Hold the line.

You slam your palm hard against the flat blade of your magic sword and grit your teeth. As you trace your hand along the metal, you speak aloud, "Flare Blade". Radiant pink flames rise from the weapon, and after pulling your hand back, you swing the sword to your side, creating a wave of vibrant fire in an arc across the front of your body. You know that it's now time to officially lock-in. There's no holding back anymore. People are winded, or worse, hurt. You may be attacking on multiple fronts, but you're also being attacked as well. They need more time with the elevator, and you intend to give them what they desire, even if it means facing a metallic dragon.

Gears whirl and pistols churn as the copper beast takes flight again. It does so just enough to leap forward, crashing into the side of the railing as the ground trembles beneath the weight. You hope that Bek and the others who joined him are safe below, but at least it's ignoring them. It seems like the dragon is focused specifically on you. Its cyan eyes extend an extra inch from its skull, as if it's zooming in to inspect you. When it's mouth opens, instead of a roar, there's a muffled voice of a man.

"You think yourself clever," Elok Daven remotely speaks through the creature's gaping maw. "I've been in this world longer then you have, Kyle. Not only that, but Breiah and I made you. What were you before we took you from Earth? Likely the same as myself. But here, we're better. I'll be damned if I let you get in the way of all I've been working towards. The adventuring. The studying. I may be standing on the backs of those before me, but I've improved on their designs in every way. Muian's insectrin were flawed, unlike those who I've spawned. People have studied Isekai Theory since ancient times, yet nobody has grown as I have. Nobody has used the potential before them, seized it, and took it all! You could have stood beside me as my trusted knight. William too. We'd have taken Absoterra over, and then Earth. You'd have a harem the size of two worlds!"

You look left and right to everybody fighting. In your hand, you squeeze the handle of your flaming blade as you reach your other around the side of Peony to keep her close and safe. "Listen. You're a psycho. A world doesn't exist for you to take, and a harem that big is stupid as hell. You'd never be able to give enough attention to everybody. And do you have any idea how exhausting it is to have this many already? We're going to find you. We will defeat you. David."

"I see you've been digging. Call me whatever you'd like. Nobody will care about the words of a dead man. When you fall today, Thadius and I will seize the Empire of Tivera. Then one by one, I'll eliminate the other Demon Kings. Vex. William. Efrin. You have no idea how far back this plan has gone. It predates even my coming."

"Peony. Get inside me," you whisper.

She nods. Much like with her ability to stride into trees, she steps right into your suit of armour and disappears entirely.

You immediately sprint forwards. As soon as you reach the edge, you leap into the air, though not in any ordinary manner. The second you leave the ground, you vanish. Space warps around you, and you reappear over the back of the perching beast. It's a strange angle, but you manage to fall between the dragon's wings, and that's exactly where you drive your magic blade. It sinks through the copper plates like a hot knife through butter. Pink flames burst up from the wound, and after digging in deep, you swing the blade back out, leaving behind a sparking gash.

The dragon's mouth clangs shut. The voice is now simply a roar, and the wings nearly send you flying when they begin to flap. Its tail causes the wall behind the collapse. It takes flight, sending you up with it. You peer down at Bek cleaving through constructs below, backed up by the vampiress Cat, who seems entirely unharmed. The darkness is her domain, and even if she has been hit, her body heals from injuries incredible quick. Both bodies of Sen-nu are sprinting around the chasm like ravenous wolves, tearing apart every construct before they can join the rest above. Taiga buzzes through the air, piercing those who even try to get past the others.

Bulrak, as a chairman of the Circle, is absolutely destroying the foes on his end, backed up by Alice's arm cannon beside him. Meanwhile, Delphi is grappling all who try to harm her allies, and she swings them various directions, while Stax and Shivra take out the others.

You use your incredible agility to deliver a series of mighty thrusts into the back of the dragon, even while it's trying to knock you off. Each one sinks in deep, both because of Flare Blade, as well as the bolstered might of you and your weapon using Invisible Ties. You feel power surging through you, even if not everyone is present. Though suddenly, you're thrust up towards the ceiling.

Before you're crushed, you dismount from the dragon's back and activate your Boots of Herbes. As you slowly descend, you thrust your blade back up and shout, "Flare Bolt!" to send a burning bolt of pink energy up into the creature's underbelly.

It then turns and darts back down towards you. Its maw opens, and as it does, you see a terrifying cyan energy within its throat. It's about to fire. You have no surfaces to leap from, so you deactivate your boots and begin to plumet. As you do, however, Peony partially emerges from your suit. She reaches out and grapples the ledge nearby with vine-covered roots which extend both from her hand as well as the wall nearby. Using that leverage, she yoinks you away, and your feet slam up against the vertical stone. You feel an intense heat behind you, and when you turn, you can see a plume of radiant blue fire coming from between the dragon's teeth.

Though you did dodge in time, the dragon's head is turning, yet the flaming breath is not stopping.

You push off the wall and Bunny Hop a second time. You slam up against the ceiling a little harder than you meant to do, but you use that to push herself back down towards its back like a dart. You strike down against the back of its head, causing it to tilt upwards, scorching the far wall and then the ceiling before the energy dissipates at last.

This thing is sturdy as fuck. I feel like I can take it down eventually, but time is still of the essence, and it's a danger to everyone in here while it stands. David probably doesn't care if he brings the entire ruins down on top of us, even if it blocks this entrance to his lair.

You look down as you perch on the dragon's neck. A few of those larger golems are blasting their cannons at your party, and they're starting to be overwhelmed. Down below, even Bek is being taken over by larger, more dangerous automatons emerging--more cobras, but also larger spheres with razer-sharp spinning blades. You see copper scorpions, and copper spiders. This has to be his final but main line of defense you're witnessing. That elevator needs to open soon, because you'd need an army to fight this many without casualties, and that's not quite what you brought.

All right. If I keep attacking the neck, I can remove the head. I just hope that kills something like this.

With a deep breath, you bring your sword back with one hand while you remain mounted on the bucking bull with your other, not without difficulty. You cringe at the painful screeching roar that comes from this creature's throat. But then, you see a silver comet plunge down from above. The blur impacts the back of the dragon's head, and when you're able to properly inspect what's ahead through the dragon's violent movements, you see William Cresswell.

He throws his white coat off his body, garbed now mostly in black apart from his silver breastplate, and turns to face you with his own magic sword in-hand. His fingers are adorned by rings, though there's no telling if they're all enchanted or not. His hair is groomed back, and he wears a ring of gold inset with blue a blue gem on each ear. "Let's finish this together, Kyle," he says before placing his palm against the flat of his sword. "Flare Blade!"

"A little late," you say.

He clings to the back of the dragon's neck while his sword rages with burning hot flames. "I apologize. But I'm here now, and I've brought Laputa with me. That means I haven't come alone. Now let's strike together and behead the beast."

You join swords. With your strength together, you deliver a series of rapid, deadly blows to the back of the automaton's neck. In seconds, the head tears off with a series of sparkles and burning shards of metal bursting in all directions. Though after the head crashes to the ground below, it continues to fly.

"I was worried this would happen," William says.

"Me too. But that just means we need to hit it more."

Down below, reinforcements have arrived.

The first thing you see is quite strange. A massive lobster is tearing apart all the constructs around it, but this is no robot. It isn't copper, but a vibrant red, and it's definitely real. Marching close behind, playing a happy tune, is the silver dragon Trin. it seems she has a brand new flute that looks as if it's made from the most beautiful, polished crimson marble, and her summon is doing hefty damage on her behalf.

Jika emerges from the shadows like a feathered ninja. The harpy strikes down, eliminating one of the metal scorpions with ease. "What is your plan?" she asks as she stares down at Stax nearby.

"We're defending a few of our people while they work on the entrance into the lab below us," she says. "Thanks for joining the fight, huh? Eventually."

"Pyon!" screams a girl as she lunges past Jika and throws her fist right through one of the larger rolling spheres. She pulls her hand back out, and then delivers a deadly kick, sending it tumbling away into a smoking pile of scrap. She has tanned skin, with a tease of fairer skin around the edges of her tiny black blouse and booty shorts. Her big, floppy, black, rabbit-like ears have white tips, and they bounce along with her body as she remains in a state ready for battle Her shoulder-length hair has two braids adorned by ruby beads in a manner similar to how William used to do his hair, and she has an athletic build in the same manner as Niki. She also has a strange symbol tattooed on her lower stomach as well as on her upper left arm. When the next foe comes, she pitter-patters her bare feet straight past before crushing her knee straight through its metal exterior.

Ribi, you remember is her name. You saw her first at the Sports Festival.

Three buttons struggle to hold her top together as she bounces up and down. "I know we're late. I know! I wanted to get here early, but whatever. The important thing is we're here now, and I'm ready to kick some ass."

On the other side, darting past the lobster, is a mysterious figure covered entirely by a hooded robe, and a scarf around his neck. All that's visible is a crimson gaze. He leaps past Alice and Bulrak, and goes straight for a few opponents crawling up from the chasm below. From within his robe, he pulled out an ornate dagger and holds it forwards.

"Not really that impressive," Delphi says from above. "Kinda small."

Just then, it shoots out into the length of a longsword.

"Woah! Never mind!"

The weapon is deep grey, and covered in what first appears like damage, though it seems intentional. Black scars cover it as if it has been burned in the past. The blade itself is curved and thin, and the edge is incredibly sharp. He holds it up, and when he does, lightning crackles up his body. It coalesces around the weapon, and when he swings it at the nearby automatons, there's a crackle of thunder as the power is unleashed upon them. He strikes out in a manner much like his name suggests, and not only slices the robots apart, but scorches the stone where they stood.

You hear a strange sound, like an electric zap, or a hefty zipper, yet this sound is coming from nearby. You turn just in time to see the end of the magical effect. Stilet the elf has dashed her way up into the air, leaving behind a glowing blur in her wake. She clings to the side of the dragon, and joins William's side. As always, she has white hair braided back into a small ponytail, and she wears an eyepatch over one of her eyes. Her torso is clad in dark leather, though apart from boots up to her thighs, she wears far less below her waist. A pelvic curtain, or a wide loin cloth drapes between them. Her body is covered in belts holding various pouches and many daggers of varying sizes.

"Usually things die without their head," she says nonchalantly.

"We don't get to fight normal things," you reply.

The dragon then darts straight down to crash into the wall near the floor far from the others fighting. The three of you are **** to leap from the creature's back to avoid damage, though it seems to know relatively where you are even without its eyes. It turns and faces you with a sparking neck stump. You and William stand adjacent, while Stilet remains a few feet back with throwing blades at the ready.

Hefty clanks are heard nearby. Thankfully, it isn't yet another massive automaton, even if it looks it. Juggernaut, the hulking suit of armour who also serves under William, sprints forward and then leaps down to where those fighting near the chasm are present. He starts mowing through them like a bull on the loose, where he meets with Bek.

The dwarf looks up to him with a grin and kicks him in the shin. "You've got a lot of catching up to do if you wanna compete with my numbers, big guy."

William glances briefly to you, but keeps his attention on the headless dragon. "This is the primary fighting **** I've brought. I believe this to be enough."

"Castle Phoenix is under attack. I can't have more people here than I already have," you reply.

"You've brought those of the Circle and more than enough of your own. If you brought everybody here, to this front, we'd surely have failed in our goal."

"Then let's finish this. We'll take out every last robot here, and then it won't matter how much longer it takes for the elevator. Scorched earth."

Peony then leaps from your armour and lands in front of you. She stands up straight, and stares at the beast ahead. "We're all with you," she says. "This being is unnatural. It isn't the same as something undead, but there's still something about it that disturbs me. Let's finish it off together, m'lord."

You step forward as to not keep her in front of the rest. "And next, David."