The initial reason Scalian took an interest in Violet was simple.
Among the humans who participated in the Last War of the Mortal Realm, this great expedition, she was the most 'unsuited for this war.'
Illusionist Violet.
True to her title as a magician who dealt with illusions, she was essentially a liar.
To herself, and to others, she always lived by projecting the falsehood of illusions.
Her origins, age, career... She had deceived about every aspect of herself and used those lies to deceive others further, profiting from it as a petty thief, robber, and con artist.
Even to her closest comrades.
The members of the Gambler's Club, who had worked together for a long time, eventually began to trust and rely on each other. But not Violet.
She still lied as easily as breathing.
She still trusted no one and did not believe even in herself. She was an eternal liar.
Unlike all the other heroes who fought sincerely, voluntarily, and risked their lives, Violet, even at the end of the final season, was still participating on the front lines, driven by inertia.
She was just an ordinary, insignificant human being who couldn't run away only because she had no excuse to do so.
So, Scalian felt particularly intrigued by Violet among the heroes on this front.
Scalian wanted to see.
This pathetic human, a common rogue forced into a great war by inertia.
Falling back into corruption.
By tempting, persuading, and luring her. With just a slight push on her back. She would roll off that dizzying cliff on her own.
Scalian wanted to witness the filthy fall of someone who could have become a great hero reverting to a petty thief.
In a burning, ruined world, or even in the world beyond... Scalian wanted to watch every wretched process as she lived her miserable life at the bottom.
Scalian wanted to prove right before her eyes how insignificant and weak human will was.
So...
***
Six hours earlier.
In a worn-out village in the southeastern part of the continent, from which the coast was visible in the distance.
Violet and Scalian entered this empty ghost town on Parekian's back. Scalian looked around curiously.
She had suddenly turned east off the main road, leading their party here.
"What is this place?"
"...This is my hometown."
"Huh? Didn't you say you were from New Terra?"
"That was a lie. This is where I was really born."
Violet looked around with a dazed gaze.
"I haven't been here in nearly 20 years... I didn't expect it to change so much."
Rather than just change, the village was completely ruined.
It looked deserted, as if everyone had left long ago. Snowflakes, rare in the southern regions, were endlessly piling up on the collapsing buildings.
"It's completely in ruins. Does no one live here anymore?"
Violet chuckled in front of a bar with a fallen door.
"Ah, this was my home."
"Didn't you say you were a noble's illegitimate child?"
"That was also a lie. I was an orphan abandoned by a prostitute in this bar. The old man who owned the place couldn't bring himself to throw me out and took me in."
Violet brushed her fingers across her temple, revealing a long scar hidden by illusion.
"He used to beat me every day when he was drunk... but thanks to him, I managed to survive."
"..."
"When I was eight, he tried to sell me to a brothel, so I broke a bottle over his head and ran away."
Violet, speaking calmly as she headed toward the center of the village, let out an "Ah" sound.
Parekian stopped, and Scalian looked in the same direction as Violet.
In the center of the village was a small shopping district. In the center of that district were a pawnshop and a tailor shop.
"Twenty years ago, this was a fairly large village for the area, so quite a few outsiders came through. My livelihood was picking the pockets of those outsiders."
Violet first visited the pawnshop.
"This pawnshop also doubled as a fence... I used to sell stolen goods here for a pittance. Haha. I guess you could call it my monumental debut as a pickpocket."
The pawnshop, with its broken door wide open, was completely ransacked inside.
It was only natural, as this place must have been the most frequently visited by thieves after the village fell.
Violet picked up some cheap fake jewels and a few gold-plated threads that had lost their shine.
Violet then stepped into the adjacent tailor shop. Inside the store, covered in dust and cobwebs, a few moth-eaten suits remained.
"This place pretended to be a tailor shop, but in reality, it was a store that led to an underground illegal gambling den. If you lost everything here, you'd pawn your belongings at the pawnshop next door. It was that kind of setup."
"..."
"But they did actually sell suits here. Watching the adults get fitted for clothes, I used to vaguely imagine the day my parents would come looking for me."
A couple in a fine suit and a beautiful dress would come in a carriage.
They would say, 'You are actually our child. The hard days are over now. Let's go home together and live happily ever after.'
I would spy on the well-dressed adults frequenting the tailor shop and fantasize about such things.
"Of course, that never happened. Haha."
With a bitter smile, Violet nonchalantly walked into the shop and pulled out the most decent suit she could find and put it on.
"I always wanted to try on these clothes, so I might as well fulfill that wish now."
She then grabbed a bowler hat hanging on the wall, dusted it off, and placed it on her head.
Wearing the moth-eaten suit and the dusty hat, with gold-plated threads and fake-looking jewels attached...
Violet's appearance was ridiculous. Yet, she wore everything as if performing a solemn ritual.
Leaving the tailor shop, Violet headed to the back of the shopping district.
She arrived at a large open space once used as the village square, with a view of the distant eastern sea beyond the clear expanse.
"..."
Violet silently gazed at the distant horizon.
At some point, she had undone the illusion spell on her hair, replacing the symbolic violet locks with her original plain brown hair, which flowed down freely.
Scalian, who had quietly followed her, asked,
"Why did you come here?"
"To confirm."
"Confirm what?"
"My true feelings. What I really want to do."
Taking a deep breath, Violet turned around and spoke.
"I want to run away. To the ends of the world."
"..."
"I never want to return to that horrific battlefield. If the dragon can protect me from the end of the world, yes. I want that. I want to run away without ever looking back."
Scalian's tightly pressed lips twitched. He was struggling to suppress a smile.
That's it, Violet.
You're nothing more than a petty thief. You don't need to keep fighting this overwhelming battle.
Let's keep running away together.
Abandon the pride others have placed upon you and take the final step into corruption.
Come on...!
"But."
Violet's clenched fist trembled.
"Even so, I will go back."
"...What?"
"I'm going back. To Crossroad."
For a moment, not understanding the context of the conversation, Scalian blinked in confusion.
"What do you mean? You want to run away, but you're going back?"
"...Yes. I sincerely want to run away."
Violet, hugging herself, trembled violently.
"I want to run away, I want to run away, I want to run away! My whole body shakes. Just imagining that enormous monster makes me feel like I'll wet myself."
"Then why..."
"I know. I know I'm not suited for that kind of fight. I know I won't be much help even if I go back. I know I'm just a con artist, a robber, a petty thief, that's all I am!"
Violet looked back at the village where she was born.
The gambling den, the fence, the brothel, and the bar were all entangled in a chaotic mess... her childhood prison.
"But... just because I was born this way, doesn't mean I have to live this way, right?"
"..."
"I fought a great battle."
A phrase she could never forget was etched in Violet's mind.
- If you're going to play the fool, why not do it to seize the world?
The words Prince Ash had thrown at her.
So, she played a magnificent game with him.
They fought for the fate of the world. They saved the citizens of the Imperial Capital and defeated powerful monsters.
Although her means were only deceit and illusions, Prince Ash took her along to the decisive battle.
It was a real showdown she could never have had at a gambling table with small stakes.
"Even if all I can show this world are illusions, my life itself isn't a lie."
Without a doubt, Violet had saved the world several times.
Even if those battles were forced upon her, their greatness remained unchanged.
"I..."
Returning to a hometown she never wanted to see again, facing the filthy past she had avoided, even draping herself in it.
For the first time in a life filled with lies, after confronting her true self, Violet reached this conclusion.
"I want to be great."
"...!"
"Even though I've run away once, no, several times, and it might already be too late..."
At that moment, Scalian saw it clearly.
"I want to save the world again!"
In a world shrouded in darkness.
Wearing shabby clothes, adorned with ridiculous decorations, revealing hidden scars and her natural, plain hair color.
More radiant than ever.
Emitting an aura like a true hero.
"...Just because I was born this way, doesn't mean I have to live this way."
Scalian slowly pondered Violet's words.
"Just because I fell once, doesn't mean I can't become great again..."
Scalian's lips twisted into a wide grin.
"Ah, as expected..."
And soon, as if he couldn't hold it in, he burst into a broad, beaming smile.
"Humans are truly magnificent..."
In truth, he preferred stories like this.
Stories of downfall, corruption, and destruction were good, but...
Even if they were stories familiar to him, filled with trite and predictable elements...
He far preferred hopeful hero tales.
"Violet."
So, Scalian slowly pulled out a pearl from his bosom.
"Will you accept this?"
Curious, Violet took it.
"What is it?"
"My gift."
It was one of the two magic pearls Scalian possessed.
Though Violet had no idea what it was, she accepted it quickly, recognizing its value.
Her movements still had the air of a petty thief, making Scalian laugh unintentionally.
"Alright, then let's go back!"
Flash!
Scalian transformed into the form of a long dragon and motioned to his back.
"To continue the epic of the great hero, Violet!"
Blushing with embarrassment, Violet soon nodded and climbed onto Scalian. Parekian followed closely behind.
Two dragons and a human flew through the snowstorm-laden sky, retracing their steps back.
***
Present. Crossroad.
"Whew, that was close..."
After taking the full brunt of Night Bringer's breath attack.
Landing on the fortress wall, nearly falling, Scalian let out a hot sigh through his gaping mouth.
Even though he had inherited the 'scale' trait of the black dragon, was skilled in defense like a recluse, and had resistance to breath and black flames due to his father's blood.
It was impossible to block that breath attack without any damage.
Inspecting his half-cooked body, Scalian glanced below the fortress wall.
Upon reaching their comrades, Violet wrapped herself in illusions again, transforming her shabby appearance into a splendid one, only to get beaten up.
It was only natural since she had run away for over a day before returning.
"But I came back! Cut me some slack!"
Violet cried with a nasal voice as she got smacked on the back by the members of the Gambler's Club. Scalian chuckled as he watched.
Shield warriors stationed in the southern plains also began returning.
Torkel was safe thanks to his ultimate skill, and the other shield warriors were severely injured but there were no fatalities. Milla Ariane, who had lost an arm, was hurriedly transported to the temple.
They had once again blocked the last breath attack.
They gained a final 12-hour respite. Time to prepare for the final showdown that was approaching.
While everyone was briefly relieved and exchanging words of encouragement.
"Reporting—!"
A soldier came running urgently from inside Crossroad.
He was a scout dispatched to the observation tower. Everyone looked at him curiously.
Gasping for breath, the soldier finally shouted his report to the gathered heroes.
"A short while ago, the last observation tower... was destroyed!"
"...What?"
Evangeline, who was receiving healing magic for her burns, stood up in shock. The soldier continued.
"Immediately after the breath attack, six of Night Bringer's auxiliary heads flew to the observation tower and... destroyed it!"
"Did everyone who was stationed there return safely?!"
"Th-that is, all the soldiers of the observation team successfully escaped through the teleport gate, but..."
The soldier, eyes tightly shut, bowed his head deeply.
"To support our retreat until the end, Damien... did not make it back...!"
The blood drained from everyone's faces as they heard the news.