"Speak, ultimate sovereign. As you fight to prevent the world's demise, what kind of death do you wish for?"
"..."
As I recalled the question posed by Night Bringer, I clenched my fist.
It was the same then as it is now.
What I aim for, what I aspire to, is not death, not the end.
It's life.
The scene of spring that unfolds beyond the long, dark tunnel after the ending.
"When your modest hope is trampled and burnt."
I gritted my teeth, trying to erase the words of the Black Dragon that followed.
"When vain hope disappears, and even your firm resolve is broken, and finally, ruin stands before you..."
But his words stubbornly clung to my mind until the end.
"How delightful your tears will be. It would be enjoyable just to watch."
"..."
Typical of someone who wouldn't be mistaken for anything but a commander of the Nightmare Legion.
Every word he threw out was like a nightmare. That crazy perverted sadistic dragon...
Swallowing my curses against the Black Dragon internally, I looked back and forth between his two sons.
"For beings that are parts and extensions of Night Bringer, you've sided with us, haven't you?"
"I suppose... Born from the only scale on my father's body that grew in the opposite direction, I've always been the problem child who doesn't listen to my father."
Scalian turned to look at Parekian with an expression of intrigue, adjusting his glasses.
"Parekian is also curious to me. This child... well. He used to be the one with the least sense of self among us. Now, though..."
Even after the constellation meeting had ended, Parekian continued to gaze up at the night sky.
Among them, a constellation I learned about for the first time today... he kept staring at the Claw constellation.
From behind him, Violet yawned lazily and tapped Parekian on the head, whining, 'Let's go to sleep~'.
"Anyway, good luck in the battle tomorrow."
Scalian gave me a slight smile with a nod.
"There are still many mountains to cross, don't break down just yet."
"..."
He was right.
Tomorrow's raid on Ipian is the last gateway to reaching Night Bringer. The real battle is just before us.
'To achieve a complete victory... and then head to the final battle with the Black Dragon.'
Narrowly maneuvering through the tight strategies.
That's all I have to do.
***
The next morning.
Heroes who had gathered early completed their equipment checks and entered inside the dungeon of the Lake Kingdom.
Zone 9 Dungeon - 'Guardian Camp', where the royal guards of the Lake Kingdom once served, now a fortress in all but name.
It is now a hideous ruin.
"..."
Goooh...
At the far edge of Zone 9, a grotesque, crumbling fortress welcomed us.
The presence of such a ferocious facility smack in the middle of the city was strange and yet seemed utterly fitting for the current state of the Lake Kingdom.
Truth be told, the refined and beautiful aspects that had been there before were even more peculiar.
This city has been a submerged ruin under the lake for over 500 years. Perhaps this hideous and ominous side fits the atmosphere better.
And near the entrance of this fortress...
"Ash."
Nameless was waiting.
"Nameless!"
I greeted her warmly, while Dusk Bringar, walking at the forefront of our group, reached out her hand.
"Hey, Sister Nameless."
"Welcome, Little Dusk."
"..."
I still can't get used to these two calling each other like that...
Nameless also exchanged simple greetings with my subordinates, and even noticed the two dragons trailing at the end of our group.
"...The lineup has gotten quite diverse."
Knowing that they were in my captivity, she didn't draw her sword, but her gaze towards the two dragons was anything but warm.
Parekian seemed upset, rumbling like an engine within him, while Scalian sweated nervously.
"Let me show you. This way."
Nameless stretched out her hand, and the tightly closed gates of the fortress burst open upward, scattering dust in all directions with a clang.
Leading the way into the old corridor, we followed, holding torches high above our heads.
"..."
As we walked through the short, musty-smelling corridor, I was lost in thought.
Among the children of the Black Dragon, Wingian, Scalian, and Ipian are of similar strength.
However, there's something to consider here... Wingian's strength includes the forces of his subordinates.
Wingian had mobilized a corps known as the Guardians, and they attacked in unison with his subordinates.
Therefore, in the game, he was quite a formidable opponent. We had a way to counteract mind control, which is why we were able to win easily.
In other words, excluding his subordinates, Wingian is... clearly weaker than Scalian or Ipian.
'I almost died at the hands of that weaker Wingian.'
If we consider pure combat power, Ipian is far superior. It will be a difficult battle.
'But I've learned the strategy, and we've completed sufficient tactical training.'
I glanced around at the heroes under my command. The heroes who met my gaze nodded all at once. I smiled broadly.
We can win. Definitely.
Soon, the dusty corridor came to an end.
The end of the corridor led into the interior of the fortress, which was much larger and simpler in structure than expected.
The fortress, with its stone walls curved roundly, had no ceiling, allowing a clear view of the sky. At the end of the corridor, there was a stone building that seemed to have been used by the guard.
From the end of the corridor stretched a vast dirt floor, completely empty. Nameless, who had stopped in front of that dirt floor, turned around to face us.
"Once we enter the fortress courtyard here, he will burst out. Are you ready?"
"Of course."
"And Ash, you know this."
Nameless gestured with her eyes.
"If we can take control of the walls, we can fight to our advantage."
There's a dungeon gimmick that can only be used during the Ipian raid and only here in the 'Guardian Camp' dungeon.
Whether we utilize this gimmick or not will determine the outcome of this battle. Nameless was reminding us of that fact.
So, I was prepared, but a friend's advice is always valuable.
"Thanks for the advice, Nameless."
"Alright. Let's go in... three, two, one!"
Nameless inhaled deeply and sprinted forward, followed by Dusk Bringar and the vanguard heroes.
The heroes, trained in order, quickly formed a grand dragon-fighting formation in the courtyard of the fortress.
I slowly moved forward and planted a flag in the ground. Thump!
A moment of brief silence.
Then.
Whoosh-
A dry wind blew from somewhere, making the flag I had planted flutter.
Simultaneously,
Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!
Torches along the fortress walls lit up in succession, and finally, a huge beacon blazed on the rooftop of the Guardian Camp building.
The interior of the fortress, which had been engulfed in darkness, became brightly illuminated.
In the center of the brightened fortress.
A shabby chair was placed on the dirt floor, and there sat the man.
With closely cropped black hair, armor covering his entire body seamlessly, and wearing long earrings as decorations.
And this man was asleep.
Regardless of intruders breaking in or lights brightening, completely unconcerned with the surroundings, he was deeply asleep.
The man had three eyes, with an elongated vertical eye in the middle of his forehead.
The middle eye and the left eye glared at us, wide open, while the right eye was tightly closed, continuously nodding off.
His body was sleeping, but his mouth alternated opening, spouting words.
"...Wake up, right side. We have guests."
"Damn it, why do I completely lose control when I sleep...!"
The middle and left eyes looked at each other, trying to wake the right eye.
"Let's revert to our true form. Then the right side will wake up."
"Damn. What a disgrace...!"
Flash-!
A fearsome wind poured out from the man's body along with light.
A fierce whirlwind swept through the fortress courtyard. Despite our cloaks and hair being wildly disarrayed by the wind, we did not move and kept our focus straight ahead.
And then.
Swoosh...!
A gigantic winged figure, stirring up that whirlwind with huge membranous wings, seemed to soar into the sky.
Thud...!
It landed on the stone building of the guard at the far end of the fortress opposite the corridor we had entered.
It was a gigantic black dragon.
Covered densely in black scales like well-forged armor, its sleek body topped with three heads, each spewing out a fearsome golden glow from its eyes.
A malevolent dragon with three heads.
A three-headed black dragon, the eyes of the Black Dragon, Ipian.
Stretching out three long necks, the three heads quietly looked down at us... The middle head opened its mouth with a solemn voice.
"You've come this far, far beyond my expectations, Guardian of Humanity."
Immediately after, the left head screeched.
"Is it time to acknowledge such a wretched creature? We should burn, kill, and devour him quickly, then present him to our father!"
Following that, the right head blinked its sleepy eyes.
"Just let me sleep... If you're going to kill, do it quickly and let's rest... My eyelids are so heavy I could die..."
Then, indeed, the right head began to nod off.
Thus, the three heads glared at each other, berated each other, and fought among themselves.
"..."
It was a maddening sight, completely lacking the dignity befitting an enemy leader. Nevertheless, I swallowed my saliva.
A dragon, Ipian, performing a literal triumvirate with each of its three heads possessing its own personality.
The most powerful in combat among the children of the Black Dragon had finally appeared before us.
While we were tensing up, the middle and left heads of Ipian continued to bicker.
"These are the champions who have defended humanity, turning the tides. It would raise the dignity of this fight to death if we show each other respect before battling."
"Are we in a position to talk about dignity now?! That bastard has killed all our siblings!"
The fiercely growling left head then noticed Parekian and Scalian standing idly behind us.
"No, not Scales and Claws. You were alive? But what are you doing there?"
Scalian adjusted his glasses and replied honestly while sweating.
"...I came to watch, brother."
Giiiing-
Parekian only emitted a low, unintelligible engine noise.
"Ho, is that so...?"
The left head laughed menacingly.
"Let's hear the full story later. For now, just watch carefully, you disgraceful siblings..."
Kiiiing!
The golden light drained from the eyes of the right and middle heads, and the left head's eyes burned even brighter.
It meant the 'dominance' was now in the left head.
"There won't even be time to watch; I'll finish this instantly—"
Thump-!
Ipian kicked off the stone building it was standing on and soared upward.
The mere recoil cracked and started to crumble the building, and Ipian, rising above the collapsing structure, plunged right above our heads.
"Ground attack! Dodge—!"
As I shouted, Ipian's massive body crashed down on us—followed by its gigantic tail sweeping across the ground.
A sudden melee. A tail swing that utterly demolished the area.
But, thanks to our tedious training on ground attack responses, all our heroes kicked off the ground and soared—easily dodging the attack without a scratch.
A smile unwittingly formed on my lips. Seeing it, Ipian asked with an irritated voice.
"Why do you laugh, Guardian of Humanity...?"
"How can I not laugh when things are going so perfectly?"
I shouted spiritedly, pointing at him.
"The opening move of the battle has been ideally set!"
"...?!"
It wasn't just because we had dodged the first attack well.
Ipian, sensing something, frantically turned its head to the side— and saw.
Thump! Thump-thump-thump!
A series of our heroes leaping over the fortress outer wall, climbing onto the ramparts.
Leading them was Dearmudin, with silvery-grey wings on his robe spread wide, his long white beard fluttering as the old mage laughed menacingly.
Yes.
Our mages and ranged fighters, along with the reserve party that had been with Parekian from the start, hadn't entered through the main gate.
They had been waiting outside the fortress and had taken flight collectively using Dearmudin's new equipment, [Old Phoenix].
Jumping over the outer walls, they had taken over the fortress ramparts.
And this dungeon's unique gimmick—ancient mana cannons, lined up along the ramparts.
"Ha!"
Preparing to take flight again, Ipian scoffed.
"Do you really think you can target me with such ancient relics as mana cannons? Setting aside their power, are there even humans left who know how to fire them?"
"That's precisely the point."
I grinned, revealing my teeth.
"That's the driving force that has led me to the front lines!"
The heroes atop the ramparts grunted as they lifted the cannons, turning the barrels—which had been facing outside the fortress—inward—
"It's been a while."
Damien placed his hand on the trigger, glanced roughly at the sight, and then slammed the trigger down.
Boom-!
The fired mana shell traced a beautiful and smooth arc in the air.
Then, as Ipian scoffed, attempting to dodge, it took an eerily guided trajectory towards the left head of Ipian.
"...?!"
Ipian couldn't dodge.
Kwagwagwang!
The dragon's head was engulfed in a fiery explosion.