Crossroad. Blacksmith.
"...Really? Even Damien went missing during the mission."
Lucas, who was checking his equipment, spoke coldly.
"We'll have to fight without Damien's sniper support. Got it."
"...Is that all you have to say?"
Evangeline asked in a trembling voice.
"Damien is missing. Our Damien. And yet, how can you be so..."
"We're in a situation where we've lost thirty thousand soldiers, Evangeline."
Lucas replied in a flat voice as he polished the armor in front of him.
"The Duchess of Bringar is also missing, and even our Lord is missing. One more sniper going missing won't make things exceptionally worse."
"Sir!"
As Evangeline started to cry, Lucas let out a quiet sigh.
"...Above all, it's not death, but disappearance."
"What?"
"Our Lord, the Duchess, and Damien, none of their deaths have been confirmed."
Lucas's stiff voice softened, if only slightly.
"He's Damien, the one who sees the farthest and the most accurately among us. He'll know the path ahead."
"..."
"So let's prepare well for the battle ahead."
In truth, Lucas had already abandoned all hope.
He believed that Damien, Dusk Bringar, Ash... all those who were missing were probably already dead. It was far more likely that way.
Lucas was not the type to believe in false hopes. He faced reality and prepared for what was to come.
But he also knew that those who remained needed hope to keep moving until the end.
Thud!
Having finished polishing the armor, Lucas looked back at Evangeline. Seeing his cold expression, Evangeline's shoulders trembled.
"Evangeline, stay on the city wall."
"What? But!"
"The special forces are already formed and trained. Continue defending the main stronghold."
Evangeline still had a human face. She was not ready to step into hell.
On the other hand, Lucas and the special forces had trained together for the past few days and were ready to face death.
Lucas needed comrades who could deal a fatal blow to the black dragon and willingly die. Evangeline was not one of them.
"..."
And if, by any chance, the special forces managed to defeat the black dragon...
Someone needed to stay behind to continue holding this front, to take responsibility for this world.
That's why Lucas wanted to leave Evangeline behind.
Turning back to his gear, Lucas started gathering the remaining equipment. Evangeline, who had been holding back her words, reached out towards Lucas's back.
"Don't..."
Evangeline's fingertips gently touched Lucas's back.
"Don't go too far away, sir..."
"..."
"If you disappear too, then, I..."
"Evangeline."
Lucas swallowed the words he was about to say.
He gathered his equipment and left the blacksmith.
"Let's get ready. The decisive battle is near."
"..."
Watching Lucas's receding figure, Evangeline slowly lowered her head.
In a crumbling world, people's hearts were also breaking.
'Commander...'
Evangeline closed her eyes tightly, longing for the commander who wouldn't return.
'Please... come back before everything ends...'
She knew it was all a vain hope.
But still, if it were him, maybe...
***
Crossroad. Ruined warehouse district.
As she was examining the items in the only remaining warehouse with the Silver Winter Merchant Guild, Serenade heard footsteps and turned around.
She was startled to see who had entered the warehouse.
"Your Majesty...!"
The person who entered was Emperor Traha and his aide.
Serenade and the members of the guild all knelt on one knee in unison.
"Long live the great Emperor! We greet the Supreme Ruler of the Empire."
"Rise. This is not the time for formalities."
Waving off the formalities, Traha examined the items piled up in the warehouse and stroked his chin.
"I came to verify after receiving your report. These items are indeed..."
After a moment of contemplation, Traha nodded and looked at Serenade.
"I plan to take a gamble in the final battle."
Serenade's eyes widened as she kept her head bowed.
"This is the last strategy Ash left behind, the final gamble."
"..."
"I intend to stake everything on this. Can you help me?"
Serenade knelt on one knee again. Everyone in the guild followed suit in unison.
"If that is your command, Your Majesty, and the will left by the Crown Prince, I will follow it to the end."
After observing the steely determination in Serenade's silver eyes, Traha smirked.
'Leaving behind such a fine daughter-in-law, and planning to become a guest who never returns, Ash...?'
Traha glanced up at the pitch-black sky.
'Without even providing an answer to the trials I set?'
But the prodigal son remained silent.
With a bitter smile, the Emperor extended his hand forward and commanded.
"Very well, there is no time! Begin the work immediately!"
***
Time passed mercilessly, but in a world where only night remained, time no longer held much meaning.
People forgot the flow of time. They could only guess that it was midnight by the deepening darkness of the sky.
About three days had passed since the black dragon's arrival.
Crossroad. On the southern wall.
Thud...
Thud...
Thud...
Something massive was slowly approaching from beyond the southern plains, shaking the ground.
On the wall lined with torches, heroes and soldiers preparing for the final battle gulped nervously.
Thud...!
The approaching thing, with a thunderous roar, seemed more like an endless wall of darkness pushing in, rather than an evil dragon.
The south, covered and obscured by the wall of darkness, was no longer visible.
A high and thick fog-like shroud advanced, constricting their view, making people feel as if the end of the world was materializing and coming closer.
Breathing became difficult.
"..."
Lucas and the heroes of the special forces stood silently at the edge of the wall, watching as the world's end drew nearer.
Lucas meticulously observed the state of their enemy.
Night Bringer, having expanded and proliferated significantly since they last met at the Lake Kingdom just three days ago, also bore a distinct wound.
'A scar.'
A clear sword mark was left on the chest of the slowly crawling Night Bringer.
A dazzling wound crossed the giant black dragon's chest diagonally, as if light had pierced through it.
On the massive body of the beast made of night, the wound emitted a subtle glow.
Thanks to this light, they could sense the presence of the enemy moving in the deep darkness.
'That light, is it Nameless...? Is it related to the pillar of light from a few days ago?'
Additionally, there were large and small scars etched all over Night Bringer's enormous body.
These scars proved that the dragon's advance had not been smooth, that there was resistance from humans trying to bring down the beast.
However, despite all the resistance, the monster had finally reached Crossroad.
"Sir Lucas. I don't see any of its six auxiliary heads."
"..."
"Did it hide them somewhere? Or..."
Lucas squinted his eyes.
According to reports, the black dragon's auxiliary heads had attacked the observation tower where Damien was.
Could it be... that Damien had taken down all those heads?
'You've done well, Damien.'
Lucas's clenched fist tightened with resolve.
'Wait, I too, we too... will do what we must.'
As he glared at the advancing figure of Night Bringer, Lucas turned around. Behind him stood the heroes of the special forces, lined up and waiting.
Avengers who had honed their hatred to slay the black dragon.
Lucas did not speak a word to the heroes of the special forces. Language no longer held any meaning for them.
Instead, he looked at the defensive troops on the wall and nodded.
"Then, everyone. Good luck."
The defensive troops, heroes, and soldiers with pale faces nodded back.
The plan was simple.
While the defensive troops on the wall distracted the black dragon, the special forces would approach Night Bringer and finish it off.
Thud...! Thud...! Thud...!
Finally, Night Bringer reached the end of the southern plains.
The black dragon grinned wickedly, its huge maw lifting in a sinister smile, and its golden eyes gleamed with malice.
He seemed to be preparing its most powerful attack, [Forged Night].
Despite the absence of its auxiliary heads, the dragon, having absorbed all the night it could, appeared unfazed.
That wasn't all.
Various spells were being loaded with geometric patterns around the dragon's head, and the feathers on its wide-spread wings were ready to be fired.
"Prepare for defense!"
In response, the defensive line also completed their preparations.
Led by Junior, the mages readied their defensive spells, and the hastily repaired artifacts each glowed brightly.
Standing on the wall, ready to block [Forged Night] and the breath attack, was the Scalian.
Next to him was the defensive artifact [Shining Dark], made from Ipian's magic core, and... Violet, with a tense expression, mounted on Parekian.
The Scalian glanced at the special forces and smirked.
"A brilliant plan."
The biggest issue when facing the black dragon was this: its powerful interceptive measures would stop them before they even got close.
The knights and cavalry that had gone to kill the black dragon were mostly intercepted and killed before they could even touch its body.
This was also the biggest problem for the special forces aiming to kill the black dragon.
They needed to approach with minimal casualties, but whatever method they used, they were likely to be wiped out before reaching it.
But Lilly had found a way.
"Is everyone ready?"
Standing in front of the neatly lined-up special forces, Lilly cautiously asked as she adjusted the artifact in front of her.
The artifact, [Start Over!].
This large golden metal plate, when an opponent was reflected within its frame, could forcibly teleport the entire body captured within.
The place where the monster first appeared when viewed from the Crossroad stronghold. Using Ash's terminology, the wave start point. The end of the southern plain of the Crossroad stronghold.
Depending on its usage, it could serve as a time-buying measure to push the monster that had approached near the walls back to the end of the plain.
Lilly reversed the idea here.
What if, instead of targeting the enemy with this artifact... they targeted their allies?
Wouldn't it be possible to teleport all allies captured within the frame to the end of the southern plain?
Alchemists researched the artifact and verified the theory, leading to the plan's establishment.
When the northbound black dragon reached the end of the southern plain of the Crossroad. When its gaze turned towards the walls of Crossroad and it unleashed its attack.
Assassins holding the tools to kill the beast would teleport above its head.
Without giving it a chance to intercept, they would approach Night Bringer closely and unleash all their weapons on it...
And kill it.
These were beings that could be crushed to death with a single gesture from the beast, but they could at least pierce its wounds with the sharpened ends of their weapons.
Kill it before dying—such a simple plan.
Gooooo-!
Night Bringer completed its attack stance. In a few seconds, this wall would be engulfed in flames.
Lilly, calmly watching the black dragon and timing it, muttered softly.
"Somehow, it feels like I'm taking a commemorative portrait before deployment."
"..."
"So, my old friends. Make sure... to come back and check how your faces turned out."
After looking at her comrades heading into the jaws of death, Lilly barely managed to smile with trembling lips.
"Three, two, one—smile!"
Kwoooosh!
[Forged Night] and all sorts of spells and feather bombardments from the black dragon rushed towards the wall simultaneously.
Click-!
At the same time, the artifact [Start Over!] was activated.
The special forces heroes vanished from the wall as if by magic, and in the next moment, they were teleported precisely into the air above the black dragon.
"...?!"
Night Bringer, pouring its attack towards the Crossroad wall, was bewildered by this unexpected situation and simultaneously raised the corners of its mouth in amusement.
Swiiish-!
Descending rapidly from the snowy sky towards the ground dragon, none of the special forces heroes were smiling.
With eyes dry from blood tears, and faces blackened with death, they gripped their weapons tightly, diving down to kill their foe.
Nightmare Slayer and Dragon Slayer wielders, their bodies dyed in dark shadows, fell, honing their hatred and resentment.
Leading them was Lucas.
"Haaaah...!"
He was already more beast than man.
Under his wind-tousled golden hair, his icy blue eyes gleamed like those of a predator in the dead of night.
In his right hand, Lucas gripped the [Bestowed Sword], and in his left, [Excannibal].
Swoosh...!
The [Bestowed Sword] formed a blade of light, flickering unstably,
Boom-!
while [Excannibal] roared, releasing dark magic in all directions.
The bandages wrapped around his arm due to burns tore apart, revealing his left arm, black magic running through it like veins.
"Aaaahhh-!"
Simultaneously, the ultimate skill [Divine Descent] activated.
A dazzling aura erupted from Lucas's entire body.
The usual golden aura mixed wildly with the black aura of the cursed sword and the unique blue aura of his beast transformation.
This chaotic aura gathered into a circular halo behind Lucas,
whoosh-!
In the next moment, Lucas shot down faster than anyone else.
A knight who had abandoned his humanity to kill the monster screamed.
"I'll kill youuu!"
Watching the avengers descending like meteors towards him, Night Bringer's huge maw twisted into a wide grin.
And so, the decisive battle began.