Currently.
Crossroad. North Gate.
"..."
King Miller Ariane, who had fled and now returned with his people, looked sternly ahead.
At the North Gate, the kings of the World Guardian Front looked at him in dismay.
King Miller Ariane, unabashed, composed his expression and then, with a calmness and politeness previously unseen, spoke before them.
"I wish to entrust myself again to the World Guardian Front. My soldiers, and all those who left with me, all share the same sentiment."
"..."
"If it means defeating the Black Dragon, I am willing to do anything. Please, give us another chance."
"I'm not sure what has changed your mind, Miller."
Traha stepped forward and let out a low sigh.
"We have also decided to retreat."
"...What?"
"We have judged that we can no longer continue the fight at Crossroad. We will retreat northward and push the front up."
The city was already bustling.
Seeing the people preparing to vacate the fortress, Miller's eyes flipped.
"No, no, no!"
Miller strode quickly and yelled at Traha.
"We must fight here, Traha! We cannot give up the front!"
"But, Miller..."
"If we retreat the front! The longer the world goes without daylight!"
Thud!
Miller knelt before the kings.
"The north will perish."
"..."
"Here, as quickly as possible...! If we do not defeat the Black Dragon! The Ariane Kingdom, and all the northern lands... will be buried in snow and freeze to death!"
Then the kings understood why the people of Ariane Kingdom had returned.
"I thus apologize."
Kneeling, Miller bowed his head, still wearing his crown.
"I apologize for my selfish cowardice like this. So please... fight here."
"..."
"Don't abandon Ariane, the north... don't abandon Crossroad...!"
The kings exchanged bewildered glances.
Though the situation clearly called for retreat. It was Miller's words that brought them to realization.
For now, the north might be covered in snow, but what about after that?
How many days of reprieve does this world have left? Even if they flee, isn't destruction already looming right beneath their chins?
Traha muttered in a voice filled with lament.
"Even if we stay here... who can stop that evil dragon?"
Then,
"We will stop it."
This time, a voice came from the city side.
As everyone turned, there stood Lucas, leading a group of expeditionary heroes.
All were wounded and bandaged. However, their eyes alone boiled with a chilling hatred.
"We have a plan, Your Majesty."
In front of the emperor, Lucas reported in a dry, toneless voice.
"Just two more times. Just two more breaths to block, and after that, the Black Dragon's main body will reach the front of Crossroad."
"..."
"Then we will kill it. The strategy is set, and we have the necessary strength, skill, and will."
After briefly explaining their strategy,
Lucas casually shifted his gaze to Dusk Bringar standing at the end of the group of kings.
"Just hold out two more times."
"..."
"Whether you allow it or not, whether you abandon Crossroad or not, we will stay here anyway. And we will execute this operation."
Lucas spoke those potentially disrespectful words calmly to the emperor.
"...Sir Lucas."
Traha clicked her tongue softly, examining Lucas and his heroes.
"Is there a reason to go this far?"
What 'this far' implied was clear.
Darkness.
Lucas and his heroes were all visibly cloaked in darkness.
A deep and dreadful hatred and resentment, which were never seen when they were with Ash, now enveloped them like a cloak.
Avenger...
Under the guise of protecting the world, they were actually avenging Ash, pushing themselves beyond the limits of humanity.
"Because the Crown Prince told us so."
As Ash's story came up, a beast-like fervor mixed into Lucas's voice.
"This is the entrance to humanity. This is the world's last line of defense."
Point of No Return.
If they abandon this place. If they give it up.
The world ends.
Lucas instinctively knew. The moment the Black Dragon crossed Crossroad and moved further north, there would be no hope left for humanity.
If the night deepened further, this world would no longer know light.
"So, following his words, we're only trying to kill it here."
"Is that really the reason?"
"..."
"You're not just looking for a place to die, are you?"
The emperor's eyes met Lucas's.
The emperor, who had lost the divine aura of the absolute ruler, no longer had golden eyes. They were a deep black, just like his son's.
And in place of the lost divine aura, experience, fatigue, regret, and compassion filled his gaze.
"..."
Somehow, that look reminded Lucas of his long-dead father.
Lucas let his ice-blue eyes fall to avoid the gaze.
Traha, turning towards the kings with a low sigh, opened her mouth.
"It's a repeat of what was said before. There's only one thing for us to decide."
The kings' eyes hardened, teeth clenched, fists tightened.
"Whether we die quickly or slowly. In the end, that's all there is to life."
The people of the north, kneeling.
The avengers, who had entrusted themselves to the darkness.
Even the kings in thought.
Traha, having looked at them all once, showed a smile that revealed her molars.
"Does everyone here have the courage to be buried together beneath the tomb?"
***
12 hours later.
48 hours since the Black Dragon's invasion began.
Thud... Thud... Thud...
As the vast darkness crossed the forest, the trees touched by its mass were uprooted, rotting or collapsing.
To the south of the advancing darkness, nothing could be observed anymore. A dense night had fallen, submerging everything in darkness.
Thud...!
Suddenly, the advance halted.
The darkness slowly stretched out its flickering legs and clutched the ground firmly.
Grooooan...!
Then, the atmosphere trembled, magic vibrated, and an immense rumbling spread around.
Undoubtedly, it was the Breath.
Night Bringer, ascending the night, was loading its fifth breath towards humanity.
"Ah, ahh... Ugh...!"
However, the scouts who needed to inform Crossroad of this fact.
All lay dying in a forest not far from the teleport gate.
The malice of Night Bringer had become too dense. Those watching were on the verge of going mad or suffocating to death.
"Ah, ahh, ugh!"
A soldier, his face a mess of tears and snot, desperately pressed the ground with a convulsing arm.
"Must, tell... Crossroad, must...!"
The soldier bit the inside of his cheek instead of his lipless mouth. But he could neither regain consciousness nor even feel pain.
His strength drained from the arm he was using to crawl towards the teleport gate. The soldier, face planted in the dirt, sobbed as he chewed the earth.
"Ah, ah..."
He was scared.
Of course, dying here was scary, but imagining the monstrous darkness trampling over the powerless ones above the front line was even scarier.
He was scared that his comrades' sacrifices would become meaningless. He was scared that the glorious days of this frontline would disappear.
The soldier was a veteran scout who had participated in every battle at Crossroad since the day Living Armor invaded under Ash's command.
He had witnessed what kind of battles this frontline had fought, what miracles it had performed.
And now all those days were crumbling.
That's why he was scared, and so...
"Ugh!"
He pounded the dirt floor with his forehead, then tried to move forward, using his shoulders instead of his unresponsive limbs.
"Urgent news, urgent...! Night Bringer is preparing the next Breath...!"
But it was far.
The teleport gate was close, but with his unresponsive body, he couldn't reach it. No matter how much he struggled, it was too late.
"Please... save Crossroad..."
The soldier twisted his head into the dirt floor and sobbed.
"Save the world..."
And then.
Chrrrrrk—
The sound of the teleport gate's magic stone activating.
Flash-!
A flash of magical light.
Step. Step.
The sound of approaching footsteps.
The soldier thought he was already dead and hallucinating, but that wasn't the case.
Someone who had approached placed a gentle hand on the soldier's shoulder.
"Shh, shh. It's okay. Everyone's okay."
It was a tired, yet warm voice.
"Keep your eyes closed. Just facing its darkness can corrupt your mind... but it'll be okay while I'm here. Take deep breaths slowly."
Just his presence made all the scouts regain their senses. Strength returned to their unresponsive bodies.
The soldiers adjusted their breathing roughly and got up. Still, as the other had said, they all kept their eyes tightly shut.
If this person said so, they must do it... Somehow, it was imprinted on everyone.
"You've all done enough."
The person who had patted each of the soldiers' shoulders made them hold hands with one another.
"From now on, leave it to me and go back to Crossroad. The teleport gate is still working. Go and inform them about its Breath."
"..."
"Don't open your eyes. Hold hands, right. Keep going that way."
The soldiers moved as if enchanted by his words.
The teleport gate was right in front of them. The soldiers staggered one by one through the teleport gate and returned to Crossroad.
"Ah, and!"
A veteran scout, walking absentmindedly at the end of the line, snapped to attention at those words.
"Do you have any cigarettes left?"
The scout frantically searched his pockets and pulled out a fresh pack of cigarettes he had, handing it back. The other person brightened up and took the pack.
"That's it, that's it. Thanks. I was nearly dying smoking those awful cigarettes from the underground. Nothing beats Everblack."
"..."
In front of the spinning magic gate, still with his eyes closed, the scout fumbled and asked late.
"Who... who are you?"
"Huh?"
It was a voice he definitely recognized, one he had heard quite often.
Yet somehow, it felt unfamiliar, as if he was hearing it for the first time. Therefore, the scout couldn't figure out who it was.
A voice so familiar and yet so missed.
Who was this person...?
"..."
After a moment of silence, the other person said,
"Just... one of your comrades."
Smirking, he said that and then suddenly pushed the scout into the teleport gate.
"A senile old man."
Flash-!
A flash of magical light, and after pushing the last scout through the teleport gate,
The man who turned around—Ash expertly tore open the new pack of cigarettes and took one out. Then, with a casual stride, he walked towards Night Bringer.
"...?"
Night Bringer, noticing Ash approaching belatedly, had a flash of confusion, embarrassment, and amusement in its eyes.
"Player? How... are you alive?"
"It's been a while, Black Dragon. You've grown quite a bit since I last saw you."
Ash, observing the Breath Night Bringer was gathering, clicked his tongue.
"Don't breathe fire carelessly..."
He shook the cigarette in his hand.
"Try lighting this up instead."
"..."
The enormous mouth of Night Bringer, gathering its breath, opened wide as if it couldn't hold back a laugh.