The Underworld was a shitty place. This was just a fact. Outside of homes, it was extremely cold, being below zero, and cultivating any life should have been impossible, yet the people who were forced to live beneath Enforcer City were still required to harvest food from the dead ground.
"So, how does it work?" Davi asked. "If this land cannot produce life, how can you grow food?"
"We use the blessing of the All Mother," Mel explained. She stood before a field of frozen soil and clasped her hands together. "Mother's Light!" A bracelet she wore around her wrist flickered on and off, a tiny wisp pouring from it, which became a miniature star, hovering above the field, casting a weak warmth and light down upon it.
"Oh, so that's how it works?" Davi dropped to a knee and placed his hand on the dirt field that stretched out before him. The ground was still icy and cold. It was hard to believe that anyone could actually grow something from it, yet life did have a funny way of working out. "So, what do you need from me? Anything I can do?"
Mel shook her head. "No, no, you shouldn't get involved. You're not even from here; please don't concern yourself with it."
"I might not live here, but you and High have helped me out," Davi stated. "Besides, until I beat Himvel, we're all stuck here. I'd like to help if I can."
"You're nice."
"Nah. Nice is the bullet Susie bit," Davi hummed. "She's staying in bed with Max and Sera. I still can't believe she eventually agreed to do that. I don't think she likes boys very much."
After Max collapsed and was forced to bed rest, Davi decided to make himself useful and go around the Underworld with Mel, helping out in any way he could. He fixed up roofs, built some fences, gave the guards actual weapons and armor, and now he and Mel were picking up frozen potatoes and placing them in a basket. Mel was only able to be here since Susie switched places with her.
The fire mage kept telling him to go fight Himvel, but he couldn't. The first thing he had done after he left Mel's home was to storm Himvel's underground castle, but through some sort of effect, it moved. The mountain it had been in was no longer the same one, and it'd take him far too long to search them all out on his own, so for the time being, he'd wait until Max was recovered and the four of them could then all look for it together.
"Any idea where High ran off to?" Davi asked, dragging his fingers through the soil as he began to plant potato seeds.
"No clue." Mel shook her head and sighed. "I'm sorry he ran off with your sword."
"Don't be sorry. He's not a bad person. I don't think so, at least."
"Oh? Are you good at reading people?"
"Nope. I suck at it."
"..."
"Oh, but I'm sure of it with High," Davi added on. "When I glance at him, I sometimes feel like I can tell exactly what he's thinking. He's the kind of person who wants to do good and is trying his best. He brought me here for a reason. If he really wanted my sword, he would have tried to kill me and take it, but he didn't. I don't like that he took it, and I'll punch him when I next see him, but I'll still hear him out nonetheless and ask why."
Mel let out a snort. "I see. You're an odd person, Davi Hawker." She glanced back at the Underworld city. Kids were playing in the street, dueling with fake swords or pretending to be monsters, while the guards were eagerly messing around with the claymores Davi had given them. Her eyes roamed to all the damaged buildings he had taken the time to fix and then to the man himself, who was planting food he'd likely never eat. "Can I ask you something?"
"Yeah? What is it?" Davi planted more of the potato seeds and wiped his brow.
"Are all Arcane Knights like you?"
"What do you mean?"
"Like, are they all as nice as you are?"
Davi paused and seemed to think about it. "I'd like to say so."
"It must be amazing then," Mel breathed out. "The outside world, I mean. I-I never even got to see the surface. The dungeon above this one, but to think, past my home, past Enforcer City, there is a whole wide world out there, one full of humans. It's a shame that we won't ever get to see it."
"Who says that?"
"There is a barrier," Mel said sadly. "One that stops us, Licht-Fulk, from leaving."
"The barrier would have to have a source of magic," Davi began. "I'm willing to bet that it's the thing sealed away in Himvel's machine. The demon. Truth be told, I need to speak with Himvel anyway, not only to get out but also so I can learn about the machine and how to destroy it."
"Y-You want to destroy it?" Mel asked in shock.
"Yeah. Princess Ever told me it could result in the Licht-Fulk all dying if I don't stop what is ever inside of it." Davi stood back up and dusted his hands on his clothes. "I don't plan to let your people die. I promised her I would try, so I'll just slay whatever is in there, break the barrier, and allow you all to escape this dungeon."
"Why would you do that?"
"Because it's the right thing to do."
"But the effort required to go through all that trouble? Doesn't that seem like it's all a big waste?"
Davi's face turned stern, and he shook his head. "No. Not at all. Helping people, that's not a waste. Not in the least."
"Such a noble conviction." Mel's eyes widened when she heard the voice, and she spun around, gasping. "You speak like a saint, yet you look like a sinner, stained red in blood, and sporting that ugly scar across your face." All the kids stopped playing, and some began to cry. "From the moment I saw you, I knew that you would be an annoyance, but now, after hearing your vow, I understand the truth." The guards sputtered and froze, many dropping their weapons. "You're a danger."
Davi slowly turned around, and his eyes roamed over Himvel's form. The elf was fully healed. His arm was back, and his golden armor was just as flawless as ever, with his purple robes flowing over it. He stared directly at Davi, and neither said a word.
"Row Shadow Vault."
"Row Atomic Transportation."
Claymore met katana, as Davi and Himvel drew their weapons. Mel let out a yell and dropped back as the two men took off and their blades clashed. They swung at each other with everything they had, entering a dance of steel. A dance, Davi felt his body start to lose. He was banged up from eating the core, and he still had his stab wound. Not even half a day had gone by since the last clash he had with Himvel, and yet here he was, trading blows once more.
"I'm glad you came to me." Davi took a swing with his sword but missed as Himvel ducked under the blow. "Saves me the trouble of having to hunt you down myself."
"Well, I actually came to talk." Himvel swiped up with his blade, but Davi blocked with his larger sword and deflected the blow.
"You came to talk?" Davi slammed his foot into Himvel's side, caving in that section of his armor.
"I did." Himvel jammed his fingers into Davi's stomach, forcing open his stomach wound.
"So then why are we fighting?"
"You attacked me first."
"No, I just drew my weapon, and you swung yours at me."
"Because you drew your weapon."
"I drew mine because you drew yours."
"What?"
"Exactly."
Himvel hummed and then stepped away, putting his sword back in the void of space. Davi did the same, sliding his claymore back into his vault. "Okay, so we can talk?" The elf asked.
"Sure?"
Himvel let out a sigh of relief. "Okay, then let's talk." The elf folded his arms and turned toward the Underworld city and made his way over to it.
Davi followed along, keeping pace with the elf. When they arrived back at the city, everyone was gone. The people all fled back inside once the two of them had started their mini-battle so they could walk the streets in peace. Himvel looked around at everything as he passed, taking in the sight.
"Did you know that before I got here, this city didn't exist?" The elf questioned. "I created it."
"You could have done a bit of a better job," Davi frowned. "I've seen the state of your castle. Seems you skimped out on the good stuff and decided to let your people fend for themselves, huh?"
"I did." Himvel nodded, not sounding ashamed at all. "And do you want to know why?"
"Not really, but go ahead and tell me."
"Peaceful times create peaceful people. Peaceful people are weak." Himvel reached out, and his fingers wrapped around one of the fences Davi had put up earlier. He squeezed down, cracking it, and with a tug of his arm, he ripped a section of the fence out and tossed it away. "Struggle is the true hope of my people. When faced with hardships, life either finds a way to succeed and survive, or it is wiped out. If a group of people is not saved, then they have no choice but to save themselves, and that is what the people of Underworld did. The Underworld was a death sentence. People were banished from up top and sent here to rot and starve and die. Then, I came. I knew not the sins the ones above condemned on the people down here, but I knew it had to stop. So I created this city, and I offered the slightest hint at salvation. The Licht-Fulk that ended up here saved themselves and expanded on my work, adding more and more to it, and learned how to grow food. I created this land less than one hundred years ago, and it took them no time at all to make a life worth living out of it. They hunted the monsters that Enforcer City shoved down here and ate them and created weapons and clothes from their bones and fur, feasting on their meat and using their blood to charge broken relics and make farms. I took what was guaranteed to be absolute death and gave those unfortunate souls a way to thrive. So, forgive me if I didn't make it as comfortable as it could have been, but I did do something. That's more than the royals above can claim, or any of you humans, for that matter."
"You're still exploiting these people," Davi said bluntly. "You force them to work so they can give most of their supplies away to you, for you to send those supplies back up to Enforcer City? Those guys get to live peaceful lives, while the ones down here suffer so much."
"And doesn't that seem wrong?" Himvel questioned.
"Of course it's wrong."
"I don't mean wrong as in terms of morality," Himvel snorted. "I mean, doesn't that entire situation seem wrong? Like it doesn't make sense? Are you catching on yet?"
Davi frowned and thought about everything Himvel said. "Wait? Yeah, you're right. You're saying this place was nothing but a death trap. The people up top, the royal family, I assume, would send the monsters and the unwanted Licht-Fulk down here, so they would die, but that doesn't make any sense. The people down here were dying, right? Which means harvesting food for the ones above was impossible. Which means that the system didn't exist? So, where did they get all their food from before? After all, if you had only created this place one hundred years ago, then there is an entire point in time that the Licht-Fulk couldn't have had supplies?"
At first, he didn't really think about it, but now, that was all he could consider. The food that was harvested here was apparently given to Enforcer City, but the Enforcer games had been around for a long time, since the days of Haru at least, so how did Enforcer City have supplies before Underworld City existed?
The logical answer was that they must have had farms or hunted monsters themselves, yet when he had been up there, he didn't see any butcher shop or farmlands. Maybe they had been destroyed in the one hundred years, but that also didn't explain a lot of the other food that was up there, like straight-up ice cream. There were still no factories, and he highly doubted the underground was making it.
"The answer is simple." Himvel began to speak once again. "The machine that creates the sun uses a high level of atomic magic, just as I can do, and that magic is able to create a new structure of atomic bonding, leading to brand new matter being generated. In other words, they make their own food."
Davi stopped dead in his tracks. "Like, all their food is made by magic?"
"Correct."
"So, then, what the fuck is the point of this place?" He waved his arms out at the empty city. "Why are these people slaving away and bringing food to the top if the top has unlimited food?"
"Oh, that's easy; it's because the food never makes it to the top."
"What?"
"The people above would never eat the garbage farmed down here." Himvel chuckled. "None of the food ever leaves this place. I have the gates locked, remember? I don't unlock it ever, not even for myself-"
Davi grabbed the elf and slammed him into a building. He placed his hand on the man's throat and glared at him. "If none of the food is making it there, then why have your people been collecting it as taxes? Why does everyone here believe they have to give up all their resources so that the ones up top will give them power?"
Himvel rammed his knee out and slammed it into Davi's gut, causing the raven-haired man to gasp and stumble back. The elf dusted himself off and began to speak as if nothing had happened. "I told you earlier, did I not? Peaceful times make weak people. I couldn't afford the people here being weak, so I lied to them. I told them that the ones above require their food and slavery in order to force them to work harder. I take eighty percent of their total resources, leaving them with a fraction of what they have, so they have to keep struggling and growing; that way, they can live strong. I've been using my own mana to create the heat in their homes, making them think it comes from the fake sun above Enforcer City. I also used my magic to create my castle and all the food I have. I'm not able to make as much free stuff as the machine, but by repurposing the food they give me, I can transmute it into new stuff, changing it on an atomic level. What's left over, I toss out."
"You're a monster." Davi wheezed, still clutching his stomach. "You could use that power and allow them all to eat actual food. You could warm this entire place up, make it easier for them to farm, give them better weapons and equipment, and make their city actually look like a city, but instead you hide in your castle, telling them lies, and forcing them to work for nothing, wasting the hard-earned food they give you?"
"Calm down; I have a reason as to why I do that."
"It better be a good one, because I'm starting to think this place would be better off if you were dead."
Himvel folded his arms. "Soon, the land above, as well as the planet you call home, will cease to exist."
"What?"
"You spoke of the machine that contains the demon, did you not?" Himvel questioned. "You also spoke of Princess Ever, who is slowly becoming a demon herself. I assume she told you what is happening. The Licht-Fulk were created as a way to get revenge on Haru. Sylas made them so that they seemed close to an elf but different enough to where they wouldn't have the same powers. He did this, knowing Haru would leave them alone, which is why he built a ticking time bomb inside of the Licht-Fulk. As they grew and aged and had kids, each of those kids would be one step closer to a true elf. Now, in the present time, plenty of Licht-Fulk have enough DNA to be considered an elf. Many don't know it, as they aren't near the machine. Princess Ever, however, was someone who worked on it often, and so, she was affected first and is now turning. Other Licht-Fulk will eventually start to show signs as well. Sylas's revenge is soon to start."
"That's all the more reason you have to let me out of here!" Davi yelled. "I need to stop that machine."
Himvel shook his head. "No. You can not."
"I have to-"
"You cannot kill the demon!" Himvel raised his voice. "I say this, not because you are not strong, but because I know demons. I've read about them and studied everything I could from my father's notes. Demons can only be killed by a Saint. If you mess with the machine, it will let the demon out, and that will cause the small Licht-Fulks above to transform and become demons themselves. An army will be started. One that nobody can stop, for there aren't any Saints left, or if there are, a single Saint will not be enough. The Licht-Fulk will transform, and as demons, the barrier can no longer hold them back. They will spill out into your world and breed and fuck like rabbits, creating more and more, and any Saints left alive will be overwhelmed and slain. Without a Saint, a demon can simply not be killed, and they'll thrive in this new world and unseal the gates of hell, allowing the rest of their kin to resurface. All of Haru's grand work will come undone, and the world will end in a scream."
Davi winced as flashes of a planet crumbling crossed through his mind. He had seen something like that before in a vision. One the sun had shown him.
Himvel kept talking. "Even if you do not destroy the machine, time has reached its end. In less than a year, the Licht-Fulks, who have the DNA of an elf, will transform into demons. They will start the cycle I spoke of. Its only hope to be stopped would be to slay every Licht-Fulk, and that isn't possible. They have other pocket realms like this that they'll hide away in and block off, and the battle that will be waged will only speed up the process, allowing demons to be made faster. I tried to tell the royal family about this long ago, but they refused to believe me and called me a traitor. They couldn't accept the truth, even after one of their own kind started the process of transforming. The queen still hides like a cowardly bitch and seeks a solution that doesn't exist. Well, I do have the solution."
"A-And what's the solution?"
Himvel waved his arms out. "Look around you. I told you, I built this place for a reason. I sealed it off from the realm above, and I plan to keep it sealed off. When the Demon comes out, I will fully shut off the ability to come to this place, making it impossible for them to enter here. This will stop radiation from reaching us, and the Licht-Fulk down here will be able to live on. When we reach this point, I will use my power and my life force to rewrite this very dungeon and make it a lush field with a sun in which they can thrive and live. It will kill me, but it will ensure they have a land they can truly cultivate. By living in hardship, they'll have what it takes to survive in this new dungeon and will be able to grow food far more easily."
"Do you really think that will work?" Davi sneered. "The demons, you don't think they won't be able to break in here?"
"...Perhaps they can."
"So, your solution isn't even foolproof? These people might all be dead when the demons are created."
"Perhaps. In fact, that is most likely what will happen." Himvel admitted. "There is a high chance they can bypass my mana and break into here; however, I'm still going to try. I have to. There is no stopping what is coming. The moment that one Demon is born, it's all over."
Davi shook his head. "No. You're wrong, Himvel. I will stop it."
"Arrogance at its finest. You are not a Saint."
"No. I'm not. But that doesn't mean that hiding away and waiting for death is the correct solution."
"My way ensures the highest chance of survival," Himvel growled.
"For a small group of people. You'll get everyone else killed."
Himvel turned away. "I was coming to offer you one last chance to reconsider, but you won't, will you?"
"I will not."
"Fine. Dawn. We'll meet then. A battle, one to the death." Himvel glared back at Davi. "Let's see which ideal is left standing."
"Fine," Davi stated in a cold tone. "I'm going to save everyone. That includes you. No sacrificial bs, got that." He was going to make sure this story had a happy ending.
"And when you fail, I shall be there to offer you salvation." Himvel declared.
"No. You will not."
"We shall see."
"I guess we will."
"Before I go," Himvel glanced back at Davi one last time. "Was what you said true. Olem. Is he part of your guild?"
"He is."
"I see. So he's up there, isn't he..."
"He is."
Himvel sighed. "At dawn. Our battle awaits."
And then he was gone.
Davi's nails dug into his palm. "I won't lose. I won't. This time it'll be a happy ending. No one is going to suffer. I'm strong enough. I'll make sure we get the ending that I pick!"
Or he'd die trying.