Make a plan in the morning.

While you don't have a particular strategy to make an outright attack on Elok Daven, there are a number of things to consider. If you can learn more about the previous Demon King who resided down south, perhaps you could find a hidden lair where the new one resides. Going through the tunnel seems like the worst option, given it would be a funnel straight through every possible trap and/or guard he has. Though right now, what's on your mind most is Malakae as well as The Edge's words about her. You may have fought against beasts as mighty as a gold dragon, though you can't know that for sure, and the biggest danger is the risk that any of your allies could be hurt, or Castle Phoenix itself could suffer unnecessary damage. There must be a proper way to rescue her, and that's assuming she'd even be willing. Such matters are very complicated.

After breakfast, you stand with your arms crossed, and your back against the wall right beside the doorway into the castle. You stare upwards at the sky starting to cloud over. The Circle of the Unicorn comes to mind as well. They're hopefully pondering the matter of Elok Daven as well, though you can't rely on that alone.

"Are you all right?" It's Snow. Your eyes move up her pale, slender legs to the tight fit of her ninja garb. She's quite adept at keeping attention away from her when it's needed, which is rather surprising given how difficult it is to look away when she's present. She speaks softly as she stands in silence--gentle breeze wafting her pure white hair like a plume of smoke.

"Yeah. I'm fine. Just figuring out what we're gonna do next," you reply.

She opens her lips for only a moment before closing them again. Then after a moment of silence, she reaches out to gently touch the tips of her fingers to your shoulder. "When Mistress Dajy saved my life, I swore myself to her, and when you saved her from the clutches of Sa'dis, I wanted to serve you as well. Though it's gone so far past that. Kyle, it's been an honour and a pleasure to be your bow and sword, and I trust that you'll make the best decision that you can make, and I'll follow it no matter what."

"... That's so sweet," you say as you place your hand over hers to hold it firm against your shoulder. Her fingers are cold compared to the grasp of your palm. "Thank you."

As pink starts to spread across her face, she stacks her other hand atop yours. "Y-Yes of course," she whispers before shyly withdrawing both back to her sides, though she doesn't take a step away. Instead she brings her hands behind her back and glances around herself. "Uhm. I have to say, I never thought I'd be in such a position. Despite all the obstacles we face, I've felt so happy."

"You've made me happy too, Snow. Not only are you cute and sweet, but you were mighty enough to be the deciding blow to Demon King Sa'dis." Remembering what she likes, you reach out slowly, and after she doesn't retreat, you place your hand atop her head.

"Kyle," she whispers, now so quietly it's hardly more than movements of her lips. "I... I--"

A voice suddenly shouts from beside you both. Whether it's because you were distracted by something else, or it's simply from the skill of the intruder, you hadn't even noticed them approach. "Moment ruined!" It's Candy. She looks just the same as last you saw her--painted face, red nose, jester hat, golden pigtails, poofy dress, and a staff that ends with big blue flower. The mischievous gremlin stares up at you both with two coloured eyes of green and purple. Not only does she appear out of thin air with an intrusive shout, she does so followed by the sound of a honk before throwing a cloud of multicoloured confetti into the air. "Sorry, chief, but don't worry. You'll get your moment together again I'm sure."

You instinctually reach for your sword, though Snow is the one who leaps the most. Like a cat seeing a cucumber, she jumps high into the air, and lands a short distance away with a short blade already drawn.

"Get away from him!" Snow shouts.

"Relax. I'm not here to kill anyone. Or am I? No. I'm not," Candy says. "We've met before, him and I."

You relax your hand though only slightly. "She's one of the Chairmen of the Circle," you explain back to Snow. "Candy is her name. A powerful mage, which is how I reckon you were able to get all the way in here without anybody seeing you."

She cups her hands over her chest. While the body could be curvy beneath that frilly jester's garb, it's difficult to tell. "No way. I just used my womanly wiles. Your guards were so awe-struck by my natural beauty, they froze up completely."

"Or you turned invisible," you reply.

"Just because I'm a master illusionist, you think I turn invisible all the time?"

Snow makes her way cautiously back over, though as she sheathes her sword, she keeps her fingers firmly wrapped around the handle. "I apologize, Kyle. As one of your spies, I should have been able to see an intruder coming before they make themselves present. But her magic is quite impressive."

"It's all right, Snow. Your ability to sneak is just as amazing." If you don't out yourself by getting carried away while peeping. "So why are you here, Candy?"

She sticks out her tongue. "I thought you'd want a cute girl to come visit. Truthfully, I just think you're super interesting. No other Demon King has done what you did with the Circle, and I've seen at least a couple in person. They've been traditionally a lot more dangerous. So I tracked you down, and here I am, and wow it's amazing. You have such colourful characters walking around here, from more ordinary folks like elves, to actual demons. Impressive. I think I even saw a ghost. What's up with that? How do you have sex with a ghost?"

"Why did you immediately assume sex was involved?"

With her arms on her hips, she peers up at you, now leaning in closer with a wide smile. She says nothing else.

"If you're from the Circle," Snow speaks up. "Are you here to aid us in our conflict with Elok Daven?"

Candy shrugs. At this point, you notice her staff seems to float adjacent to her, as if being held upright by invisible hands. "I dunno if I can really help. Do you have a plan or anything? Because you can't just rely on the Circle. It takes them all so long to get anything done. Everyone has their own shit I guess, but maybe that means I have the purest heart of them all, since I'm the one who's here."

"I doubt that," Snow mutters.

"A plan. I mean, a little?" you say. "Do you know the Vraelion family in Tolis? Malakae is a young woman there, though I don't know the first name of her father. I've been trying to think of a way to rescue her from a family she may not wish to serve any longer, while also without the risk of her father going on a murderous rampage in ****."

"That's... not what I expected," Candy says as she crosses her arms. "Does that have anything to do with Elok Daven?"

"Sort of. Her father is working with them, which has roped her into it too. She doesn't deserve that, even if she's been a bully in the past."

Candy ponders for a long moment. It's the most calm and quiet you've ever seen her be, other than when others were giving their two cents at the meeting, but this is in silence. Then suddenly, she claps her hands together with a big, wide smile. "Then I have just the thing! Since I'm just a beautiful, caring woman, I'm going to help you with that by means of a magical artifact. Not just any object of magic, however. This one is called a Shard of Draconax. Only a handful exist, and I know exactly where we can find one, which is definitely all you need."

"I think I've heard of those," Snow says.

"Yeah?" You turn to her curiously.

"It's said that it can ward you from even a mighty dragon."

"You're close!" Candy shouts. "So don't stop now, unless you're into edging."

"Repeating jokes," you say.

"Nuh uh! This is a completely different context," she says with an aggressive thrust of her finger towards your chest. "As I was saying, you're close. A Shard of Draconax produces a massive barrier invisible to the human eye that greatly weakens a dragon when it passes through the exterior. A dragon can actually see it, so most will often not even attempt to pass through to begin with. Technically they'd be safe once inside, though with how much it can weaken even the most powerful dragons, most wouldn't take the risk. If anyone were to be waiting inside, wham! Easy capture, or worse."

"So if we rescue Malakae and her father follows, he wouldn't be able to get her back," you say.

"You got it! So you can safely do a good old fashioned ****."

"Don't call it that."

"Where can we find this shard?" Snow asks.

"I'm glad you asked, my cute and sexy ninja dressed in an outfit so tight it might as well be skin," Candy replies. "It's either really far away, or really close depending on what we figure out."

Snow self-consciously readjusts the snug fit of the outfit around her ass.

"And what does that mean?" you ask.

"It's deep in the ocean. But! There are ways to get there beyond a long journey and then a dangerous dive. We'd have to find a portal."

That sounds familiar. Back in Silverleaf, Amara and I were sucked into one of those, but that wasn't there naturally. A witch brought us through. "If you brought it up, I assume you have a plan of some sort, right? You are a powerful and skilled mage of the Circle after all."

"Oh stop," she says with hands on her painted cheeks. "And maybe. There is technically a portal not far from here, but the one in charge of taking you through will be extremely hard to convince."

"It's worth a shot, right?"

"Sure! She goes by the Lady of the Lake. All we have to do is head to Crystal Lake, and then--"

"Oh yeah. We met her before."

"... Huh?" After a pause, she rolls her eyes. "Of course you have! You're the Demon King around these parts, so I shouldn't be so surprise."

"Yeah. We actually became pretty close. Me and a bunch of others were heading back from the Sports Festival when she appeared, and uh... Well, it was an interesting time. In the end, she was incredibly happy, so we're on great terms actually."

"I knew I was right in coming here. This is gonna be fun. I can feel it." As if struck with a sudden surge of motivation, she slams one fist into her other palm. "I can't wait to see what other weird shit you do, so let's get going right away. I'll personally show you were the Shard of Draconax is, though it'll be up to you how you get it."

"This is kinda sudden, especially if we're travelling so far. I should--"

"No thinking. Just going. See, the Lady of the Lake will be quite tired after sending even one person through her portal, so grab your kitty and let's go. In and out. Easy. We'll be back before the end of the day."

"What do you think?" Snow asks.

"I think that yeah, we should go. Worst case scenario, we come back empty handed. Though uh, how are we going to survive under the sea? Unless you have some mermaids in your pocket right now for us to kiss."

"I wish. No, I have something though I'm sure." She withdraws a pouch from her side, though when she thrusts her arm inside of it, she goes far deeper than she should. Clearly the bag is far larger on the inside than it looks. After digging out for a lengthy moment, she pulls out an entire sword and then tosses it behind herself. Next, she withdraws a hammer and tosses that too. She then retrieves a fish. That's also thrown behind her back. A rubber ducky. A dog treat. A weirdly small adult toy. Finally, she pulls out a handful of metal chains. "Here they are!"

"Those are pretty," Snow says. "What are they?"

"Guess we only need three," she says as she peels them apart from one another before slipping a few remaining ones back into her back. They're necklaces of silver chains with tiny aquamarine gemstones along them, with a larger sapphire in the middle of each. "I always keep these on me, just in case I need to do stuff underwater. Keep one on, and not only will you be able to breath water, but you'll be immune to the other negative effects of deep sea travel, like being horrifically crushed by water pressure. Only so deep though, so don't go to the very bottom of the ocean, all right? Unless you like being crushed, like I do." She holds two of them out in front of her.

Snow reaches for one hesitantly, but just before she's able to touch one, Candy yanks it back.

"Say thank you," Candy says. "No wait. Say thank you mistress."

"No!"

She cackles. "Oh you're no fun. Here," she says before tossing it in her direction. Thankfully Snow catches it with ease.

You catch the next one. It really is a beautiful necklace. In hopes this isn't another bit of mischief, you bring it over your head and let it rest around your neck. "Thanks for this. If you can do anything to help us, it'll be for the good of everyone. Elok Daven is a real evil asshole."

"I can't say no to someone trying to valiantly save a girl from her dad. That's so romantic that it makes me want to burst. If I were cooped up in my room, trapped by an oppressive father figure, and a Demon King came in through my window to save me, I'd ride him till he saw stars."

"What?!" Snow reacts in shock, just as she finishes putting on her own necklace.

"C'mon now. Let's get to Crystal Lake."

You offer out a hand. "I can get us there faster," you say.

"I'm interested." She doesn't even hesitate before placing her hand upon yours. "Impress me."

Snow wraps her hands around your arm and comes in close--more than is needed, but it's more than appreciated. "He's Kyle. Of course he'll impress you."

"Oh ho ho. You really are a lucky man."

You can't help but smile. "I am. Very much so." Then after a deep breath, you tense your leg muscles and prepare for liftoff. "Hold on tight. To Crystal Lake then. Heya, Yin!" you shout in greeting as you see the devil in the distance. "We'll be back in a little bit, okay?"

"O-Oh okay, Master!" Yin salutes.

And with that, you warp.