After the first sign of dawn began, down in the Underworld, Davi made his way over to the edge of town, and awaited for Himvel to arrive. The two captains, Susie, Sera, and Max, also followed him, but Mel stayed behind with the queen.
They waited. And waited. And waited. And-
"Are you sure he's going to battle us?" Myth asked, folding his arms. "After all, would it not be wiser to stall us by just not coming out here to face us?"
Davi shrugged. "He told me he would."
Myth sighed and turned away. "This is a waste of time. That man isn't going to come. He's likely hiding somewhere. We should split up and try to find him."
"I agree." Laerton nodded. "We know their plan was thanks to the queen. We don't have time to wait, even if he is going to honor the deal he made. We must escape from the underground now and make sure our guilds are fine."
"I told you, they'll be okay." Myth snorted. "Whisper didn't get caught, and I had her following me while invisible. She'll make sure our guilds are safe and don't fall into the trap the bastards above set. Still, I don't want to keep her or the others waiting, so we really should find this guy and get the seal we need to leave." Myth looked around at all the mountains that were in the distance. "It's one of them. But which one?"
"We'll split up." Laerton declared. "Davi, and Susie, you're both with me. We'll head south. Myth, you take Sera and Max and head North. We'll go toward the east and check all the ones over there, while you go west. Sooner or later, one of us is bound to sense him. Whichever group does can send out a pulse of magic and alert the rest."
Myth nodded. "Alright. Let's do it. Max, Sera, come on!"
"Right!" The two squires nodded and followed their captain as he headed for one of the mountains in question.
Laerton was about to leave as well, along with Susie, but the two of them stopped and looked back at Davi, who remained motionless. "Davi? What are you doing?" Laerton gestured with her hand. "Come on. We have to go find him."
"He's going to come," Davi said flatly. "It's faster to wait here."
Laerton shook her head. "No. You're being dumb. They want to stall us out as long as they can. Whatever he told you, that was a lie. Now come on."
"He's about to appear."
"Davi-"
Laerton went to grab him, but before she could, something slammed into the ground several meters away, directly in front of Davi.
It was a massive pillar of swirling light, made up of various colors, and from the glow several figures stepped out. First was Lucita, then Domonic, followed by Minori, Vaalorn, and Florence. Several guardsmen also appeared, each holding weapons as well as a few dozen golems. Finally, two figures walked out of the light last.
The first was a man in golden armor, with purple robes draped over him. Himvel, the hero. The second shocked every member of the Phoenix Flight guild, except Davi, for Olem now stood with his arms crossed.
"O-Olem?" Laerton stared in shock at her guildmate. "What are you doing over there?"
"I was afraid something like this would happen." Davi sighed.
"You were?" Susie glanced at him, then looked back at Olem. "Is he on our team still?"
"Probably."
Laerton growled and drew her sword. "Olem!" She spoke in a louder voice and pointed her blade at the construct. "I demand an answer this instant! Why are you over there? How did you get here?"
"I brought him here," Himvel declared. "I am the holder of the seal, so naturally, I can bypass it if the need arises. I had no plans to return to the surface, but after I learned that Olem was up there, I decided to head back up one last time. The surface is doomed, you see. Life up there, and outside of the dungeon, will soon end when the demon gets out, so I thought it best to save the life of Olem when the need appeared before me."
"I didn't ask you." Laerton sneered. "I asked Olem." Her glare didn't leave the stone head of her teammate. "Explain. Now."
Olem's arms remained folded, and despite the situation, he looked extremely calm. "There are several factors at play," the golem began. "As it turns out, since we've gotten here, at least four different people have all come up with various plans. And each one of them wants to be the one who comes out on top. Some want to doom modern civilization and allow it to burn away. Others want to hide down here and survive. And some want the core sealed. I've come to learn, however, that in almost all these plans, one person stands out, for he is in almost all of them." Olem turned to Davi and sighed. "Seriously. What are you? You're like a shittily written protagonist, with how much everyone is focused on you."
Davi rubbed the back of his neck and let out an awkward chuckle. "Yeah. To be honest, I don't really like it either."
"That doesn't explain why you're with the enemy," Laerton called out. "Olem, get over here."
"I will not."
"And why not?"
"I've taken a look at everything," Olem stated. "Let us look at the facts. As it turns out, the world above is powered by the core, which creates the sun. This core is what forms the barrier keeping the Licht-Fulk trapped. It is also giving off a radiation that is starting to transform some of the people above. Soon, they will turn into demons and escape. The only way to stop this is to either kill every Licht-Fulk above or seal the core away. The core itself is running out of power as well, and soon the demon inside will be released. If even a single demon manages to escape to the real world, they can reopen the portal to hell and free their race and doom the world. Because of this, the only true way to stop this event from happening is to either get rid of the core and kill the Licht-Fulks that are already infected or to hide away. Now, let me ask you, do you think you can seal the core?" Olem looked back at Davi again. "That was your plan, was it not? You wished to open your vault and seal the demon away within."
"I did," Davi nodded. "When I first got here, and the princess told me about it, I planned to throw the core into the furthest corner of my vault."
"That won't work." Himvel spoke up once again. His arms were calmly folded behind his back. "Your arrogance is showing if you think you can truly seal a demon away."
"Then what do you expect us to do?" Myth growled. He and his two Squires had arrived back after they sensed all the mana that appeared, and so far, he wasn't liking what he was hearing. "You think we should just give up?"
"I don't think that." Himvel shook his head. "I told Olem here, and that is why he is with me. I offered Davi salvation, but he refused, and so now I will offer it again. The demon will get out, and when it does, the world will end, but this place will survive. It has a limit, but if you all agree to work with me, then we can allow both your guilds to come down here. Between your guilds and my power, the Licht-Fulk down here will survive, and you'll have enough humans to repopulate as well, until we can figure out a solution."
"Enough to repopulate?" Laerton sneered at his remark. "I'm not a scientist, but even I know that's bullshit. There would be fewer than a hundred of us, and most of Myth's people are nobles, so they're cousins. The bloodline would get thin way too fast."
"That's not the biggest issue here." Susie shook her head and raised her voice. "They want the world to end! Hannah lives there! I live there! All my stuff is there! We can't let them do that, right?"
"We do not." Olem raised his voice. "But what other solution is there? The core is growing more unstable, and monsters have already reached it. As we speak, they could be on the verge of unleashing the demon within. A single demon can bring about the end of the entire planet. This isn't something we can all just solve. We must instead focus on survival. Save the ones you can."
"Olem. We don't think like that." Laerton hissed out. "I don't know why you're suddenly going along with that man, but I don't like it."
"Because I don't want you to die," Olem growled. "I want you, Ragna, Falco, and all the others to live. Wouldn't you do the same if you were in my position?"
"Maybe. But I'm not ready to give up yet." Laerton sighed. "You grew up here, so I'm sure that you know a lot more about how all of this works, but I still have faith that we can figure out a solution. There has to be something."
"That's right." Myth nodded. "We must not allow this demon to get out. Davi here can help seal it. I'll do so as well."
"And if that doesn't work?" Himvel asked, cocking his head to the side. "If the demon is able to get out of the vault, what then?"
"We'll burn that bridge when we cross it," Laerton stated.
Himvel shook his head. "I see. I was hoping this talk would go well, but there is no convincing you. Very well, I will go back to my first plan. None of you is leaving. We're all going to stay down here."
"You can't do that." Susie raised her voice. "If you want to hide so badly, then do it, but let us out at least."
"No. I am Himvel the hero." The knight declared. "I will save everyone, even those who don't ask for it, so long as I have the power to do so."
Laerton placed her hand on her blade, and her look darkened. "Then I guess the time to talk is over."
Himvel's own hand dropped to his sword. "I guess so."
"Captain-" Olem began, but he was silenced when everyone got ready for the battle that was about to occur. Laerton and Himvel drew their swords. Myth opened his book, while Susie created several golden orbs. Sera hid behind Max, who was stretching, and all of Himvel's people raised their own weapons. Both sides were ready for war. Olem winced. "This isn't going the way I wanted it to." Then his eyes locked onto Davi. The only one who wasn't ready for combat. "Davi?"
Davi stood perfectly still and was rubbing his chin, seemingly deep in thought. He had been silent ever since the debate began, and there was a strange light in his eye. As if an idea were starting to form. Then, before the fight could truly begin, he spoke up. "I thought of another plan as well, in case I can't seal the demon away in my vault." He announced, getting all eyes on him.
Himvel hesitated for a second. "Oh? And what's that?"
"I know my vault spell better than anyone. I've seen a monster escape it once as well." Davi hummed, thinking of the kitsune. "Because of that, I sort of figured any demon would be able to break out. So, what if we just kill the demon?"
"That can't be done," Himvel spoke up, shaking his head. "Only a Saint can kill the demon, and you are not a saint."
"So, why don't we just get a saint?" Davi asked, cocking his head to the side.
"...What?"
"Yeah, can't we just go get that Holy Saint girl that the Shining Sentinels have?" Davi asked. "She could kill the demon, right?"
Laerton rubbed her chin. "Oh yeah. We didn't know that a demon was into the core until recently, but looking back at the bigger picture now, if we had known a demon was in there, then we could have just had her take it out?"
Himvel and Olem looked to one another. "I- Would that work?" Olem asked. "I must admit, I only just learned about what was in the core recently as well, but could the solution really be that simple?"
Himvel rubbed the chin of his helm. "No. Maybe back in the day that would be possible, but with how many Licht-Fulk are close to reaching the stage of early elf signs, unlocking the core would turn at least a few into demons. Even if the saint killed one, the other demons would escape, and we can't allow any to get out-"
"Then let's just do it in the vault."
"Huh…"
"Yeah, we can just go and get the saint, bring her here, and then I can put her and the core in my vault. That way, even if the demon's energy does seep out, it won't affect any Licht-Fulk, and the saint can kill him in my vault. Oh, we can also have it happen down here as well for even more security. We just need to bring all the people down here up, then bring the core down here, I seal it in my vault, and boom. Another layer of protection." Silence filled the clearing that both groups stood in. "Oh, now that I think about it, they say only a saint can kill a demon, but is there something stopping others from harming?" Davi asked. "Like, can we just all jump the demon in my vault and help the saint out? It would work as long as she got the killing blow, right?"
Once again, silence. No one said a word. They all just sort of stared at Davi. Himvel sheathed his sword and quietly coughed in his fist. "Excuse me. But… why the fuck did you not suggest this plan yesterday?"
"I didn't think about it until just now," Davi responded apathetically. "Also, don't give me shit; all you guys are dicks. You're all so focused on bloodshed and have a 'me versus them' mentality that you refuse to think of better solutions." He placed his hands on his hips. "I'm deeply disappointed in all of you."
"It's not a bad plan." Myth rubbed his chin. "Had we known the demon was in the core, that's likely what we would have done since day one. Now that you bring it all up, it does sound obvious. Laerton, myself, our vice captains, the Holy Saint, and the Lance of Victory… Yes, if all six of us teamed up, I have no doubt in my mind we could slay this monster and hold it off long enough for the saint to unleash the killing blow. Even better if it can be done in your vault."
"Well, it isn't foolproof." Laerton pointed out. "We still need to deal with the horse freak and his other bastards."
"They thought we'd be fighting," Davi said, speaking up again. "If we show up now, they expect us to arrive injured and beaten up. We'll have the advantage, not to mention, like Mr. Myth said, Whisper should have told the two guilds what to expect so they aren't as helpless or under control, even if the monsters are pretending to be you two." He turned to Himvel and Olem. "Not to mention, if Himvel and his little army come up with us, we'll have the numbers advantage. We already have the queen as well. We can totally just storm that monster and take him out before he has a chance to escape or unseal the core." He smiled. "That is, if you're willing to help."
Himvel shuffled slightly. "How do I know you'll follow through on your end? This plan requires us to help you defeat the shapeshifters above, then leave and get in contact with a saint and her coming out here. What's to stop you guys from just leaving and sealing us to our fate?"
"That wouldn't help anyone." Davi shook his head. "After all, it's like you said. If the demon gets out, we all lose. Also, if you do want a bargaining chip, I can stay behind while my captain goes and gets the saint."
Himvel thought it over. "I guess that could work. I don't see why not. And if the Licht-Fulk survive, will your people offer shelter to them?"
"We'll have to discuss it more," Myth began. "But you have my honor as a knight that we won't just slaughter you all."
"Your honor means very little." Himvel shrugged. "Though, I guess I don't have much of a choice now, do I?"
"Does that mean you'll go through with it?" Olem asked, a bit hopeful. He had been praying for a good outcome and was relieved that Davi seemingly came up with an ending everyone would like.
Himvel took a step forward. Then another. And another. And another. And soon he stood before Davi. The two quietly stared at each other, and slowly, Himvel held his hand out. "This better work."
Davi smiled. A real smile. He took Himvel's hand and shook it. "Oh, it'll work. I promise. This time, everyone gets a happy ending."
Everyone had shown up expecting a mini war. As it turns out, from the very beginning, peace was totally an option.