The Elves Hidden Domain

Henry: “Well this is certainly a surprise. I’m not getting out of this one, am I?”

Looking down from a cliff, he appeared at this place randomly, having stepped on a rock by accident that triggered his descent to this place. It was the smallest percentage in the world for this to happen, but Henry somehow managed to do this at the worst time possible.

He didn’t quite know what it was, but peering down at the creatures at the bottom and the massive settlement, he understood where he was.

Henry: “Didn’t know this existed. The boss would definitely like to know this. However, I have a feeling I’m not getting out of here alive.”

That’s when Henry was encompassed in layers and layers of mana in orb-like bubbles.

He was unable to escape.

Henry: “Ah, this is certainly not good. It seems I can’t even get back to the top. There’s too much mana encasing this place. I guess my strength only goes so far. Where is your leader? I’d like to see who I am talking to.”

A beautiful girl walked up to him, shushing his mouth and smiling a pretty smile. Henry immediately became entranced and infatuated with the woman. Flicking his head, he went back to normal. Her white hair in pigtails and white eyes were enthralling.

???: “Taredd, knock it off. Go back down and help the elders.”

Henry: “You the boss?”

Having 6 red pointy ears coming out of his head, Henry figured he was the leader, but the man assured him that he was not. His black and red armor would’ve signified this too along with his matching eye color, but he was simply a leader of a group, not the main boss. His name was Pekkin.

Pekkin: “The boss would like to know a few things before you speak to him. Who are you and how did you find this place?”

Henry: “Does it matter? I found it because I’m awesome.”

Pekkin: “This is no time for jokes.”

Henry: “I’ll show you a joke.”

Pekkin: “Sir, I assure you that this will not end well for you if you do not enter these questions.”

Henry: “The mythical Elf Clan. I see some fairies down there. Is this where everyone is? Right underneath our feet? I can’t sense any mana here. You all are just different breeds aren’t you?”

Pekkin: “Sir, please answer the questions or the boss will be very mad.”

Henry spit on his face before he wiped it off with no reaction. He did not care. Pekkin was a warrior and worked directly for the boss. This was his job and although not many visitors were present, they surely had precautions for cases like this.

Henry: “You’re gonna have to bring me to him regardless. I ain’t answering questions.”

Pekkin sighed and walked away in the distance, telling the guards to keep an eye on him just in case. Henry looked in the distance to the massive cities of crystals and gems. It was amazing and he wanted the jewels for himself. He screamed out for hours to let him out, not caring at all for his voice. The 2 guards did not mind though, shutting his voice out for the entirety of the time before multiple guards came to take him to the boss.

The different colored bubbles floated in the air, still carrying him inside as he floated downwards towards the main city.

A wall of white flowers shrouded a white crystal that was big enough to be a house, but not any bigger than that. Henry questioned if they were actually going to the leader or if these men were going to torture him.

Going down a rusted elevator with moss growing all over, they headed downstairs beneath the ground to a triangular wooden door.

Opening it led to a dark green portal that they forced Henry through as they awaited outside. “Hey! Hey! Hey!” he screamed out, but only he went through the dark green abyss that peered down at him.

As soon as he blinked, he was in front of an old skeleton with a staff and a weird looking glowing cube in the middle. He introduced himself as so…

“Please, do not be alarmed. My name is Jonko. What is your name?”

Henry didn’t hesitate as he weirdly trusted this man, but he needed to get out of here and find the young boy that Mugen had directed him to. He didn’t have a chance to even say his name before Jonko repeated his true name.

Jonko: “Henry Castillos? No, Plenkin Artorius Castillos. An outcast. An assassin. A father.”

Henry was taken aback by this. “H-How do you know that? Answer me!”

His relaxed tone was no longer in play. He looked like a ravaged beast just by this statement. “How do you know about my daughter?! Tell me!”

Completely ignoring the other facts that Jonko had just stated, he jumped right to questioning him about his family.

Jonko: “As soon as you stepped on that rock above the surface, your entire life story is transferred to every single individual down here.”

Henry: “E-Everyone…?”

He thought, ‘I have to get out of here. They are going to find her!’

Jonko: “Whatever you are thinking sir, it will not come true. We are a peaceful civilization despite our immense power. Forgive me. I have not fully introduced my actual title. Jonko Griffith, Master Blacksmith of the Elf Clan, however I do bounce around quite often hahahaha.”

Henry calmed down and questioned him slowly, still keeping in mind what his main goal was.

Jonko: “The boy is not here.”

“Huh?” Henry responded quickly. “How did you kn–?”

“Chaplets do exist, you know?” Jonko responded. “So you are here for that? Hmm, well I am certainly not the leader of this place. I just help out with swords. Although, it does get boring sometimes here. Ugh, making the same ancient sword for everyone with the same design. Put a little pizzazz on it, no? Wouldn’t you want different powers from your peers? I certainly would, but I guess they do not care. Well, you aren’t going to find the boy here. So, what will you do? They are not going to let you leave.”

Henry: “Where is the leader? I want to talk with him.”

Jonko: “Hmmm, you remind me of these two people I met in Deceased Paradise not too long ago. A wonderful couple. Well, not a couple, but they seemed like it. I did not tell them I was a Master Blacksmith, but I did help them in other ways. You see. We Blacksmiths have a protection against most things in this world. Not that they can’t kill us, but we are very hard to defeat despite our weak skills against others. We don’t attack, but we can certainly defend in our own ways. When I was in Deceased Paradise, Kastor had no idea that I was there. Although he was the one that ruined my life, I did not tell the truth to those two. I did not want them to know who I truly was as I was enjoying our conversation.”

Henry: “Is there a point to this or are you just gonna rumble on?”

Jonko: “Ah yes yes. You see. This green orb-like cube in my staff is something special. I told them to come back and take it once they are strong enough, but truly that was only for motivation. I guess I do need to work on my motivational skills as they never came back. Truth is, this cannot be taken from me. It is bonded to me forever. Not even the revived Kazuki Alcion could take this from me nor King for that matter.”

Henry was confused at this point, but he didn’t question anything and just listened.

Jonko: “You see, young one. Inside this is true power. True strength beyond belief. True abilities that are fascinating to the naked eye. Yet, it is sealed away and I have only a fraction of its strength. Inside here is the truth to this world. For the one’s name that is housed inside here upon his own will is…The Devil.”

Henry was completely lost at this point, not knowing at all why Jonko was telling him all this and his thoughts were getting skewed about what was important right now, but he was honest with him and asked…

“Why are you telling me this? I’m certainly not the strongest. Hell, I’m not even close to the strongest. So why? Why tell a nobody all of this information? What’s the point?”

Jonko: “Hmm, I do not know. Maybe it’s a weight off my chest. Maybe it’s me asking for help. Maybe it’s me wanting to talk to someone about this knowledge. To be quite honest, I do not know, but you're the first person down here in a very long time. This place is pretty difficult to find and even in other places that I am contracted to, rarely anyone ever finds me. I do help a lot of people, but most are of the Elf Clan or fairies that are already down here. Hmmm, well, do with that information what you must and if our wills connect, then you will find me again. If not, then someone else will take on that burden and set the Devil free. Off you go now.”

He was suddenly shifted backwards back through the portal, but ended up in a different room. Another small place with cracks in the red walls that was encased almost like a prison. It was hot, as sweat dripped down his large body. Red glowing eyes appeared all over the walls, blending in with them, but was menacingly enough for him to see before a woman with long black hair, red eyes, pointy ears, and was wearing a stunning white dress sat midair, crossing her legs and stared at him.

She looked fierce.

Something about her was enthralling, but at the same time it looked as if she would stab a knife in your back.

Her voice was like a leader. Calm, relaxed, confident, yet also terrifying.

Henry couldn’t keep his eyes on her despite his demeanor as a man who valued his pride.

???: “Wandering where you shouldn’t. What should you expect?”

She circled him like a ghost, vanishing then reappearing.

Henry fell to his knees unexpectedly, concerned for what was going on, but he couldn’t speak. He couldn’t move his arms either, but he knew that his mouth was missing. Struggling to comprehend this, he panicked and started to breathe too much in through his nose that forced him to bleed.

The woman smirked, but didn’t laugh. His mouth returned and he calmed down, breathing in air heavily.

She walked around him in a circle slowly. Henry tried to move still, but couldn’t. He thought, ‘Yeah, no shot I’m getting out of here. Is this even the leader?”

???: “What’s on your mind young one?”

Henry responded, “Are you the leader?”

???: “Hmmm, now wondering what you shouldn’t. BE GONE!”

She screeched this, sending Henry flying through black and white layers of walls that continued to close on him as he could not control where he was going.

Eventually he felt a hand grabbing the back of his head, yet he still couldn’t see. Its nails were long and sharp along the edge of his hair. He felt utterly powerless in the little time he had been here. ‘So this is the infamous Elf Clan,’ he thought. ‘I have to be smart if I want to get out of here alive.’

Although Henry had not met him, Ren Itou appeared wearing a jester outfit in front of him.

Ren: “You didn’t learn the first time. I knyouow you’re strong, but try not to think and give away your ideas. Chaplets are not defective down here you know?”

Henry: “Are you the leader?”

Ren: “Leader? Haha! No, I am not even an elf. We do have a similar goal though. I want the boy as well. My plans have been going awfully wrong lately. The elves give me shelter, but they won’t help me with my battle. So, what do you know about Saikou?”

Henry didn’t even know the boy’s name, but he tried to give as little information as possible to Ren, not knowing who he really was.

Ren: “It seems you don’t want to cooperate. Whatever you think the truth is on the surface, it is not the same truth down here. This place, it’s…haunting. Well, that’s all the allotted time I had with you. Oh, I do have one question before you are pulled away and do try to answer honestly…Although you do not associate with Lorenzo Cain and his men, you definitely know of this man. Did you know that Token was a servant of God?”

Henry was confused, so he did not answer before being pulled back through gray spirals, but that’s all Ren needed to know. The look on his face showed that he knew of Token, which was all he cared about.

Ren: “Good. His name does not erase when he goes back to the Realms. It seems God’s power has diminished. I’m close. No, Clara, we’re close. I’m getting everything back together. It seems Moonshadow Village was a hoax. I need to get you back somehow. I’m relying on Ezra to keep me updated on the battles on the surface. Michiaki, you bastard. Where is the Devil’s Sword now? I need it back. It’s the only way I can open that orb. Ezra, hurry up with your regeneration.”

…

Henry was being thrown around with the same hand that had been grabbing his head this entire time. Its nails began to slowly pierce his head and he screamed out in pain. He was embarrassed at whatever all this was. He had believed in his strength, especially when aiding Mugen, but as of this moment there was nothing he could do.

Suddenly he stopped and in front of him was the Master Blacksmith from before.

Jonko: “Have you ever been to the Tombs of Bramblebind? I will guess not. Well, this place is very similar. Toodaloo.”

Yet again he was ferociously pulled through some sort of hallucination back to the woman with black hair now.

Henry: “What the hell do you all want from me?”

He said this calmly, but he was truly angered on the inside.

She giggled an innocent laugh knowing that she was more powerful than the person that was right in front of her.

???: “Sit doggy.”

His body automatically tangled into a sitting position on the floor and his arms behind his back. Looking at him, she blinked once and he fell through the floor to a dark room awaiting solitude for time he didn’t know and for a reason he didn’t know why.