Boom!
After catching the corpse of the King of Flies on Geronimo's back,
As Kellibey, standing at the hatch entrance, operated the button, the halted propellers of Geronimo closed upwards, clutching the body of the King of Flies.
Thunk-!
In that state, Geronimo flew low to the ground, as if being dragged along.
The thrusters, pointing downward to lift the ship and the monster of equal weight, exploded with fierce flames and smoke as if bursting out.
Without the lift provided by the propellers, Geronimo remained afloat solely through the output of its overdriven magic power.
Already, just this was enough to put the magic power engine in a state like a time bomb about to explode, and the flight balance of the ship, already ruined, was deteriorating by the second.
And now, with the added weight of the giant atop it,
The overly stressed hull twisted and screamed. The flimsy outer armor and parts fell off, showering the rear. Explosions erupted repeatedly from the overheated magic power engine.
But it does not stop.
"Ha ha ha...!"
Inside the ship, racing towards death, Kellibey burst into laughter.
Carrying a bomb that could blow up an entire city.
Where could there be a more spectacular death?
After laughing heartily, Kellibey screamed from the hatch entrance towards the inside of the ship.
"Alright, let's go! My son! To the end of the world!"
"..."
"I've been a worthless father who lived as he pleased, abandoning you all, but let's be together at the end!"
With a face glistening with blood and sweat, Kellibey smiled.
"..."
Sitting in the cockpit, Kellison briefly stared at his father in a daze.
"I don't want to."
"What?"
Thud!
He operated one of the buttons in the cockpit.
Suddenly, the hatch opened wide, and at the same time, Kellison pulled Geronimo's booster.
"Woahhh?!"
Kellibey, unable to cope with the sudden change in speed, was flung out of the ship.
Rolling messily over the southern sand plain, Kellibey, with blood oozing from his forehead, barely managed to stand up.
"Kuh, Kellison, you unfilial son! What are you doing..."
Whizz- Thump!
Next to Kellibey, who couldn't finish his words, an emergency lifeboat from Geronimo fell. It was the last lifeboat on the ship, ejected by Kellison.
「Father.」
Geronimo was rapidly distancing itself.
「Among all the fathers in this world, you were the worst.」
Only Kellison's sullen voice echoed through the communication.
「But... You are the best blacksmith, and the best miner.」
"No, Kellison! At least at the end, together...!"
「This front, this world, still needs you, Father.」
Thunk-!
The overdriven magic power engine forcibly propelled the ship forward, barely touching the ground. Unable to bear the weight, the thrusters deployed downwards exploded one after another.
But Kellison calmly left his words as he increased the speed.
「Survive. And please take care of our race... no, this world.」
"Kellison, no, Kellison...!"
Chasing after Geronimo, Kellibey fell grotesquely to the ground.
In the cockpit, Kellison, now far away, smirked at the sight of his father.
Stubbornly not touching the ground and flying low, the bottom of the hull finally hit the ground.
As flames, smoke, and sand dust rose, Geronimo left the southern plain and entered the forest, simultaneously.
Crackle-
Like a flame burning down a fuse, the self-destruct magic gathered at the center of the King of Flies's chest.
"Ah."
Kellison murmured for the last time.
"The first tunnel father gave me, it was really cozy..."
The small cave of his childhood suddenly overlapped with the narrow cockpit of the ship.
The young face of his father handing over the key to the cave door to his small hand...
Kellison closed his eyes.
The gathered flames touched the King of Flies's core.
In the next moment, the whole world was enveloped in white light.
***
I swallowed my breath.
In the pitch-black night. Far south, a dazzling light erupted.
For a moment, there was no sound at all.
Then, the next moment, an enormous explosion obliterated the forest beyond the southern plains.
Boom!
To destroy humanity's defenses, to annihilate the world...
The monster had poured the souls and bodies of its entire race, along with their fate, into this single explosion, and its power was immense.
A huge column of light rose along with a cloud of dust.
The forest engulfed by the range of the light pillar burned up in an instant, and the ground around the epicenter soared into the sky before melting away.
Then the aftershock hit Crossroad.
Thunk...!
The southern walls, only their skeletons remaining, were swept away by the aftershock, spewing bricks and scattering. People screamed and tumbled to the ground.
The explosion was massive, and the aftershock was just a prelude. Flames and whirlwinds from the epicenter ground and crushed the ground as they rushed towards Crossroad.
The world brightened up.
Destruction entered the city relentlessly like morning sunlight.
"Senior...!"
Evangeline, running towards me, deployed a shield in front of me. I, from behind the shield, grasped my flag with both hands as if vomiting blood and shouted.
"No matter how many times it falls, I will rebuild it-!"
The gray magic power wall blossomed like petals, replacing the vanished southern wall.
I had long passed my limit, my heart was sore, and blood surged from within. Yet, I clenched my teeth and maintained the wall.
Thunk...!
But, it evaporates.
The gray magic power wall, unable to withstand the immense power of the explosion, began to disintegrate from the outside.
"..."
I hold on.
"Ugh..."
If I cannot hold on, what becomes of it?
What becomes of the noble sacrifices of those who threw their lives ahead?
If I fall here, if I give up, if I let go of the flagstaff. What becomes of all the battles fought until now?
"Aaaaaaah!"
The surface of the wall boiled and disappeared in bubbles.
Like a pond revealing its bed in a drought, the magic power wall evaporated in an instant, leaving only a paper-thin thickness.
My entire body, having wrung out every last bit of magic power, tingled and felt numb. My body did not seem like my own.
Yet, I held on. I screamed and held on.
'I don't want to lose.'
Those still alive in my arms, and those who have fallen and remain in my memory.
I still don't want to lose...!
As I vomited blood, half-collapsed and clinging to the flagstaff, my ears heard-
"Prince Ash."
Suddenly, a gentle voice resonated.
"Please, until the last moment, hold on to that flag..."
Emerald green hair cascaded in waves as she walked out in front of me.
"Don't let go."
It was Queen Skuld, the Elf Queen. She winked at me with a crisp twinkling. Her green eyes opened wide above the four diamond-shaped teardrops imprinted on her face.
I blankly watched her refreshing smile.
"World Tree!"
The next moment, she placed her hands on the ground and exclaimed.
"Your daughter, offering a rightful price, asks for the last legacy...!"
Skuld's arms transformed into tree trunks. Her translucent skin turned rough and tough, sprouting leaves in various places before finally burrowing into the ground.
Thud-thud-thud-thud!
Right behind my magic power wall, massive tree roots and trunks burst forth simultaneously. The giant trees, intertwining with each other, soon formed an excellent temporary wall.
It was right after that when my magic power wall vanished and I fell to the ground.
Evangeline caught me as I fell, and I leaned on my shield knight's shoulder, watching the miracle unfold before me.
Whoosh...
It held on.
The giant tree trunks and roots intertwined to form a wall, burning and crumbling but growing back and sprouting leaves again.
The flames and whirlwinds outside the wall were persistent and greedy, but the tree wall had even greater patience.
Ancient protective magic on the tree wall guarded everyone behind it until the very end.
When the explosion and loud noises that seemed endless finally ceased, the tree wall had not fallen; it had held on.
The blackened wall crumbled to dust and fell to the ground all at once. At the same time, Skuld, who had spread and held the wall until the end, also collapsed powerlessly.
"Skuld!"
Verdandi screamed as she ran out.
"Verdandi... sister..."
Skuld, embraced in Verdandi's arms, had transformed into something resembling a very old tree.
Her skin was parched, and her appearance, which once seemed younger than her sister, had turned into that of an elderly woman.
Her once lively green hair had turned into the color of withered leaves.
More than half of her body had merged with the tree and burrowed into the ground... She was dying like that.
An immortal elf, and among them, a legitimate successor of the Elf Royal Family.
She had sacrificed all her vitality, blessings, and future to protect Crossroad.
"Our race, no..."
Skuld exhaled a long breath and slowly closed her eyes.
"Please... take care of this world..."
"...Skuld?"
Verdandi murmured in disbelief.
"No, no, no... please..."
Verdandi hugged Skuld tightly, showering her sister's forehead with kisses.
"It's my fault, I was wrong. So come back... I'll never leave you again, please..."
Eventually, Verdandi burst into tears.
"Don't leave me alone..."
No other sound was heard in the area but the weeping of the Elf Princess.
Heroes and soldiers, bloodied all over, stood solemnly facing the southern wall. Then, one by one, they bowed their heads in that direction.
"..."
I leaned on Evangeline's shoulder, looking around with a vacant face.
Crossroad, caught in the aftermath of the explosion, was devastated from the southern wall, with the entire south side of the city turned into ruins. There was not a single intact building, not a single remaining tower.
Everything was scorched.
Is this... victory?
Is this the price of survival?
'How many have died?'
How many lives have been sacrificed...
For me to be alive here, now?
'No...!'
I shook my dazed head, setting aside the boiling guilt for a moment.
Because I know.
Those who gave their lives for this front line would not want me to think this way.
They hoped their sacrifice would sustain this front line, that their dear comrades would join forces and move forward... knowing they threw their lives away like dogs for that.
So, I tried to give hope to everyone in any way I could. As the one responsible for leading everyone out of this mess, I tried to organize the situation and allow everyone to rest for a moment.
And then-
Whooosh!
That's when it happened.
Behind me, in the air, magical particles swirled with an ominous sound.
"..."
I clenched my teeth and turned towards the waves of those blue-glowing magical particles.
Flash-!
And... a 'door' opened.
It was a massive teleport gate.
Creeeak!
And, opening that huge door with both hands-
"My wish... is not something as trivial as a nightmare...!"
A figure made of flies, a woman's shape, appeared.
It was White Night, who had been forcibly teleported somewhere during the civil war with the King of Flies using teleportation.
"...Huh."
I muttered in disbelief.
"This is really too much, seriously."
"I was originally a resident of this world! The Demon King didn't resurrect me, but merely took me under his wing!"
White Night, with her eerie figure made of flies, flashed her compound eyes and shouted.
"So, even if I'm swept away to the Oblivion's Beyond, I can eventually find my way back to this world...!"
With each of her proclamations, flies combined with darkness from another dimension spread in all directions, covering the dark night sky in glittering colors.
Heroes and soldiers instinctively gripped their weapons and looked up at the sky. But everyone felt it. I did too.
This is...
"...Where did the King of Flies go? Don't tell me, he's already dead?"
...the end.
"Then I can declare it for sure."
From the spot where the King of Flies had fallen and frozen, White Night picked up something.
It was the scepter.
With the giant fly's hand holding the tiny scepter as if it was precious, White Night laughed madly.
"Now, I am the new King of Flies...!"
It was game over.