Enter the room.

Alice was right. While the room isn't large, it has tables and counters with reagents and medical supplies, and the man and woman in question are completely taken off their guard. You're glad you didn't send Mela in after all, as that man undoubtably looks like a cleric, even with a staff laying against a wall nearby. Against the might of the Demon King's army, however, and caught surprised, it isn't even a fight. They're restrained before they can even act, leaving you to turn to a bed on the far end of the room. There's a figure under the blanket.

"Who the hell are you?" barks the man. "Are you here to **** her highness?"

"She isn't the queen anymore, dumbass," the woman says.

"How dare you! She's still of the royal family."

"Sure, but that's the wrong honorific."

Eva pops the Fib-Not out from her bust and looks at them curiously. "Are you trying to keep her in good health then?" she asks.

"Of course we are," the man snaps back angrily.

It doesn't light up, or make a sound of any sort. Clearly, he's telling the truth, or he's an incredibly powerful man disguising the truth. The most likely answer is that they truly do believe they're caring for her. That would be the most brilliant way for her to remain here. Nobody would suspect a thing, as the queen would be accounted for. What doesn't make sense then is how she's still unwell.

Amara pulls down the blanket to her upper chest, revealing to everyone the face of Queen Catherine II. While she may wear no makeup now, and her hair is messy and splayed over the pillow, she's still beautiful, albeit in such a weak state. You can tell she's the true queen of the empire regardless. After she places her hand upon the woman's forehead, Amara looks to you with a sigh. "I am unsure what ails her, but we can look more closely."

"It's a curse," Vivi says.

"How are you able to tell already?"

"Well, if she were actually sick, doctors would be able to do something, right? Whoever set this up gave her regular ass medicinal practitioners. The cleric is probably like 1st level or something. It also makes sense that she'd remain in the exact same state for so long."

The man clenches his teeth. "I'm... not 1st level," he grumbles.

"Oh yeah. You levelled up yesterday, didn't you?" the woman replies. "What a big difference."

"Whose side are you on?"

You look down at the queen. She's breathing, though she looks pale, and her eyes are closed. Then, your hair stands up. Quickly, you turn to the door, and making little to no sound, a new figure has appeared in the doorway. You're the first to notice, and he looks incredibly familiar. In fact, it's unmistakable. Nobody else looks like that.

The man is nothing but a flowing black robe with a face covered by a vacant white mask. Even his hands are covered by gloves, and coming over each of them is a wide blade protruding outwards. The first noise he actually seems to make is the clink of said weapons against one another as his expressionless mask stares seemingly straight at you above all others. It's Faceless, a villain you haven't seen in ages. You remember when Rabbit's Foot was in combat with him, and you seem to remember something about him working with whoever it was that her mother was in contact with, which you then later found out was...

"Elok sent you, eh?" you ask.

The others turn as well. Alice pops her eyeball back into its socket, and beside her, Eva stands with her arms still around her bare bust. Sadly, it leaves her quite awkwardly placed, as she doesn't want to reach for her wand, though everyone else keeps their hands on their weapons, unsure of what to make of this new arrival.

"Greetings again, Kyle Warren," Faceless says in the same raspy, decrepit voice.

You remember that when you did see a hint of his face, it was nothing but bone. Whatever Faceless truly is, you stay on your guard. You beat him before, and that was a long time back, though if he came alone, you doubt it'll be exactly the same. "Cocky, thinking you can fight us all by yourself. And this time, nobody's wearing spandex."

"Don't mock me," he grumbles back. "I came here to deliver a message, not fight."

"If Elok wants to talk, can't he just use the mirror?" you ask.

"Of course. However, there are four who possess this mirror. Elok Daven, Kyle Warren, Lady Vex, and lastly, William Cresswell. While they're secure, as my master's craftsmanship is impressive, it isn't impossible for one of those specific individuals to sneak their way into a conversation between others. This is unlikely, but if there truly is something you wish only one other to hear, a more direct approach is the safest."

"No offense, but you look more like an assassin than a messenger boy," Niki says.

"I take that as a compliment. It's true that this is not normally my job, though it seems some of my allies have been predisposed due to your actions. Also, I am quite fast. Listen to me then, Kyle Warren. I won't repeat myself. Watch the other one closely, the other from your world. He would do anything to win. I don't know whether or not you trust him, but my master advises against it."

"To be frank, I don't trust your master either, so that's weak advice." Vex is the only one I've been close to anyway. As much as I'd like to fully trust the only other person I know from Earth, he does make me a little nervous. I don't know what he's doing over there, and then there was the whole weird thing with Grenmila. Though there's also a really good chance Elok is just trying to stir distrust between the Demon Kings. "That seems like a lot of effort to go through for such a small message."

"My master thought it to be important enough, and I didn't travel far. My duty is complete."

"So you're not going to stop us?"

"No. There is nothing we can do. My master admits defeat this turn." As he moves away, his cloak billows like a cloud of shadow. "Do whatever it is that you wish." Then, he disappears as quickly and quietly as he first appeared, back through the doorway.