When the Wren-sub arrived at the world beneath the Bernink Province, everyone disembarked and pulled the sub onto the land, where it transformed back into Wren.
"I think I'm used to that now..." Wren muttered to himself as the party made their way towards the Ancient Greek-like temple where Sean had first met Laya. When they got to the entrance, a man stopped them.
"You have returned, and Laya is unharmed! Do you have all four Layan Eyes?" he asked.
"Yeah, we got them here." Sean replied, shwing the four Layan Eyes to the man. He then lead them to a small pedestal with four large statues facing it. One of the eyes in each statue was missing.
"Remember, when the four eyes converge their lines of vision, there, and only there, one shall find the treasure of the great leader Laya. Set the four Layan Eyes in the hollows in the Layan Watchers." the man said, stepping away from the pedestal and leaving Sean and the party on their own.
Meanwhile...
Two demons had just used the Ryuka Technique to get to the world beneath the Bernink Province. They knew that Sean was here, along with the four Layan Eyes. Lyle was with them, held against his will.
"Simple. We stomp that prince and claim the treasure." one of the demons said. He had hold of Lyle in one hand, and a scimitar in the other.
"Yep. Dark Force will rule the world as soon as we claim the treasure!" the other demon sneered, taking his scimitar out of its scabbard.
"You'll need tons of luck if you want to stomp Prince Sean. He eats demons for breakfast." Lyle said. His captor held the scimitar to his throat.
"Shut up, fool. Once Dark Force is revived, your beloved Prince Sean will be no match for it! Dark Force eats princes for breakfast, lunch AND dinner!" the demon snarled, moving his scimitar away from Lyle's throat.
"Good choice," the other demon said, "because if we kill him, then Dark Force won't be truly reborn!"
"Good luck, demons! You'll need it! But still, Prince Sean will eat you for breakfast." Lyle snickered. The demons began to lose their tempers.
"SILENCE, WORM!" one shouted, hitting Lyle in the back of the head with the hilt of his scimitar, knocking him out. The demon then picked him up and slung him over his shoulder. They stormed over to the small pedestal, where Prince Sean and the party were.
"Prince Sean, look out!" Stuart yelled. Sean turned his head, and he saw the demons charging straight at him! One of the demons had Lyle slung over his shoulder. Sean drew his sword and swung it at the demon who wasn't holding Lyle. It cut his arm, albeit not severely. The demon retaliated by swiping his scimitar at Sean, but the prince ducked and stabbed the demon in the leg with his sword.
"Enough! I'll spare you, if you hand over the Layan Eyes." the demon sneered, wiping the blood away from the wound in his leg. Lyle had come around just as the demon had started to speak.
"Don't listen... he'll bring back Dark Force..." Lyle said wearily, trying to shake the fuzziness out of his head. The demon holding him didn't knock him out again.
"You won't have the Layan Eyes!" Sean yelled, but this demon was the sort who doesn't stick to promises. He grabbed hold of the prince by the scruff of the neck and rifled through his pockets. He threw the Layan Eyes on the ground as he found them, and then he tossed Sean aside, where he crashed into the wall of the Ancient Greek-like building and fell to the floor in a mangled heap.
"Now, lie him on the pedestal and place those Eyes. The sooner Dark Force takes him the better." the demon snarled, slamming his fist into the other demon. He acknowledged, and then he slammed Lyle onto the pedestal and took hold of the Layan Eyes. Just as he was about to go back to the Layan Watchers, Sean picked himself up and stepped in front of him. The demon kicked him aside.
"Sean... I know what's coming... they're gonna make Dark Force possess me..." Lyle said softly. Sean heard him.
"And?" the prince hissed. Lyle tried to shake off his drowsiness again.
"Well... there's a way to separate a vessel and its possessing deity... it's called the Separa Technique..." Lyle slowly fumbled in his pockets and pulled out a scroll. He threw it to Sean.
"Is this it, Lyle?"
"Yeah... that's the technique... but you'll also need something... to harm Dark Force when it's been separated from me..."
"And what's that?" Just as Lyle was about to reply, the demon had placed all the Layan Eyes. A beam of light shot from each of them, and they converged into a glowing white orb which hovered above Lyle.
"It's called... the Sword of Eternal Justice... and its powers are decided by who wields it... it's the only thing capable of defeating Dark Force..."
"Enough prattle, Lyle! Now, Dark Force! Arise from your slumber!" one of the demons shouted. Ominous laughter echoed through the atmosphere, and the glowing white orb hovering above Lyle had turned into a pulsating black orb letting off wisps of black smoke.
"Where is the vessel?" hissed the deep voice of Dark Force.
"Why, it is below you, my liege!" the demon replied.
"A fine vessel. You have proven yourself well, Sanqar. And so have you, Malignus. My conquest has just begun!" Dark Force boomed, and the wisps of smoke coming from the orb began to enter Lyle's body. As they did so, the orb shrank. As soon as it had disappeared, Lyle sat up. He looked at himself.
"Well, I guess it's now time to take over the world! Wait... is that my voice? Hardly sounds like the voice of an evil dictator." he said (and for distinction purposes, we'll refer to him as Dark Lyle).
"Don't worry, my liege. You could use that to your advantage." Malignus said. Dark Lyle looked at him and smiled cruelly.
"Actually, yeah, I could. I really don't like this vessel's personality, though." Dark Lyle replied.
"My liege! This band here... what shall we do with them?" Sanqar asked. He looked at Dark Lyle, and so did Malignus, expectantly waiting for a reply.
"Nothing, my subjects. I can deal with them easily." Dark Lyle replied sinisterly, waving his staff in an arc. He uttered a few incomprehensible words and thrust his staff forward. A cloud of black magic hit Sean and the party, and they disappeared.
"Let the party... uhm, I mean conquest begin!" Dark Lyle shouted, laughing maliciously. Sanqar and Malignus also joined in with the rancorous laughter.