You know, it's kinda funny. From up here… The shape looks almost like…" The puddle formed around Davi like a pair of red wings stretching out. Himvel began to cry, and he collapsed to his knees. "What a cruel woman you are, Haru. I always wondered why you left me alive. I suppose you had seen it all since before we even met." He stared down at Davi's peaceful face with tear-streaked eyes. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."
Himvel lifted his hand, summoning his soul weapon, and he got to carving.
Meanwhile, far, far away, Phoenix Flight and Pantheon silently left the Enforcer dungeon. No one said a word. Bruno walked meekly behind both guilds, jumping at every shadow. Whisper clutched onto the head of Myth and stared blankly ahead. Ragna was being supported by both Clause and Mama Herta due to his missing leg, and Laerton was clutching on tightly to Pock, who guided her forward.
All of them walked out of the dungeon as the doors slid shut. Olivia was the last to leave. Each step sent pain through her tired muscles. She stared at all her friends, who all stared at the ground or up toward the sky. Everyone looked so defeated.
So many of them were dead, injured, or MIA. All of them were scared, confused, and angry.
And things only got worse.
"Hello!" Evelyn floated on her staff, staring down at all the beaten-up Knights. Gorgon, Dye, Dark Star, and Crow all stood in the air next to her. All the captains save for Grampa Green. None of them looked happy.
"D-Dragon Slayer." Somehow Battery managed to find his voice and peered up at the woman. "What can we do for you?" He gave a respectful nod to all the captains, but they ignored him and kept their glares trained on a single figure.
"Well, for starters, you can help us capture the traitor." Evelyn's smug grin grew.
"Traitor?"
Evelyn pointed, and everyone turned, finding a tired Olivia staring back up at the floating witch girl.
"Mary Lot. You're under arrest."
Davi gasped and sat up, taking several deep breaths. He breathed heavily, his chest rising up and down. "Ow, ow, ow, fuck, I hurt." He winced and rubbed the side of his head. "Then again, I guess being in a bit of pain is a good thing. After all, I was dead- how am I alive? How am I rubbing my head?" He glanced and found his right arm was back.
His lower half had returned as well, and all the holes along his flesh were gone. To be honest, he didn't feel that bad, though his left arm was still missing, which was strange. There was a bit of pain running through him, mostly around his back and heart, but it was manageable. Especially compared to what he had just been through.
Things got even stranger when he pushed himself up and stood. He wobbled slightly and felt confused. He was taller? And he felt a little heavier? His muscles had grown a tad bit. Not only that, but his eyes kind of stung and everything looked way clearer. He already had good vision, but now it was almost perfect?
He rubbed his missing arm expecting to find blood, but the wound had closed somehow. Not only that, but he didn't feel any of the negative effects of blood loss. His heart was pumping through his body just fine.
"Himvel?" Davi called out and looked around. "Where are you-" He stopped when he noticed several piles of clothes lying on the ground next to him. What confused him more was that they weren't Himvel's. They were his. Why were his clothes on the ground? And now that he was looking at them, he realized he was wearing High's trenchcoat.
Then he noticed it. Carved into the ground were various symbols and letters forming a sentence. A message had been left for him from Himvel. Then he saw another and another and another.
'Davi, when I first met you I-'
'Davi, the first time I laid my eyes upon you, I figured out that-'
'Davi, my name is Himvel, and I'm the son of-'
"Lolz, writing this is harder than I thought-'
Davi almost laughed as he read the cut-off messages. Some were scratched out and torn up, and most just started with his name and stopped as if Himvel had changed his mind on writing them.
'I met Haru. Long ago, she told me to leave you a message. "I'll be waiting. Put your faith in me and follow humanity's strongest." Davi, Haru thought you were special. You are, but I also don't think she's fully right. You're a good person, someone who did everything they could to save the day, but you're not perfect. You're not a god, and because of that, you made mistakes. Many, many mistakes. You should be dead, but you aren't. I've decided, not because of Haru or because of anything else, but because of you, that you deserve another chance. Think of this as a reward for your hard work and also payment for a favor. Haru wanted you to meet her. I don't know why, I don't know where, but I know without a shadow of a doubt that you're the one Haru was waiting for. I'm sorry, but could you be a pawn for just a bit longer?'
'Goodbye, Davi.'
'Good luck, final elf.'
'Enjoy the new body.'
Davi stared down at the messages and felt even more confused. What did Himvel do?
"Hello! I'm glad you finally arrived; I was waiting for you!"
Davi nearly jumped when he heard the voice, and he whipped around and stared dumbfounded as Ho did a little dance. "Ho!?"
"Hello, friend. You look like you could use the help of a little Ho." Ho began to shake his butt back and forth. "It's good to see you're still with us, Davi, or is it Himvel?"
"Or is it Himvel?" Davi suddenly felt sick. "What do you mean?"
"Well, I'm just wondering which one is in there." Ho hummed. "Oh wait, do you not know what happened?" He giggled, and the small Licht-Fulk snapped. The air shimmered, and a mirror dropped down.
Davi caught it and stared at his reflection. Blue and purple eyes stared back at him. He was relieved to see his face, his black hair, his scar, and every other feature. He was still him, but then he noticed the smallest of changes.
His ears were pointed.
The mirror dropped, and Davi grabbed at his face, letting out a strangled gasp.
Ho stared down at him with a look of curiosity on the flying creature's face. "Under most circumstances, when two beings perform the act of marriage, it is either a battle or a cooperation. Your situation is a little unique, however. It seems Himvel allowed all that he was to be devoured and absorbed. Complete erasure. I guess he thought he would serve better as extra flesh for you. Lucky you, since it returned most of your parts and fixed up all your damaged cells. Tell me, how was it eating Himvel? Was he yummy?"
Davi nearly threw up, but nothing came out. He coughed and gasped and smashed a hand into his stomach trying to undo the connection, but his attack wasn't working. Himvel and High had been one being controlled by Himvel, but a bit of High was still there. As he searched his own soul, he saw nothing. There was no Himvel, only Davi. On top of that, even if his body had changed a bit, his soul was still human, and so he couldn't even slice into it to find Himvel.
"I-I can't undo it?" Davi hissed.
Ho floated down. "Don't worry, friend, everything will be okay because I'm here!" Davi glared up at the small creature, and Ho just kept smiling. "Allow me to introduce myself. The name's Ho, son of Oberon, and the last remaining Fairy."
Himvel sighed and walked forward through a sea of darkness. He tucked his hands in his pockets and closed his eyes.
"You promised a good ending. You said you'd reach it. You managed to get so many people to believe in you."
The darkness faded, and Himvel opened his eyes, finding himself standing in a field. He wasn't alone either. He saw the smiling face of his mother and several of his siblings.
Himvel the hero. Himvel the inventor. Himvel the son of Sylas. Himvel the old. He closed his eyes once more and smiled. "It's likely not the outcome you wanted, and I wouldn't say it's a perfect ending. People died, and I don't exactly think I deserve to go out on a happy note. Still, I have to admit, as far as endings go, this one isn't that bad."
Himvel stalked forward toward his family and took his mother's hand.
"Way to go, Davi Hawker, hero of the Licht-Fulk. Thanks for the ending to my story."