Present.
South Field of Crossroad. Under Night Bringer's feet.
"..."
Lucas, having heard that I am now a mix of the fake Ash and the real Ash... of 'Prince' and 'Lord', hesitated, unsure of how to react.
Maybe it was the side effect of beastification and using the cursed sword, but his expression was off.
While he seemed glad that I had returned, with his mouth twitching, I couldn't tell if he was smiling or crying.
'Well, for now, my main persona is the 'Lord'.'
Currently, the fake Ash was in control, with the real Ash occasionally helping out.
Yet, seeing Lucas made me constantly want to hit, kick, and torment him, suggesting that the real Ash's temperament was seeping through. Real Ash's character, what a piece of work.
"I'm sorry, Lord."
Lucas bowed his head to me.
"Even though you instructed us not to, in the end, we resorted to the darkness..."
Beastification.
Cursed sword.
Dragon Slayer, Nightmare Slayer, Gold Magic, Secret Arts...
I still observed the heroes fighting desperately and fiercely in various parts of Night Bringer's body.
It couldn't be helped.
To defeat the monster's body, that was the only way. I too had made reckless choices, so I wasn't in a position to blame others.
"But with darkness, we couldn't bring it down... it was a wrong choice."
Lucas knelt before me, his voice choked with regret.
"We have already... immersed ourselves in darkness. Lord. Abandon us."
"..."
"And you, Lord, walk the right path... The correct way to defeat that wicked dragon lies only at the end. So..."
Watching his shoulders tremble slightly, I couldn't hold back my impulse any longer and kicked him squarely in the butt. Wham!
"Ugh?!"
Lucas, jumping up in surprise, looked at me with an utterly wronged expression. Tears welled up in his eyes, like a bear on the verge of crying.
He looked like he would start wailing soon. Forgive me. It wasn't me; it was the real Ash's doing.
Before he could spout any nonsense, I spoke first.
"Hey, bodyguard. What did I tell you before?"
"Yes?"
"'If I forget, you lead me.'"
Speaking of old times, Lucas's blue eyes widened.
"No matter what I become, no matter what you become, our task is fixed. Even if I forget, you must not."
"..."
"Answer me, Lucas. What is your duty?"
Lowering his head slowly, Lucas replied slowly but firmly.
"To stand before you, Lord, and pave the way for you."
"Correct. Bodyguard."
Who else would I make my vanguard but you, you damn loyal knight?
"I will defeat that wretched dragon. And for that, I need you... and everyone else, Lucas."
"But I... and all of the Special Forces... have already been tainted by darkness. We can no longer harm that monster. We are finished. We are of no use anymore..."
"No."
I grinned slightly.
"If you're tainted by darkness, there's still a way for you to help me. So don't give up just yet."
"..."
Lucas looked confused.
But, isn't it obvious? Just because you take a few steps into darkness, does it mean your life is over? Do you think the game ends with a bad ending?
It doesn't.
Life continues. The fight goes on. As long as we intend to keep going.
I looked up at the sky. Lucas followed my gaze.
In the dark sky, veiled and undulating, there wasn't a single star to be seen. Only vast, bleak darkness.
"Operation name, [Night Closing]."
I mentioned the name of the counteroffensive operation with a faint smile.
"Let's close this damn night together, Lucas."
Leaving Lucas, who looked at me blankly, behind, I walked towards Night Bringer's front.
"I'll play with that dragon for a while, so gather all the Special Forces."
Looking back briefly, I gestured with my chin.
"Let's have an epic showdown."
***
Step, step, step.
As I headed towards Night Bringer's front, the evil dragon frowned, looking down at me in disbelief.
"Player."
"Seeing you so often is getting tiresome. Don't you think, Night Bringer?"
I smirked.
Honestly, I was tired, exhausted, and worn out, constantly feeling my mood sinking. Yet, the real Ash inside me kept bouncing my words up. It felt strange.
"Having already lost to me twice, you still can't acknowledge your limits and challenge me again? At this point, 'pathetic' doesn't even begin to describe it."
Night Bringer's gaze at me no longer held any curiosity for something intriguing.
Instead, it was filled with boredom, like looking at something cumbersome and annoying.
"It's different this time."
But it didn't matter how you saw me.
I was persistent and ugly, messy and vicious... I would do whatever it took to keep the game going.
"I'll show you, the completely changed me."
...Though I wanted to be serious, the real Ash inside me couldn't resist cracking jokes!
"Let me introduce myself properly again."
Standing squarely before Night Bringer, I performed a formal imperial salute.
"My name is Ash 'Born Hater' Everblack."
Then, in the style of the Bringer Duchy.
"At the same time, I'm 'Dawn Bringar'."
"...!"
As I declared my dragon name, Night Bringer's brow furrowed.
Whether he liked it or not, I continued my introduction.
"Crown Prince of the Everblack Empire, Dragonblood Duke of the Bringar Duchy, Lord of the Fortress City Crossroad, Commander of the World Guardian Front..."
I then spouted random titles.
"Owner of Hotel Crossroad, future son-in-law of the Silver Winter Merchant Guild, Godfather to Sid, Autumn Festival Dance Contest winner, Dungeon Training Camp instructor, former playboy of the Imperial Capital, stolen save data, Ironman of Hell..."
Throwing nonsense around, I slowly added a new, previously unheard title.
"And also the legitimate descendant of the Red Dragon."
Grinning, baring my teeth, I stared at the monster.
"The bastard who stole the Black Dragon's blood."
Finally, I finished my introduction.
"The current Guardian of Humanity."
That's right.
Currently, I had three overlapping statuses as a transcendent being.
Red Dragon. Black Dragon. And the Guardian of the human race.
With the world on the brink of destruction, all humanity had begun to pray for salvation... fervently desiring a savior more than ever.
Ironically, facing destruction granted me the strongest authority as the Guardian of the race.
As each day brought the end closer, my power increased exponentially, making me incomparable to my previous state.
"Hah."
Night Bringer, having listened to my list of titles and the armband on my shoulder, clicked his tongue.
"Excessive. Monstrous."
Narrowing his eyes, Night Bringer stared at me, as if multiple invisible crowns were stacked on my head.
"How many crowns... how many burdens are you going to place upon yourself?"
"I need this many to match your level."
If the gap had been insurmountable before, now it was close enough for us to see each other's faces.
"So? Do you think I've caught up to your esteemed level, World Closer?"
As I smirked, a flash of displeasure crossed Night Bringer's face.
Biting my lower lip, I raised one corner of my mouth.
'God, dragon, human, real or fake, Dawn Bringar or Born Hater, it doesn't matter.'
I was a ragtag, a melting pot, shattered pieces.
If I could bring morning back to this world, I'd recklessly swallow and use whatever I could.
At that moment.
"...I saw a beast coming out of the sea."
Night Bringer recited quietly.
"It had ten horns and seven heads. On its horns were ten crowns, and on its heads were blasphemous names."
Then, Night Bringer looked at me intently.
As if I were the monster with seven heads and ten crowns.
"...Now, it's hard to tell which of us is the monster."
"I am human."
I replied without a moment's hesitation.
"Here on the frontlines, I define what it means to be human."
"And what is that definition?"
"Humans are."
This time, I gazed intently at Night Bringer.
"One who tries to talk and understand the other."
"..."
"Even if in the end, all we can do is draw our swords and kill each other, I want to first talk and understand. So, on this frontline, no matter what crown I wear, no matter what blood flows in my veins, I am human."
I gestured toward him with my chin.
"What about you, Black Dragon?"
"Hah."
Night Bringer scoffed.
"There is no conversation to be had with you."
"Aren't we talking right now?"
"This is not a conversation. It's just a pastime, playing with something less than ants."
The next moment, Night Bringer's eyes blazed with a terrifying golden light.
"You have already been defeated by me. Player."
"..."
"No matter how many times you challenge me, no matter how many hastily made crowns you pile on your head, the gap between you and me will never close. Therefore, any conversation with you, any new challenge from you, is utterly and perpetually futile."
I smiled bitterly.
He was right, actually.
The only way to defeat Night Bringer was the first battle, the raid inside the Lake Kingdom.
To take him down underground before he landed in the world and absorbed the night. Real Ash, in past cycles where he succeeded in slaying the Black Dragon, almost always defeated him at this time. Failing then made the chances afterward almost negligible.
Having lost that raid, it was effectively over from that point.
Once Night Bringer safely ascended into the world, he absorbed the night, became the night itself, broke all norms, and flew beyond the reach of any strategy.
If this were a game, I would have given up and moved to the next cycle.
But this was reality.
The final battleground. There was no next cycle.
So, recklessly, dirtily, shamelessly, I clung on, fighting to keep the game going by any means necessary.
For any possible variable.
I just scattered as many possibilities as I could, doing my best.
"I'll carve it into your body and soul again. No matter how many times you die and rise again, in the end, you and your world are nothing but embers under my night... I will make you realize this while you wail!"
Flash-!
From Night Bringer's eyes burst an unbearably bright golden light, and the surrounding darkness began to distort and swirl.
[Forged Night]. And at an overwhelming output never seen before.
I watched as Night Bringer loaded a fatal blow powerful enough to shatter the world.
Thump...! Thump...! Thump...!
Then, the ground started to shake.
Was the earth trembling in fear before the overwhelming might of the monster trying to annihilate the world?
Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump...!
No.
No.
This had a more direct cause.
"...?"
Night Bringer, who was charging [Forged Night], flinched and looked behind himself—toward the south.
"What?"
Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump-!
Like a drumbeat, the earth roared.
The epicenter rapidly moved north from the distant south, making the entire ground tremble violently.
Yes, this sound... it was the same sound that had been echoing continuously from underground in the Lake Kingdom for days.
A sound that scraped the surface, heralding the approach of the end of the world.
The identity of this sound was—
"Could it be, this tremor is...!"
Alarmed by the massive impending earthquake, Night Bringer turned his massive body fully toward the south.
And then.
Boom-!
Like lightning, the ground split from the south, carving a long furrow, and shot dirt and rocks skyward.
Crash-!
A massive serpent, shimmering with silvery-gray scales, erupted from the ground, swimming through the earth.
The Continent Crosser.
The Civilization Devourer.
The World Serpent.
The colossal monster Crossroad faced in Stage 9. Its name was—
"Jörmungandr...!"
Night Bringer, instead of me, uttered the name with a bewildered groan.
Riding atop the giant white serpent's horned head, holding a flute, was a clown with a smiling mask.
The Pied Piper, Crown.
A prince of the Lake Kingdom who could communicate with and control monsters with his flute.
"Phew."
Crown slowly removed the flute from his lips, glanced at me, and nodded.
"I did what you asked. So."
I hope you'll keep your promise—
Crown's last words were cut off. The brown-haired boy, or rather, the young man now, who was sitting behind Crown, waved his arms at me and shouted.
"Your Highness-!"
With large brown eyes brimming with tears, Damien shouted at me.
"I believed in you! I knew you would return safely, Your Highness...!"
A smile spread across my lips.
I believed in you too, my trigger.
That you would return safely to my frontline.
***
The possibilities I had recklessly scattered were now turning into cards in my hand, one by one.
Whether this hand was a dud or a royal straight flush...
There was only one thing I could do anyway.
"All in."
Watching Jörmungandr's massive body surge towards Night Bringer, I murmured softly.
"Well then, shall we begin?"
Finally, it was time for the counterattack.