Meet with William.

You, Niki, Amara, Eva, and Nyllia march through town and towards the exit of Castle Phoenix. On the way, you speak on what may come. Though he's gradually been more open, to where he doesn't even hide his hands any longer when the two of you speak, William has always been a secretive man. There's only so much you know about him, even after all this time. The most prominent is the obvious one.

"So he's from Earth, right?" Eva asks. "The two of you both came from the same world. He went and did his own thing, and you did yours. At least he isn't trying to kill everybody, like Elok Daven. Another from Earth! Yeesh. I wonder how many other people we'll run into who loudly prove the existence of Isekai Theory."

"Isekai Fact," Niki adds.

"Xiaoqing is already one," Amara says. "Remember?"

"Oh yeah! True," Eva responds.

You nod. "Ealdorman too. The Earthling who seems to have been here the longest, of the ones we've met. There's also Vivi's grandfather from way back. With all the experiments Breiah and Elok were running, there were probably more before William and I, but I don't really want to think about what happened to them. If that's true."

Just like you, William was subject to many experiments in order to impact into him a customized class titled simply Demon King, therefore he was given the same distribution of spells and talents as yourself. It seems to be more complicated than that, however. From what you understand, you've both been left in a strange state of blank template full of holes, and in power, that's where the two of you differ the most. There's no telling what sort of abilities William has collected, but it doesn't seem as if he does so in the same way you do.

"Between the Sports Festival and the time I was up on Laputa, I've only seen, I think... "You count on your fingers. "Nine of his allies? Eleven if you count the Prison Princess and the Dungeon Master."

"We should take note of them," suggests Nyllia.

"There's Jika, one of the first we met. Dark, edgy harpy. Very quick and perceptive. Next is Trin. Dragons are powerful and dangerous, and just like with Malakae, she's a mage. Conjuration magic seems to be her focus. There's Stilet, an infamous elven assassin. Ribi is a bunnyfolk, and from what I've seen, definitely the monk class. At the Sport's Festival, I also remember Juggernaut, who was basically a massive walking suit of armour, a mysterious cloaked man called Storm, and then some sort of adventuring warrior girl. Tavia, I believe was her name."

Eva raises up her fingers as you go. "That's seven so far."

"Caleena, William's maid, who also seems to be a trusty second-hand he's willing to send quite far away," you continue. "A bombyx insectrin, like Luna. Then if we count her, Grenmila. the gnome druid. I would hope they aren't still allies after what happened though."

By now, you've passed beneath the grand gateway through Castle Phoenix's tall, dark walls. It's no longer a wide dirt path on the other side, but a solid smooth road of stone. You continue on with your party until you see figures up ahead, just as the way begins to curve.

From left to right, the four who have joined him are the following:

Storm. You've never seem him garbed in anything besides a dark cloak that conceals nearly his entire body. All you can make out is the brown tone to his flesh, and a looming pair of crimson eyes in the shadow of his hood. You remember that the last time you saw him, you witnessed him withdraw a blade that extended in length and began to crackle with electricity. Otherwise, you know nothing more about him.

Jika. She appears mostly as you've seen her several times before, with raven wings and matching hair, and a body mostly concealed. Her robe does appear different--more ornate. It's a deep shade of violet that would likely appear back if not for the bright light of the sun--something she doesn't seem particularly pleased by. Upon closer inspection, it's further decorated by swirling lines, though it's difficult to see them, as they're only somewhat darker than the rest. The sleeves are thicker than the rest. They stretch wide to make room for her wings inside. Her cold, yellow gaze darts about as if always taking note of every detail around her, and otherwise remains silent as she watches.

Trin. Her silver hair is cut the same--short, in a bob--and above that are two horns decorated by jewel-encrusted rings, which matches her silver-scaled tail curling around from her lower back. Compared to those around her, she looks quite small, and her vibrant appearance causes her to stand out even further. She wears a bright white dress with gorgeous trimming in the pattern of flames, cut behind just enough to fit her previously mentioned tail. It ends at her knees, though beneath that is a pair of fancy, tall boots. A belt of pouches tightly binds her slim waist. You can see a crimson flute sheathed like a weapon. She also wears a pale blue cloak. All in all, not all that different than when you first met, though you can tell that each individual garment has been replaced by one of higher quality.

You wonder if you've gained an eye for spotting things like that. Luna might be rubbing off on you.

Ribi. Her athletic body is tanned rather dark, and is barely covered by a tiny black blouse, with three red buttons struggling to keep it closed. Below is a matching pair of short shorts, though they're surely a size too small, as she always keeps the top unbuttoned. Her dark hair just barely reaches her shoulders, and protruding up is a pair of big, floppy ears with white fluffy tips. She's braided her hair in two places, each adorned by a series of ruby beads. There's also a tattoo on her stomach and her upper left arm. Both are strange symbols you don't recognize.

Then of course, standing in front of them all, is William Cresswell. Once you've neared, he steps forward ahead of the others. They do eventually follow, though they keep a short distance between them and this meeting of kings. As for you, even if you asked, you're not sure if your allies would have kept away. They keep rather close, especially Nyllia.

He comes to a halt. Though he no longer hides his hands around you, he does now slip them into the pockets of his white jacket as he finds a way to comfortably stand. The breeze calms, though it's keeps enough to waft through his coat. He does bring a hand back up momentarily--the one that wields presumably his most powerful ring--just to adjust his glasses before returning back to a casual stance. "You have a beautiful fortress, Kyle," he says.

"Is that why you brought yours? Are we comparing?"

"I'm going to cut right to the chase. You know why I'm concerned. All this time, we've kept to our own business. I helped when needed, but I've mostly been playing a game of my own. So I was surprised to see another Demon King appear in my land, and not only defeat some of my allies, but grow a name for himself in a mere couple days."

"I came as an adventurer. If you don't want somebody with a sword coming through and slaying evil, you probably shouldn't put the evil there yourself. And I didn't choose to spread any fame."

"But you did," he says with a laugh. William takes a few steps forward--close enough where if he were to whisper, you'd still be able to hear him. His tone lowers now. He speaks quieter. "What I do is my business, and I'm not upset an adventurer got in the way of my plans. I'm disappointed it was you."

"And I'm no Demon King. This land here is official. I'm allies with the Empire of Tivera, and together we're making sure this land doesn't suffer like it did by Elok Daven's invasion."

"I don't mind what title you call yourself. We're both simply ruling in different ways. You play your story. Control Tivera. It's been impressive to watch. With the power you have, you could invade and take over Varat. But if your conquest spreads, all I ask is that when you reach my borders--"

"You're not getting it, William. There's no conquest. Don't start talking like Elok."

"I am not him," he barks back. Then he clears his throat. "Yes, he and Breiah gave me a golden opportunity, but I still hated the man. He was a sadistic fool. My plan isn't to raze the land to the ground with an army."

"I'd like you to explain to me the idea behind that Dungeon Lord situation."

"Adventurers go in, my allies there have their fun, they try not to kill them, my treasury grows. It doesn't matter now, does it? The entire thing has collapsed. They returned to me sobbing. So don't worry. I have no interest in trying again."

"What about the umbrageist?"

"Monarch is a bandit, Kyle. A powerful one, but a criminal nonetheless. I could have killed her, or threw her in prison, though with her connections, unless it was up in Laputa, she'd have gotten out. But I didn't. I was using her to manipulate the criminal underworld and bring peace. If you're going to barge through my door, I'd at least prefer you to think before you act."

"You keep talking like you own the free cities."

"Free. That's the most ironic part of their name. Because there was no king or queen, it was ruled by all manner of unseen connections. They may place the world Demon before King, but I am in most ways the ruler of that land. You have no idea the changes I've been able to make in my time there. Kyle, I'd like to make a deal with you."

"I'm listening."

"You obviously don't trust me, or worse, you think I'm going to suddenly go around murdering everybody, so I'd like to show some of my hand. You give me something, I'll give you something in return. And I see many eyes on me from your castle walls. But if anybody does make a move, I'll leave straight away. No hesitation."

"They won't," you say. "What did you want?"

"Information. There's one thing that we believe we may already know, but word straight from the source is more valuable than any research or experimentation. You may not even have a proper answer, so no matter what you give, I'll accept it. My question is this... Truly, no lies, no secrets, how do you obtain the powers you have? You likely know my own source of power already. It's this ring here. After somebody's death, I can absorb their essence. It makes me stronger, and can grant me an ability, though rarely. But you have no such trinket."

He doesn't know? Or maybe it's more that he doesn't trust it's true.

"From how it was explained to me," you start. "We're both full of holes. You probably know that. You slot things in by the power of your ring, but for me? I think it comes from deep connection. When it came to Lepo and Feli, I think their intention was to share, though it was the night we spent together that granted those powers. I figured it worked the same for us both, like we're sponges, absorbing whatever is around us."

"No. It doesn't." He ponders for a moment. You've never seen him pause for so long before, so it seems your words have left him deep in thought. "An unsatisfying answer, but I'll uphold my end of the bargain. Storm? Cast off the robe."