"Yeah," I replied, looking at the world map as we stepped off the floating island. "Have you noticed how the Medal King's castle is north of Calberona and west of Dhama Shrine? I suspect that there's something south of Dhama Shrine and east of Calberona, and we'll find the entrance to the castle of the gods."
On a hunch, I went to the dream world to go to that spot on the map, after a visit to Dhama Shrine to change my class to hero and a visit to the Medal King to receive a Metal King Helm, which Hassan wore, ansd a Mysterious Bolero. Soon enough, we reached the place. It was this huge hole in the ground. We could see the world below.
"Just like the one where Calberona now is," said Barbara.
"So we're supposed to jump down?" asked Chamoro.
"Of course," replied Hassan. "I understand if you're scared; I was reluctant to jump down the first time, until Falshion pulled the wagon into the hole with me in it."
"Let's do it," said Muriel.
And so we leaped down the hole. I felt the rush of air, and then something slowed our descent until I felt the earth make contact with my two feet.
"Everyone okay?" I asked.
"Uh, yeah," replied Barbara.
"That was pretty cool!" exclaimed Chamoro. "We ought to do it again."
Just ahead was this small stone building, which we entered. There was no roof; we could clearly see the blue sky above.
"What is this place?" asked Muriel.
I looked around. The centerpiece was this circle on the floor. There were four switches on the floor, next to a shining icon .
Stepping on one of the switches, the nearby icon changed, to that on the cross.
"I think you should keep stepping on that switch," said Chamoro.
And so I did. Various symbols appeared as I stepped on the switch.
"Hmmm," mused Chamoro. "The symbols that appear, some of them match the symbols on the legendary equipment."
I looked at the Sword of Ramias, with its lightning bolt emblem, and the Shield of Sufida, with its cross emblem.
I stood in the center circle, looking back at the entrance. I stepped on the switch at the right until a lit cross appeared next to it. I then stepped on the switch on the other side until a lightning bolt appeared.
I understood now. I stepped at the switch nearest the entrance until a heart appeared, and then, looking at my Helm of Cevas, I stepped on the switch furthest from the entrance until a sun appeared.
The etched circle in the center of the floor suddenly lit up.
"We did it!" said barbara.
"What are we waiting for?" asked Hassan. "Let's get into the center circle!"
And so we all stepped in the center circle, and we were suddenly whisked up. Soon I could seer the land below.
"What's that?" asked Muriel.
This castle came from the sky.
And then it fired something at us.
"That castle has a defensive barrier!" yelled Chamoro.
I drew the Sword of Ramias and prepared for battle. Muriel started by casting Increase to raise our defense. I then raised the Sword of Ramias to increase Hassan's attack power just before he swung the Sword of Miracles at the castle's defense barrier.
The castle rammed into us and sure enough it definitely hurt. I danced the Hustle Dance to restore my party's health, reinvigorating us. I then struck with my Sword of Ramias while Hassan delivered a powerful jump kicked. The castle's defense system would sometimes cast a spell that blasted us with high speed winds.
And then suddenly the castle stopped attacking.
"Looks like we beat the defense system," said Hassan.
"who's there?" a voice asked.
I looked, and saw two monsters. I immediately drewe the Sword of Ramias.
"These people are guests," a voice boomed. "They are not be harmed yet."
"Maou Duran is expecting you," said one of the monsters.
"You have the legendary equipment," said the other monster. "But one person already made it here without the legendary equipment."
"How?" asked Barbara.
We then entered the castle, a huge stone structure.
We spoke with some of the castle's staff. From what I had heard, Maou Duran had taken over the castle some years ago and sealed away its king and court staff.
"Help me," I heard as I walked through the stone-lined hallways.
I looked and saw an ethereal ghostly figure.
"Help...me," said the ghost.
I then headed straight for the throne room. It was this huge room with only one piece of furiunture, a huge throne. Sitting on this throne was a creature shaped like a man, with red skin, dressed in this flowing cape.
"Ah, hello there," said the creature. "I am Maou Duran, the ruler of Hell Cloud Castle and vassal to the Demon Clan."
I introudced myself as the Prince of Reidock.
"So, you've gathered all of the legendary equipment," said Duran. "You are a great threat to us."
"I've come to make an offer," I said.
"And what would that be?"
"Leave the castle and release its people, and never engage in hostilities against this world, and we will not pursue you."
"Only strong people get to negotiate with me," said Duran.
I looked and saw this huge turtle and this machine armed with a sword and axe.
"Prove yourself in battle," said the demon lord.
We all drew our weapons and then I struck at the metal creature,. The turtle got in the way, and my sword simply bounced off the armored shell.
Muriel then cast Increase just as the machine attacked me with its sword and axe. It hurt, even with my defense increased. I then struck back with the Sword of Ramias.
And so we did battle with these two minions, with Hassan striking with the Spirit Puch, me swinging with the Sword of Ramias or doing the Hustle Dance, and Chamoro and Muriel using their spells and abilities for support. That turtle occasionally got in the way of our attacks. Eventually, the machine was nothing but a pile of scrapped parts, and the turtle lay on its back, dead.
"Excellent," said Duran. "Now you will meet your next opponent. He is human, and he is very powerful."
And then, this man in a blue outfit appeared. He was the same guy we met at Arcbolt!
"Allow me to introduce to you the world's strongest man, Terry!"
"Let us do battle," said Terry, wielding his Sword of Thunder.
He raised the sword and then we were all struck with lightning bolts. He then swung with his Sword of Thunder, which I quickly parried with the Sword of Ramias, radiating the familiar clang of swords clashing.
"Let's attack this dude from four sides!" yelled Hassan.
And so we did. Terry simply caught my sword with his sword, and he tripped up Hassan, before knocking down Muriel and Chamoro. He could easily fight four people at a time; he was definitely a lot tougher than Glacos was. Muriel cast Increase and then we continued the battle, our swords clashing.
Terry then spun his sword, and we were all knocked down. I managed to get up before he could run me through with the Sword of Thunder.
Once again Terry and I clashed swords; I was doing fancy footwork to avoid being slashed. We went all about the throne room as our swords made contact.
Our sword battle was intense, I could feel my heart pounding away, avoiding Terry's attacks. We continued to dance around the throne room.
And then I struck him hard, and he made swift contact with the stone floor.
"Way to go!" said Hassan.
"Pathetic," said Duran. "Even with a power boost. You have proven your strength."
"As I said," I said, "you will release the people of this castle, and you will not engage in any hostilities against the people of this world."
"I refuse," said Duran. "I will have to kill you now."
I suddenly felt invigorated.
"Come," said Duran, wielding this wicked blade, "Let us settle our differences the way nature intended us!"
He then swiped at Hassan with his weapon; Hassan quickly stepped out of the way. Muriel then cast Increase to raise our defense, abnd I raised the Sword of Ramias to double Hassan's attack power. Hassan launched a Spirit Punch, which Duran ducked before delivering a counterattack.
"This is gonna be a lot tougher than we thought," said Chamoro.
And it was. Duran was really quick, attacking two times in succession. I had to stay on my toes to avoid being struck down even as I tried to attack with the Sword of Ramias. My blade clashed with his, and even then he was still able to avoid attacks from the others.
He then emmitted these freezing waves, and then struck me! It hurt! Those freezing waves must have nullified Increase! I got up and engaged Duran, and sliced at him with the Sword of Ramias. Duran then created a vacuum, knocking us all down. I danced the Hustle Dance while Chamoro cast Healall.
"All right," I said, "Let's do this!"
Hassan swung with the Sword of Miracles, but Duran got out of the way. Leaping high into the air, he struck at all of us. I crouched in pain.
"Even with the legendary equipment, you are no match for me," said the demon lord. "Now you must die." He then shot at us with a beam from the eye, knocking us all down.
I got up and then danced the Hustle Dance to restore some of our health. Muriel then threw herself right at the demon lord, and Hassan followed up with a Spirit Punch. We all then engaged the demon lord head on.
He swung his blade, and I jumped high into the air, striking him with the Sword of Ramias as I came down back onto the stone floor.
"Urrrgh," said Duran.
I looked and he was clearly wounded.
"You...fight well," he said, his breathing labored. "I looik forward to being reborn so we could do battle again. Listen, the four of us...Mudo, Jamiras, Glacos, and me...we are all vassals of the Daio Maou, Deathtamoor. He's more powerful than even us four...You'll never beat him..."
And then he fell down, bleeding demon blood.
"Let's go, people," I said.
"Kill me."
I looked at Terry, who was standing up, leaning againdt the wall.
"Why?" I asked.
"If you let me live, I might have to kill you," said Terry.
"No," said Muriel.
"Who are you?" he asked.
"I remember you now," she said. "You'd forget your head if it weren't attached? Remember Gandino, and the Gindoro? It's me, Muriel. Your sister."
"I..do remember."
"Let me help," said Chamoro, casting Healall.
"Welcome aboard, Terry," I said, extending my hand, which he shook.
We then left the Hell Cloud Castle. As he reappeared in the shrine, I looked and saw the castle rising into the sky.
"When we killed Duran," said Hassan, "we must have broken the seal. It's going back to the dream world!"
"What's all of this going on?" asked Terry.
"I gave a condensed version of the events I had been through since my first encounter with Mudo.
"Wow," said Terry. "A dream world. How do we get there?"
"that glowing circle is one way up there," I said. "It should take us to the castle."
We stepped in the circle, and was transported up.
We appeared in the dream world right in front of the castle, where the hole east of Calberona and south of Dhama Shrine used to be. There were also people there dressed in these uniforms; they were guards.
"Hello there," said a guard. "Welcome to the Cloud Castle Zenithia. King Zenith is expecting you."
We all walked around the castle.
"We all live in different places in the real world," said a court staffer, "King Zenith gathered us here to the dream world."
We came across this room in the basement where this man was watching over an egg.
"This egg could be our future," said the man.
After speaking to some more people, we headed to the throne room. Sitting on the throne was this old man wearing a gold crown with jewels inset into it. I kneeled.
"I am King Zenith," said the man. "Ruler of Zenithia Castle."
I introduced myself on behalf of the Kingdom of Reidock. I then told him what we had been through.
"Deathtamoor had us sealed off," said the king. "The Dai Maou feared our power. We thank you for breaking Duran's seal."
"You are welcome, your Majesty," I said.
"And now we must take the fight to the demon lord himself," said King Zenith. "He lives in his own world in the rift between dimensions."
"And how do we get there?"
"The Pegasus. You must awaken the Pegasus. He lives in a tower in the real world. That tower can be accessed from this castle. Once you get the Pegasus here, I will grant a blessing allowing the Pegasus to enter Deathtamoor's realm."
"We will do so, your Majesty," I said.
"Make whatever preparations are necessary," said the king. "I will inform the guard to let you enter the well."
And so we did.