Imperial Palace. Central Prison.
The guards stood anxiously guarding this place when suddenly,
Bang!
The door was flung open violently, and Metallic with the First Legion appeared.
"Don't you move!"
"This prison is surrounded! Do not resist!"
The guards were not foolish enough to resist the First Legion, considered the elite of the Imperial Army.
Morale had plummeted following the Emperor's speech.
The guards were quickly subdued, and Metallic hurried into the prison.
Most of the prisoners in the Central Prison were those who had opposed Fernandez and were captured.
Metallic ordered their release and moved deeper into the prison.
"My Lord! Where are you!"
As Fernandez began preparing for the shutdown protocol, Lark was transferred here. Metallic had obtained this information in advance.
"My Lord! It's me, Metallic! We've come to rescue you!"
Metallic, shouting as he moved forward, suddenly stopped in his tracks.
In the innermost cell of the prison, a narrow cell where hardly any light reached.
There he was imprisoned.
Losing both arms and legs, lying miserably.
"My Lord!"
Metallic rushed in, shouting as if vomiting blood. Lark, dying in the cell, opened his blurry eyes.
"...Metallic, Captain?"
"Yes, My Lord. It's me! I'll get you out now."
Metallic held back tears as he took Lark out of the cell.
Lark, in a terrible state having lost all limbs, sharply regained consciousness as soon as Metallic carried him out of the cell.
"What's the situation...?"
"Prince Ash is directing the entire operation to stop Lord Fernandez!"
Metallic briefly reported the overall situation, intending to escape with Lark on his back.
But Lark stopped Metallic.
"Captain Metallic. Leave me behind."
"...What?"
"I must go to where my siblings are fighting."
Lark looked towards the Imperial Palace, not far from the prison entrance.
The palace, overgrown with black thorns, looked more like a bizarre dungeon than a palace.
"This is where the fate of my brothers will be decided... I must be there."
"..."
"Thus, leave me behind."
"That's impossible."
Carrying Lark on his back, Metallic headed towards the palace, his voice gruff.
"I will take you where you wish to go, My Lord."
"We won't make it out alive."
"It doesn't matter. I will share life and death with you, My Lord."
"..."
Metallic's voice was filled with resolute determination.
Having fought through numerous battlefronts together, Lark knew he couldn't break this knight's will.
"Thank you, Captain Metallic."
Therefore, without refusing his loyalty further, Lark, entrusting his body, spoke heavily.
"Let's go. To the final battlefield."
Silently, Metallic lifted Lark and stepped forward.
Towards the thorn-covered Imperial Palace.
To the decisive battleground where Fernandez and Ash were fighting a bloody battle, a place that would determine the fate of the world.
***
Boom!
The audience chamber was already destroyed beyond recognition.
Fernandez attacked me using the branches of Everblack as his own limbs, while I countered them all with the summoned fortress walls.
"Ugh!"
The problem was, Everblack wasn't just any tree.
It was a Guardian Tree directly connected to the Spirit Realm, serving as a magical antenna transmitting the power of the Spirit Realm to humanity.
In other words,
Rumble!
Its branches possessed magical properties stronger than any weapon...!
The branches, like clay, shattered the walls I summoned and poured in from all sides. Grinding my teeth, I kept retreating.
"Keep retreating like that, how exactly do you plan to stop me? Little brother?"
Still leisurely seated on the throne, Fernandez smiled slyly.
"Don't you have little time? Can you afford to circle around looking for my weakness?"
"Ugh, shut up, ugh, I'll punch you in the jaw myself, ugh, just be quiet."
I wiped the sweat from my chin, breathing heavily.
Somehow, the distance between Fernandez and me had grown considerably.
Between us lay countless thorny branches, intertwined and menacingly flickering their tips like a nest of vipers.
'This is tougher than I thought...'
Muttering to myself, Fernandez slowly stood up.
"Look at this, Ash."
Then, abruptly, he threw off his shirt.
I frowned as hard as I could.
"I don't have a taste for looking at men's bodies..."
"Don't think I'm showing it off for that... Look at these markings."
Fernandez's body was covered in letters, like tattoos. I clicked my tongue.
"Wow, why such elaborate drawings? You won't be able to go into public baths like that."
"These are the records left by my past self."
Fernandez, lightly ignoring my jest, pointed to his upper body.
"From the distant past before your regression started, to every cycle I've recorded. This world has never survived."
"..."
"It always perished. The final onslaught of monsters brought down the frontlines, the nation burned, and people died."
Fernandez stared intently at me.
"Do you think this time will be any different?"
"So?"
I growled.
"You plan to kill everyone with your own hands and flee to the Spirit Realm with only their souls... this insane plan?"
"At first, I thought of surrendering to the Demon King and begging for my life. But soon I realized. Even if he accepts the surrender, I cannot trust him."
He was right.
It's more likely he'd say he'd spare us if we surrendered and then annihilate us all.
If sheep entrust the key to their pen to a pack of jackals, the outcome is obvious.
"So I prepared this 'Last Ark' plan."
"Nice name..."
"If the Demon King accepts the surrender, those not on the Ark might also survive. But if he doesn't, only those on the Ark will."
I shook my head disapprovingly.
"This isn't survival."
"No! It is undoubtedly survival. The body may perish, but the soul and will continue. With this, the human race, and our empire, will persist."
Fernandez nodded gravely.
"This was the best course of action I could take in the face of certain doom."
"The best course of action..."
I sneered openly.
"To me, it looks like a monumental blunder."
"A blunder...?"
"Like kicking in a game of shitball."
Fernandez's eyes narrowed. I growled fiercely.
"The game isn't over yet. To think of running away instead of fighting till the last moment..."
"You talk a lot for someone who's lost every battle."
Rumble!
The thorny trees tangled and rose up amongst themselves. The thorny branches, coiled and ready, approached me menacingly from all sides.
"Having constantly lost, broken, and exhausted yourself- even losing your very self. And yet you still say you will fight."
Fernandez knew.
That I was overlaid with someone else's memories.
Still, he treated me as his brother... Perhaps because, despite everything, the will to conquer this challenge still truly belonged to me, Ash.
"This cycle is the last chance for survival left to humanity in this world! I'm not foolish enough to risk it on an uncertain gamble!"
Fernandez roared.
"I will save those I can. I will lead their souls to a new world!"
"..."
"And Ash, you are included in those I will save."
"What?"
"You deserve to be saved. In fact, you must be saved."
Fernandez's blood-red eyes glittered with firm resolve.
"As the price for bearing the celestial punishment of being a regressor... You, who have fought for the world while losing yourself, must be saved."
"..."
"So, I will defeat you here. And even if I have to force you, I will make you board my Ark."
The thorny trees had already densely surrounded me.
With a single gesture from Fernandez, they would all strike at me simultaneously.
Facing this final attack, Fernandez pleaded desperately.
"Let's go, Ash. Let's leave for the new world together."
"..."
"Rule the Eternal Empire in the Spirit Realm with me. You, no, only you are worthy of this."
Hearing Fernandez's proposal, head bowed,
"...My salvation."
I smirked and replied.
"It's not about hiding in some kind of escape."
"...!"
"My salvation... is something I gain by fighting and winning."
I raised my head, looking squarely at Fernandez, and declared forcefully.
"You're right, brother. So far, I have lost every game. But that doesn't mean I will fail this time."
"Don't be foolish!"
Fernandez clenched his teeth, his fists trembling.
"You've never won, not even once! Why can't you see reason! We can't win! Look at the countless records of defeat etched on my body!"
"..."
"Just give up, Ash. Please! This is the last chance! No one will blame you for running away!"
"It's not about someone blaming me."
I shook my head slightly.
"It's about whether I can hold my head high before myself."
"What..."
"There's definitely a chance of winning, brother."
The game exists to be conquered.
The true ending.
I've already grasped the slim thread leading there.
Of course, it will be a difficult and perilous path, but-
If there's a path in front of me.
As one who carries the flag.
I must lead the way, forging ahead.
"I have a proposal for you too. Don't give up, brother."
"..."
"Join me in this final cycle. Fight alongside me."
As long as there's a non-zero chance, I won't give up.
Because I am a player of this game.
So, I reached out my hand to Fernandez, who had irrevocably crossed a point of no return.
...But.
"We're not getting through."
Fernandez, with a hardened face, slowly raised his hand.
"Yes, I never thought I could persuade you with words from the beginning."
Rumble!
Like thousands, tens of thousands of snakes coiling, the thorny branches aligned around me,
"I'll force you to listen, Ash...!"
Boom!
The thorny branches surged towards me like a wave.
"That's right... sometimes, you have to swing a fist to understand each other."
Seeing this, I clenched my teeth and grinned.
"Then, let's see my full power."
It was time to use my newly acquired special equipment, [The Great Commander's Flag], in real combat for the first time.
"Huuh-!"
Thunk!
I planted the flagstaff into the ground.
Fernandez, seeing this, sneered.
"It's useless! Your walls can't stop Everblack! You know that!"
He was right.
All my fortress summoning spells used until now - [Imperial Edict] - were completely destroyed by Everblack.
...So, it's necessary to evolve them to the next level.
My ultimate move as well.
And myself...!
Flash!
A grey fortress rose from beneath my flag.
Thorny branches poured towards my fortress from all directions. The grey walls quickly split, crumbled, and collapsed.
It probably won't last even a few more seconds.
...That's enough.
"I command."
Inside the collapsing fortress, I murmured softly.
"This is a battle for the fate of the world."
Gripping the flag, with a desperate heart and wishful spirit-
I shouted.
"All who once bore this flag- gather here!"