As Lois’s raid goes on across the area, floating armors return to the airship, dropping off their contents into the mass at the center of the airship. Black tendrils rise from the bass, absorbing the people dropped into it. They scream and try to fight back, only to have the strength zapped from their bodies as they are absorbed into the mass as their bodies slowly sink. Enveloped by the darkness, any trace of them fades from existence as Sebastian and Morgan watch on.
“Do you think this will be enough?” Morgan asks.
Sebastian nods. “These extra meals should be more than enough for the Great One’s banquet. We just need the final piece.”
“Right. Where’s that fox girl? She should be ready for her part in this.”
He shakes his head. “Sadly, her Mana is too strong in its current state. With her little run around our ship, and the amount of damage she caused, she’ll need time to cool off before we can make use of her.”
Morgan sighs. “That’s a shame. Then how will we awaken the Great One?”
“I’ve come up with another solution. With it, we can awaken the Great One and begin the true offensive.” Sebastian bows and holds out his hand towards her.
Morgan pauses and takes Sebastian’s hand. “Fine, show me how you plan to awaken the Great One.”
Sebastian smiles. “Gladly, my lady.”
Glyn stands in his cell with Pepper floating by his side in her small fairy form. He looks over the lock as Pepper floats into it, and a small fire burns. After a few seconds, something pops inside the lock, and she flies out, landing on Glyn’s head.
“Good job.” He says.
Pepper sighs. “Using magic in this Miasma thick environment is exhausting.”
“Sorry about that. Rest up for now. I can track Mila down on my own.”
“What do you mean by needing to make Mila a Hero?” She asks, as Glyn walks out of the cell.
Glyn stares down the hall, checking every corner. “Do you know how the King defeated the Demon Lord one hundred years ago?”
“No. I wasn’t around back then, and no other Spirits talk about the events from back then.”
He nods. “It makes sense. There aren’t as many Spirits around since Demons spread around the continent.”
“So, what happened?”
“Fine, I’ll tell you. There were five other heroes alongside the King in that battle. But there was a seventh hero who didn’t join them in battle. Instead, their mission was to craft a Sacred Weapon.”
“The Holy Blade? I’ve heard of that weapon. It’s in the capital, isn’t it?”
He nods, walking through the now empty airship. “Where is everyone?” He paused and then looks up towards Pepper. “Yes, the weapon the King used is located in the capital.”
“How does that help us?”
“That weapon wasn’t forged. It’s a blade composed of pure Mana in a physical state. That’s why it's an effective weapon against Demons.”
“It’s a special chunk of Mana suspended in a physical state? How is that possible? Even as a being composed of Mana, I shift between two states and I intake new Mana to sustain myself. For a weapon to stay in a physical state without changing for ages should be impossible.”
Glyn nods. “With our current understanding, yes. But a particular group created a ritual that could do it. And using this ritual, they forged these legendary weapons for Heroes to wield to combat Demons. And it's thanks to these weapons that the Demon scourge has been pushed back.”
“You know the ritual?”
Glyn pauses. “No one does. It’s been lost for the past hundred years. They didn’t pass it down to prevent others from misusing the power. But…. I’ve been studying and trying to decipher how it’s done for ages now.”
“There’s something you're not telling me, is there?”
The pair enter and elevator as Glyn stops on each floor. “Yes.”
Pepper floats in front of Glyn, landing on his hand. “Is it important? Or will it hurt you?”
“The ritual itself, from what I’ve determined, is… difficult. But there shouldn’t be any pain or negative effects outside of simple exhaustion.”
“Yet you seem hesitant.”
“Well. It’s my first time trying it. Besides, I don’t know if I meet all the conditions necessary for the ritual to begin with. There’s only a small chance this will succeed. But if it does, we’ll have one of the strongest weapons on the planet.” Glyn smirks. “We’ll be able to crush not only the Demon but anything that stands in our way!”
Pepper nods. “Alright, what can I do to help?”
“First, we need to get Mila. And then we’ll prepare enough Mana for the ritual. It’s going to take a lot, and in her current state, she’s practically radiating with the stuff.” He says with a wide smirk across his face.
As the pair stand around riding the elevator to the next floor, the airship shakes, and Glyn clenches his fist and grinds his teeth. “We may be running out of time!”
“Calm down. We can’t rush this.”
He nods. “Alright then. Let’s be ready for anything. This has to work, or else everything will go back to the way things were one hundred years ago.”
Elsewhere in the airship fortress, Sebastian leads Morgan towards the center of the ship as they make way to a large platform looking down over the black mass at the center of the ship. The mass ungulates and writhes barely contained as tendrils burst forth from its solid form. Small mouths break from the mass as strange noises shake the air around the sphere, as something within struggles, trying to break its bonds.
“It appears it's trying to break free of the seal. But it's lacking the power.”
Sebastian nods. “Sadly, yes. Without the right trigger to recover the damage done to its brain, the Great One cannot truly revive. Right now, this is just its body has fully recovered and is acting on instinct.”
“I see. So, then the rush of Mana will reawaken its mind. And that’s why I am here?”
“You figured me out?”
She nods. “I had a hint from Glyn. But I had my suspicions for ages now.”
“What gave me away?”
She pauses, staring down at the mass. “It wasn’t just one thing. It was everything that slowly added up until I figured out the logical conclusion.”
“And you still went along with it. Believing you could become the queen.”
She nods. “I was hopeful some bits of my Sebastian are in there.”
“Oh, he is. He’s been screaming and begging for someone to save you this entire time.”
She pauses and smiles. “Even after all this time and all his suffering, his thoughts are only on me. Tell him it’s finally over. We can finally end all of this.”
“You seem oddly calm. Aren’t you mad? Aren’t you upset about how things turned out? Aren’t you mad about me tricking you for all this time?”
She shakes her head. “No. I truly hate this world. Father forced my mother into a terrible situation and demonized her for it. All he cared for was what others thought of him and his image as everything crumbled around us. All of us, my brothers, our workers, our civilians, everything was just a tool for that man.”
“So, all of this is for revenge?”
“In a way. I’m an irredeemable person. I’ll tear this entire world down one way or another to destroy everything about him. My name will go down in history as a moron or an evil being, and his will be forgotten just a footnote in my story!”
Sebastian laughs. “Is that what you're telling yourself?” He walks forward, putting his hands on her shoulders, staring into her eyes. “I can tell you're shaking. You're scared. In the back of your mind, you're begging someone, anyone, to save you even now.”
“Maybe you're right. But there’s nothing I can do now. Might as well use that training. He shoved into my head and face my death with the dignity of a noble lady.” She forces a smile on her face. “And it gives me great satisfaction to ruin your elation.”
He scowls. “At the very end, you ruined the fun. But there’s nothing you can do now. The Great One will awaken, and this world will return to its rightful place. With us, Demons on top.”
Black tendrils stretch up towards the platform, reaching out for Morgan. They wrap around her legs and climb up her body, but she doesn’t resist. The tendrils envelop her and drag her off the platform down towards the black mass. She smiles, looking at Sebastian with a scowl on his face, with tears coming out of his eyes. His body twitches as something inside seems to struggle with Morgan, only watching.
“
Why did I do this? Why did I go so far, knowing I was marching to my death? I don’t know. I wanted the throne, but I knew I was simply a tool for these Demons.
” She’s dragged towards a large mouth that opens wide as she’s dragged inside. “
But I guess it doesn’t matter. But if I had one thing I’d want to do over again. Sebastian, I wish I had never dragged you into this mess with me.
”
The mouth snaps shut with blood trickling out from the teeth, with Sebastian simply watching. He shakes his head with the black mass shaking and morphing. Hands shoot out of the mass with a smile slowly forming on his face.
“It’s finally time.”