Figure out what to do.

With everyone resting from the events of the day, you head to the War Room alone. You bring with you the mirror of communication as well as the magic conch shell. You have no real way to contact the Circle of the Unicorn, nor Ealdorman (aka Isaac Hawkins) as much as you wish you did. Now more than ever, you miss having computers, phones, and the like. Either way, the first thing you try is the conch, even if it seems Gwynevere may never be happy to hear from you. For a lengthy time, you lean on your arms and stare at the shell, wondering what you should say.

Finally, you clear your throat and bring the shell to your lips. "Oh Deep One. She Who Lurks in the Dark. I wish to speak to thee."

Almost immediately, you get a response. She must not be a busy person. "Mmm. It seems you have learned manners."

You then switch back to ordinary speech. "Yeah. Well, I tend to be in communication with the other Demon Kings in the region I live, so I just wanted to keep you in the loop too. I hope that's all right."

"... I will allow you to speak, yes. What is it?"

"We've been advancing on Demon King Elok Daven's territory. Two of his bases have already fallen. I just wanted to make sure you didn't know anything that could help us. We can't locate any more on our own. At least, not quickly enough. There's no telling what he's up to any day we let him continue."

"I am afraid I live quite the ways away, so do not know more than last time we spoke."

"I've got a shortcut to that domain of the sea, if you wanna hang out."

"I am the Mistress of the Depths! The Dark One! I do not hang out."

"Ah. I didn't think you were busy, since you answered so quickly."

"I have many meetings to attend to, actually. Speaking of which, I am late for one right now, thanks to you. Goodbye, Kyle Warren. And... thank you for speaking with me of recent happenings. Your intel is appreciated. But it is also expected of you, so do not get a big head."

"Talk to you later," you say, but never get a response.

You tuck the shell away. It's time for the mirror.

This time, you don't hesitate as long, for the first person you wish to contact is Lady Vex. You've done the most with her, and she seems pretty chill. Well, chill might not be the right word, but she's definitely on your side. After the Trial of the Erotrain especially, you feel a bond between the two of you, and her allies as well. You lean the mirror back against a stack of books and focus your mind on the devil in question.

The phone continues to ring. Not literally, but you continue to observe. Then after about a minute, an image springs to life. Your reflection is replaced by that of Lady Vex herself, though she seems drenched in sweat. She's holding it while standing in a room of towels, mats, and weights. "Oh, hey! Thank goodness it's you. I never know who's going to be the one calling me through this thing." As she holds it out a bit farther, you can see that she's wearing a black sports bra.

"Do you have time to talk about what's been going on lately?"

"Sure. Hold on. Hey, Masumi. Can you hold this?" She then hands the mirror over to somebody else. All you can see of her are the tips of fingers with pink painted nails grasping the sides. Otherwise, you can now see Vex in-full. She puts her fits against her hips and stands proud with small, tight black shorts hugging the perky rear of her petite physique. "All right. I should take a break anyway. Masumi was working me hard."

"... Right. Well, that's good to hear. Anyway, we've taken out two of Elok's laboratories."

She gulps down a huge mug of water as you speak. "You did what?!" she shouts after spitting a mouthful to the side. "Tell me about it!"

"The first was, at some point, meant to study Muian. We found an angel there still overseeing the place. Serafina. She got away, but we wrecked the place and took everything of value. Then just today, we cleared out a long abandoned lab where apparently they used to experiment on the undead. Don't worry. That place is destroyed now too. Those were labs labelled as a third and fourth. Do you know anything that could help us find more of them?"

"Wow. That's a heavy ask. I really don't know anything about these labs, hence why I acted so shocked a second ago. This is a lot to dump at once."

"Oh yeah. Castle Phoenix was also attacked by Lord Vraelion and his army, which included some of Elok Daven's army. We're fine though."

Vex hops forwards. "You were sieged by an army?!"

"How awful," says Masumi from behind the mirror. "I'm happy to hear you're all right."

"It was nothing," you say. "We took them all out, with a little help from the Circle of the Unicorn."

"So much is happening over in Tivera." Vex sighs. "I mean, we're totally doing cool stuff over here too, but it sounds like there's a whole war of the Demon King over there. I don't know where any of these labs are, but I'd love to destroy them with you."

"And I'd love to have you. In the battle against Elok's army, I'm glad to have other powerful rulers on my side. Speaking of which, have you ever heard of Demon King Gwynevere?"

Suddenly, the mirror turns. You can only see the upper part of her body, but it seems Masumi is garbed in a gym outfit of her own. Instead of black, her top is deep purple with a thin white trim. Just as always, she looks back at you with half-lidded eyes, though despite looking so relaxed, her attention is focused. "I've heard the name before. An evil witch who resides deep within the Sapphire Sea, far from the coast."

"She's an ally now too. Sorta kinda."

She smiles. "Impressive. I do wonder what sort of wooing was done to win over such a cold woman's heart."

The mirror turns back to Vex. "Wow. This'll be a piece of cake then," the devil says. She playfully thrusts her first forward with exceptional speed and might. You can hear the wind break. "

After the sound of a door opening, Masumi turns with the mirror to see Kashura standing at the entrance.

While she normally wears a rather tight-fitting outfit that leaves little to the imagination, it's still a shock to see her dressed in even less. She wears effectively the same outfit as the other two--a sports bra and tiny shorts--though hers are dark blue. As always, a witch's hat that's clearly a size too large sits atop her head of long, green hair. It doesn't quite match the rest, but it seems she doesn't care. "All right! As mighty as my body already is, the gorgeous sorceress, Kashura Saylinor, is here to train!"

"Oh sweetie. That hat is just going to get in the way," Masumi says with a warm chuckle.

"Nonsense! I--"

"Dear. Don't **** my hand. I'll make that outfit of yours disappear, and Kyle here is watching~."

"H-Huh? He is? B-But, I... Fine!" With a huff, she removes her hat and drops it carefully to the side.

She turns it back to Lady Vex once more.

"All right, well I'll use the mirror if I find anything out," Vex says. "It was good talking to you, Kyle. Good luck with everything happening over there."

"Good luck over there too," you say. "And stay safe."

With that, the mirror shifts back to your own reflection.

This next one unnerves me a little. On one hand, William Cresswell is the closest person I know to... Well, myself. He's from Earth. He went through the same experiments. He has presumably the same powers. However, he acts so mysterious and I rarely even hear about what he's doing. He used Grenmila to spy on me, but that isn't inherently evil. Still pisses me off though. Otherwise, he's got Jika and Trin, but also Stilet, who is apparently an infamous elven assassin. At the Sport's Festival, he also had some people called Tavia, Ribi, Juggernaut, and Storm. I know so little, and he probably likes it that way.

Man, I wish I had a floating castle. That's awesome. I wonder how he even got that. Though, he could say the same amount the nonsense I've amassed.

As you continue to think, you begin the outgoing call.

This one takes even longer. A few minutes pass, and you start to contemplate trying again later. Though just as you reach forward to take hold of the mirror, your eyes widen to the reflection twisting and turning, until the image changes into a familiar face that isn't your own. It's William, and he seems to be outside in some sort of flower-covered field next to a large oak tree. He holds the mirror in one hand as he readjusts his glasses with the other--magic ring present. It's the one he used to suck the soul out of the defeated Sa'dis. In a way, it reminds you of the signet ring you wear.

It's been awhile. His black hair is groomed back now. Instead of a beaded braid down the side, a blue gem hangs from each of his ears via golden rings. You can see he still wears the white coat, though beneath it is some sort of greenish silver breastplate. His analytical blue gaze is exactly the same, however. "Greetings, Kyle. If you're contacting me now, it must be important. Feel free to speak. Nobody else is present at the moment."

"Where are you?"

He takes hold of the mirror in both hand and twists it around. You see only the sky. Though as he tilts it, you can see he's simply miles from the ground at the edge of his floating island. "Laputa, I call it. Whether that's from Gulliver's Travels or Castle in the Sky, I'll let you decide. This is my flying fortress. That's a long story, however." He then turns the mirror back to point at himself, almost like a smartphone's selfie cam for a video call. "As I said, feel free to speak."

"To abridge, we were attacked by Lord Vraelion and his army, but survived with no casualties. Then we found and destroyed Elok Daven's third and fourth laboratories."

"Incredibly impressive. I would say it's a fascinating coincidence that you'd be doing such right when I wished to begin making moves against him, but it's not all that surprising. We're not that different. And without Elok Daven looming over us, we'll both be free to achieve our dreams."

"We've hit a dead end. You like spying on people, so maybe you know more about where to find his other labs."

"Hmm. I can see that was a shot directed at me." He nudges his glasses up with his wrist. "I won't argue against it. And I do know where one of his bases is likely to be. Potentially his oldest in fact, though there's a good chance it's long since abandoned. That doesn't mean it'll be free from danger. You've given me an idea, Kyle. Why don't you come to Laputa yourself? Then we can head to the laboratory together."

"I suppose that's fine. But where are you?"

"Just south west of Brumberg." Once again, he turns the mirror around to cast it down towards the landscape below. "If you look closely, you can see the village. Beyond that, in the hills, an old castle where a certain someone slew a great vampiress. That is to say, people believe that to be the case."

"Yeah. That one's a long story too."

"I imagine so." He twirls the mirror back. "Please bring at most one ally. I'd like our party to remain small. I'll do the same. You can the ability to teleport, yes? If you can head to the outskirts of Brumberg, you'll see Laputa in the sky. Then you can either teleport again, or we can send down a ladder. Whatever works best. And if you're worried this is some sort of strange **** attempt, you're free to not come, but we'll be moving again by tomorrow."

"Even if it is, I'd like to see you try."

He cracks a smile. "That's what I like to hear. Goodbye, Kyle. I'll see you soon."

The mirror turns back to normal.

That wasn't so bad. I would like to see this flying fortress of his, even if it's to scout it out a little. But yeah, I mean I'll take down another lab with William. He said a small party... Well, I'll figure out who to bring once I do one more thing.

There's a final person this mirror is connected with. The thought fills you with a strange dread and anxiety, though at the same time, excitement. You feel powerful, especially with all your allies at your side. This was originally a gift from him, but you never use it to contact him. There's nothing you need to say, and you'd rather him not get any information from you at all. Still, it's time.

You attempt to call Elok Daven himself.

Almost five minutes pass before the reflection of your face is replaced by that of a half-elf, or at least that's how he appears. His new body is a strange hybrid of what you assume to be his original Earthen form and the elf he had placed himself in all that time. This is the form he had been working on, even if it meant leaving behind failures in his wake--failures such as yourself, or at least that's how he'd consider it. You're far from that, however. You're going to be his undoing.

While you can only see his upper half, he has as strong physique with broad shoulders and an intense stare. His suit is blue and trimmed with gold. Two faint lines run down his face, similar to ALICE's flesh albeit far harder to notice. His short golden hair is slicked back. Even seeing him makes your blood boil, especially with his confidence expression.

"I admit, I didn't expect a call from Demon King Warren today." His voice is deep and booming, like a true demon, though there's a frustrating coyness to how he speaks. "The last time I was on Earth, people would normally send a text instead."