Fight through them.

Like a cannonball of solid steel, Bekram the dwarf bolts right past everybody else with his maul already grasped tight between his hands. To take on the first construct, he leaps and smashes the weight of his body down upon its shattering body. He then continues forward, swinging his weapon at the next few in a broad cleave. He carries his weight forward, however, and willingly sends himself off the ledge. He smashes his way through several more on the way down, either breaking them to pieces or knocking them back down. He hits the ground below with a thud, right at the edge of the chasm. There, he begins tearing apart the next ones coming up, though he's quickly being overwhelmed, like he's standing on a nest of fire ants.

"Look out!" Alice shouts. She holds her arm forward--already morphed into the shape of a gun. She holds the arm cannon steady, and after a brief moment of charging, she fires a blast of arcane energy at two constructs which made their way around the rest, and were circling around to flank. Nothing is left but a charred stain on the ground.

"I was getting bored, but this is not what I wanted," says Stax, withdrawing two blades from her belt. She leaps at a nearby copper ball and drives her weapons through its body like a pair of fangs. She then peers up and clenches her teeth. "A lot of them have made it this way!" she calls out. "It looks like they're massing together."

As you peer over to the constructs forming together, you grab your blade and speaks the magic words, "Entangle Bolt," before thrusting the tip of Lauo in the direction of the rising beast. It hits the ground nearby, marking a spot there for a trap to trigger. Then, you move to swing at the ones coming closer. You both pierce and slice through a number of them as they surround your position, joined by your allies to aid you.

An ice demon in some ways is more dangerous in a fight when the opponent cannot be charmed. When she slashes at the constructs, the wounds freeze over, eventually causing the frosted balls to cease movement. While her other technique is quite deadly, it would do very little to trap just a few of these enemies within her frozen cavern. She instead stands back-to-back with Cat, and the two shred any who dare come close.

"You know, you might think I'm afraid since we're so far beneath any trees, but you're wrong," Peony says to you. "This place has been abandoned for so long, nature has come to reclaim it. When you look around, you can see the moss, the roots, the plants, and more. This isn't the domain of a Demon King anymore, m'lord. It's returned to the wild."

"That's beautiful," you say as you slice through another. "I'll reflect on that when we're done!"

"Silly husband. I'm saying this for a reason." She then climbs up upon the stone railing and throws her arms into the air. Peony looks quite stunning from this position above, bathed in dim light, and while distant from the trees, makes a connection with all the nature around you. Blades of grass which were already growing from within cracks in the stone start extending. Tiny flower buds bloom. Then, roots down the wall near where Bek is fighting burst out, and they slither past him like an army of snakes. Peony's magic grapples and crushes a few of them, but the rest begins to weave a web over the chasm itself, strand by strand of vines, roots, and other plants.

"That's amazing!" you shout. "Keep it up, everyone. Lady Sulta, how is it going back inside?"

"No foes have made their way in!" she calls back. "Continue fighting. Soon, we'll have this elevator working once more."

"You heard her," you say. "Keep fighting!"

Thud. Thud. Two hefty feet crush down against the stone as the constructs prior have completed their transformation. It resembles the one you saw in your scry to Avana--a large man of metal with an arcane cannon at the end of both arms. Though after it takes its next step, blue tendrils burst up and wrap around its foot. It immediately starts tripping forward, and both charged shots fire off in different directions. One causes the ceiling to crumble behind you.

You leap out of the way of falling rocks, and peer up at the golem you've made helpless. A blast from Alice comes from beside you, exploding over the torso of the beast.

Sen-nu appears on the golem's shoulder. Then on the other, Sen-nu as well. Both her bodies drive their claws into the upper chest, and they dismount before it comes crashing down onto its back.

Bulrak comes sprinting out of the room, and you bolt perpendicular to his path. You leap with your blade ready, and drive it straight down into the torso of the golem. With one final twitch, sparks begin shooting out in every direction. You carry your momentum past, and hop back to the ground as it begins to fizzle and pop into burned metal and ash. Meanwhile, the dwarf you passed is casting a spell.

"Keep it bloody down!" Bulrak shouts with his steel wand held high above his head. He slams his foot down and grumbles. "The others are trying to work, so I best shut you up myself. Beneath the surface is the domain of the dwarf! Stoneshape!" When he musters the mana and casts his spell, the ground rumbles, and then beginning past where Bek stands below, the ground shatters. Some of the copper spheres are either knocked away or crushed by the rolling earth, but this spell's focus is the chasm. Paired with Peony's nature-weaving, he aids in closing the hole by pulling in the edges.

Peony looks down to the dwarf with a smile. "Do you love m'lord as well?" she asks.

"What the fuck did you just ask me?" he replies.

From the side, a few cobra-like creatures slitter closer. They also appear to be built from these tiny balls coming together, though instead of the shape of a hulking man, these are snakes with razor-sharp fangs extending from where the mouth would be if it looked anywhere near natural. Their glowing eyes peer out from the darkness. Then, one bolts with alarming speed towards the group.

Before it can make it, purple bands reach down from above and strangle the serpent up into the air. The ropes bind the shaft of the creature, squeezing the artificially life right out of it, from the base all the way to the head. She does this to the point where it finally pops, shattering the metal as each individual broken ball falls to the ground fizzling.

"And that's why you don't piss me off, Kyle. Remember that," Delphi says from above with a grin. "Do you see? It's like the construct was a big co--"

"I know!" you shout back before driving your blade into the next mechanical cobra coming at you. The fangs lash out and nearly strike your shoulder, but you separate the head, and proceed to shred apart the remainder of the body. You start to truly feel your improved strength, and not just of body. You haven't had to use Flare Blade, yet you're cleaving right through magical metal. While it's not necessarily something you see with your naked eyes, there's a bond between you and the others--Invisible Ties. You feel empowered, and with that sensation comes a burning pink glow from the blade of Lauo. It doesn't just illuminate when horny is near, but also the connection you share with your allies. This power fills you with confidence, and you stand strong with your sword at the ready as the next serpent approaches.

It lunges quickly, but you deftly dodge to the side. When you stop on the other side, its head slides straight off the body. You then thrust forward, treating Lauo more like a rapier as you perform a serious of lightning-quick strikes to the remaining segments of the automaton.

Mela comes running out--currently possessing her doll-like body once again--and looks to you with a nervous stare. "Kyle, they are still not finished, but they are working as hard as they can. Are we holding out?"

"We'll fight for as long as we need to," you reply. "Stay safe in the room. We'll protect you."

"I am not as effective in combat when my opponents are not living," she says.

"Let Vivi, Vazeela, and Okawa know that we'll make sure a single foe doesn't get through. Though I'm sure if one does, they're more than capable of obliterating it. I just want them to focus on getting that elevator operational."

A sound comes next, and one unlike any you've heard before. It has a similar cadence to a certain type of beast you've faced a couple times, though even between them there was quite the difference. There's just something familiar about the sound, yet distorted and different. Whatever you just heard is unnatural. It was a roar and also a screech--a strange robotic noise, yet also a deep, bellowing roar. You can hear stone crumbling--more like detonating. At first, it feels as if the noise is coming from all around you, though you then focus your eyes on the chasm both Peony and Bulrak are working to close. More copper spheres are rolling their way up like a constant stream. It makes you wonder just how many Elok has made.

The next noise you hear is like that of a hurricane. Wind rushes up from below, and something heavy crashes against the depths of the pit. A horrible noise like nails on a chalkboard whistle out as if something sharp is being dragged along solid rock. Then with a flash of cyan, the eyes of the beast emerge, followed by the rest of the monster's body and incredible wingspan.

With another horrific, metallic screech, a dragon emerges from the depths, though this is no ordinary creature. It appears to be made entirely of copper, with machinery visible beneath its shimmering scales. Both of its eyes twist and move like the lenses on cameras, and the cyan light which illuminates from them shine like spotlights in the otherwise dark subterranean ruins. The explosive appearance undoes all your party did to seal the entrance. When its wings extend out, it covers almost the entire ceiling of the large chamber you're within, and then it crashes back down with a claw digging into the stone overtop of the pit, which continues to stream with tiny automatons making their way up.

Bek backs up against the wall with widened eyes. "H-H-Holy fuck. Yes, yes!" he shouts with nervous joy. "Let's go!"

You turn your eyes left and right. Coming up both ways are more rolling spheres as well as copper cobras, and you can see in the distance some of the constructs are forming together yet again. Below is the dragon, and beneath his feet are even more threats emerging. This is Elok Daven's army, and you're in his domain. "We need that elevator working as soon as possible!" you shout back.

"What's happening out there?" comes Vivi's voice in response.

"A lot!" You ready your blade. "And a fucking dragon."

Just then, you hear something from the Sending Stone in your bag. Quickly, you dig it out and hold it to your ear. You make out the final part of a sentence coming from Yin.

"--if you're there. Please, it's important, Master."

"I'm here," you reply. "Yin. What's wrong?"

"You sound frantic, Master. Is everything fine on your end?"

"Absolutely not, but please tell me what's going on. Time is of the essence."

"R-Right! Well, Castle Phoenix is under attack."

You hold the magic phone away from your lips and shout, "God damn it!"