At a rundown tavern in the capital's lower levels, the group sat down, exhausted from the chase they had previously been a part of. Renting a room, the group immediately got upstairs without even ordering dinner, as their faces were soon gonna be plastered over the walls of every single house of the capital.
Making their way into the room they rented out with what money they had left, Franciska sat Hugo down, ready for the group to interrogate him.
"So, tell me, what the hell was that all about?" Asked Kaito.
"I'm more concerned at how you people managed to discover our kingdom's most prized possession!" Exclaimed Hugo.
"What possession!?" Exclaimed Yuuto, "This is the very first time we've entered this place! We don't know shit about whatever you people are hiding, we came because we need fuel for our now detained vehicle!"
As Rumiko and Fuyumi ran in to restrained Yuuto, Watari walked up to Hugo, squatting down to his level.
"Tell me, what is this... secret your kingdom holds?" Asked Watari.
"Why should I tell you?" Asked Hugo.
"If the kingdom suspects us for knowing it, then we might as well learn of it." Explained Watari.
Letting out a sigh, Hugo decided to give them some insight. However, before a single word can leave his mouth, guards busted down the door, their weapons pointed directly at the group.
"All of you! You're coming with us!" They exclaimed.
Caught off guard and short on weapons, Kaito ran in for a tackle, hoping to perhaps buy his friends some time to escape. However, upon hitting one of the guards, he felt like he ran into a brick wall.
"Don't do it Kaito! Dwarves are several times stronger than humans!" Exclaimed Franciska, who was also surrounded shortly after.
Hearing this, Yuuto turned to Hugo.
"Is that true?" He asked, "Same with you?"
"I was always considered really weak for a dwarf." Hugo laughed meekly, "I can barely lift 200 kilos, quite embarrassing indeed."
"200!? Why didn't you just break out then!?" Asked Yuuto.
"I'm really not fond of fighting." Hugo replied nervously.
However, the man couldn't hear her, as he was immediately knocked out by a mere light tap after his feeble attempt at a tackle. Soon, all the others were taken in as well.
"Listen, whatever it is we did, we surrender, now please don't hurt anyone!" Watari tried to break up the fight.
"We know." Replied the guard, "We aren't here to arrest you. The king wants to meet you people in person."
Later that night, after an exhaustingly far walk, the prisoners were taken to the royal court once again, as Yuuto, completely out of breath, cursed at Kaito for being carried by the guards, as he has yet to wake up.
Making their way to the throne room, the guard kneeled down, facing their king, a bearded man reminiscent of the Nordic vikings of old, but who's armor resembled a more medieval british design, adorned with gems likely excavated from the very mountains the capital rested on.
"Greetings, travelers, I am king [Darien Grendar III]. I apologize for the... misunderstanding that took place earlier today. You must understand that we dwarfs take great pride in our technological superiority over all other races in the world, so the presence of your relic convinced us of foul play."
Taken aback that they were pardoned so quickly, Watari spoke up in gratitude.
"Thank you, [Grendar], we appreciate that you are letting us off the hook. Now, about our vehicle..."
"Ah yes, the [Komatsu] was it? We had our scientists analyze the vehicle and found it's name engraved on one of it's armored plating." Grendar cut off, "That is actually what I wished to discuss with you."
Getting up from his throne, the king walked down to the group and towards Kaito.
"I see your group is not from around here." Said the king, poking at his unconscious body, "I can tell. Never in my life have I met anyone from any kingdom produce clothes of this material or variety. And trust me, I have seen a lot in my life."
Kaito, waking up from the poke, got startled at the close up face of the king, and immediately jumped back, kicking the man in the face by instinct as all the guards immediately pointed their spears at him.
"Well this is one way to wake up..." Kaito uttered out, in fear.
"Huh, so you are the rumored "Griffin slayer", glad to see you have as much fight in you as the stories suggest." Said the king, completely unfazed by Kaito's kick, "Anyways, follow me."
As the group walked out the room's backdoor, they found themselves facing a massive door, nearly the size of a three story building. The king, taking off the robe around his armor, placed both hands on the door.
Suddenly, his muscles bulged up, expanding beneath his armor, as he let out a loud grunt, pushing the door open with sheer brute force. As the door opened, a chilling cold air hit the group, still speechless at the king's monstrous strength.
"Let us continue." Grendar said nonchalantly, as he continued down the staircase that was behind the massive door.
Following the king, the group looked around the passage they were walking down, seeing massive stone statues chiseled on both sides of the wall.
"This is the [Tomb of Kings]." Explained King Grendar, as they walked down the massive staircase, "The previous kings before me have all been buried here, each one stronger than it's predecessor."
Finally reaching the bottom of the stairs, the group found themselves facing another massive locked door, this one much cruder in design compared to the previous, gem covered one.
"It is believed that only the strengths of a dwarven king can keep the spirit of a [War God] at bay." He said, once again, using great effort to push open the second door.
"A War god?" Asked Rumiko.
"Indeed." Said the king, as the group entered the room behind it, near pitch black, "Now, if it is true that you people don't know anything about this capital's secret, then allow this old warrior to enlighten you."
Lighting up a torch, the king placed it near a rope, with caught fire. The flames spread extremely quickly, lighting up the entire room.
The group, jaws agape, beared witness to something they never imagined could even exist in a fantasy world. Standing before them, was the broken remains of a massive mechanical golem, nearly 500 meters in height. It's humanoid shaped body was slouched over, as it sat at the end of the room with lifeless eyes.
"This monster is known as [Ures, the God of War]." Explained King Grendar, "He was built by a mad king, one so vile he was erased from dwarven history And the thing that inspired him to make this beast..."
The king pointed to the right of the room.
"Is right there."
The group's eyes widened in shock, as standing before them was a Mitsubishi A6M Zero, resting on a stone pedestal.
"W-What is that thing doing here!?" Exclaimed Yuuto.
"I was meaning to ask you the same thing." Said King Grendar, "Upon inspecting your vehicle, we found the exact same symbol on that vehicle as this one. Such a powerful relic hasn't been seen in over 9 generations, yet now here I stand with a group of human soldiers from parts unknown, dawning outfits from a foreign land and driving a vehicle with the technological intricacies as our kingdom's treasure. Tell me, who are you people?"
"We would love to." Said Watari, "But first, we would like to know, where did you obtain this Zero Fighter?"
"So it's called a Zero Fighter?" Asked King Grendar, "So I suppose that confirms that you people are indeed from the lands this relic was made in."
Watari's brows furrowed, as he cursed himself for revealing that information.
"Very well, I suppose that since you people have already seen it, there's no harm to tell you all the story our capital has hid from the world. You see..."
...
Long ago, there was a race of demons who sought to take over the world. Thankfully, with the help of 6 powerful races, the demon king was defeated and his armies exterminated. However, after the war, the 6 races fought each other over a disagreement: Who was the true definitive hero that won them the war? Wanting all the credit for themselves at the time, the 6 races, no longer with an enemy to fight, fought among themselves to become the one true ruler.
During this war, The dwarfs were driven to near extinction. Their kingdom had fallen, their weapons were destroyed during the demon king war and the surrounding kingdoms of the Elves, Orcs, Merfolks and Avians had the advantage in terrain and numbers.
Knowing that the dwarfs were at their strongest only with their siege weapons which had all been destroyed in the previous war, these races drove out the dwarves from forest and sea, depriving them of ressources and pushing them into the mountains. On their last leg, the dwarven King [Ivar] traveled deep into the mountains, overtaken by madness and despair.
It was on that day that, according to legends, he let out a fearsome roar, one that was heard by the heavens. And, impressed by his warrior spirit, the god of war, Urus, sacrificed his own body as an offering so that the dwarven race may rise again, descending from the heavens before Ivar's eye.
And from the corpse of the monster leaked black blood, the [Blood of the War Gods]. Entranced by it's great power, Ivar seeked to harness this power and help the dwarves win the war. So, at the cost of hundreds of lives, the king mercilessly drove his people deeper and deeper into the mines, working them to death to amass thousands of tons of iron, while working all the greatest minds of the kingdom to death to recreate the God's blood.
And nearly 3 decades, the old king had done the impossible, he had created a beast of pure iron. It's steps shake the ground in a mighty tremble, it's hands can rip trees out from the roots and reshape mountains, it's breath was hotter than the flames of dragons and it's skin was harder than the thickest of castle walls.
Beyond the horizon, the 5 other races gazed in terror, as from the mountains, this monster descended, bringing flames and mayhem to all that it touches. Within one week, all the forests surrounding the mountain were burned to ash, the rivers and skies were devoid of life and all that could be heard was sound of iron, the flesh of the war god.
The other races banded together once more, thinking that the demon king had returned, and banded together for one final stand. After a fierce battle which laid waste to the entire kingdom, the War God was defeated and damaged beyond repair, and the crippled king walked it into these mountains, dying within it's cockpit and securing this place as the it's tomb.
...
"...the other races never knew that this god of war was the dwarf's doing and as a result, we were spared from their wrath. That is why we kept this entire story a secret. If the other races knew that we were behind the near world ending incident all those years ago, we would lose all support and be deemed the enemy by the world. Thus, our king and this massive beast must never see the light of day."
Turning around to face the rest of the group, the king walked up to Watari.
"Now, tell us, what is the origins of this "Zero Fighter" and what do you know about it?" Asked Grandar.
Meanwhile, while all of this is going on, one of the guards broke off from the rest of the group. Running out of the basement undetected, he pulled out a [communicator crystal] from his satchel, speaking into it.
"Sir, Franciska has been found. She's currently in [Danos], what are the orders?" Asked the dwarven guard.
"Is she still with that human?" Asked a voice.
"He's still with her, sir, in fact, there seems to be more of them." Replied the dwarf.
"Damn it, and are they also powerful magic users like that Griffin Slayer!?" Asked the voice.
"Actually, from what I've learned, the human and his companions aren't magic users, but instead make use of powerful artifacts, akin to [Ures]." Explained the dwarven guard, "As of now, they're weapons are no longer useable, meaning they are as good as defenseless! Should I take this opportunity and dispose of them?"
"No, we cannot risk the existence of [Suprema] being found out. Play your part for now, we will wait for the right opportunity to strike, and dispose of them then. For now, lay low."
"Understood, sir."