"There's no way to defeat Night Bringer in his current state, no matter how hard we try."
Watching the terrifying battle between Night Bringer and Jörmungandr from a not-so-distant place, I turned around and spoke.
"He's fused with the night of this world... No matter how much damage we inflict, he'll just regenerate by merging with the night. He's practically invincible."
"..."
"Jörmungandr might hold him off for a while, but even Jörmungandr can't defeat Night Bringer."
My listener stammered as he asked.
"Th-Then... can't we defeat that evil dragon? Is the world doomed?"
"If things continue like this, yes."
I smiled faintly.
"That's why... we need to change the premise."
"Pardon?"
"Night Bringer is invincible because he's fused with the world's night. So, in other words."
I revealed the last strategy this world and I had prepared.
"We just need to 'separate him from the night.'"
"Separate him from the night...? How on earth do we do that?"
I turned around.
"Let's think simply, Sir McMillan. Fundamentally."
The person talking with me was Colonel McMillan.
Sent by the Emperor, he had come to confirm my survival and discuss the upcoming operations.
"In this world, what originally dispels the night?"
McMillan looked blank for a moment at my question.
It had been so long since he last saw it that it was difficult for him to recall. After pondering for a moment, McMillan finally answered.
"...The sun?"
"Correct."
"But the sun is..."
McMillan raised his head reluctantly, and I looked up with him. We both gazed at the sky.
"It's obscured by that dark shroud right now."
The dark shroud that covered the sky of the entire world.
The sinister and gloomy veil that Night Bringer had meticulously prepared over the past five hundred years in the darkness beneath that lake, completely occupying the vast sky.
It blocked out the sunlight and cast darkness and snowstorms upon the world.
Yes, so...
"We'll tear through that darkness."
"Excuse me...?"
McMillan, stammering as if he didn't understand, asked again. I repeated myself.
"We're going to split the sky, Sir McMillan."
"...?!"
"We'll cut through that dark shroud, letting sunlight flood the world. Drive away the night, weaken Night Bringer's power, and then defeat him... In simple terms, that's my plan."
So, the opposite is true.
We don't defeat Night Bringer to reclaim the day.
We reclaim the day to defeat Night Bringer.
McMillan, who had been listening blankly, urgently waved his hand and stepped closer to me.
"Your Highness, with all due respect, we did attempt to tear through the dark shroud when it first covered the sky!"
"..."
"We took the air fleet to the highest possible altitude to observe and attack the shroud, but the results were disastrous."
I knew that.
I had received that report as well.
"That shroud isn't just ordinary darkness. Simply approaching it caused all the crew members to suffer from mental contamination, and our bombardment didn't affect it at all."
McMillan calmly voiced his objections.
"Furthermore, analysis suggests that the shroud is layered dozens, if not hundreds, of times... Like it's alive, trying to 'devour' anything that comes close with grotesque tendrils and claws."
"..."
"That dark shroud is as horrifying and sinister as Night Bringer himself. How do you propose to cut through it?"
After listening carefully to his well-organized objections.
I nodded.
"Honestly, I didn't originally intend to carry out this plan."
With the means we had, there was no way to cut through the dark shroud. So, I had only conceptualized it as a last resort, never seriously intending to use it.
"But, the situation has changed."
"The situation has changed?"
"Look over there."
I pointed to a slightly distant southern sky.
"Do you see it?"
"What do you mean..."
At that moment.
Sparkle.
In the far-off high sky where I pointed, something glimmered.
McMillan hastily took out binoculars from his pocket and observed that point. Then, he slightly opened his mouth.
"Could it be..."
"Yes."
I clasped my hands behind my back and nodded.
"A full day ago, the dethroned princess of the Lake Kingdom gathered all her light to strike Night Bringer, but he narrowly escaped. And then."
During the battle fought by the real Ash, Dusk Bringar, and Nameless against Night Bringer.
"The massive pillar of light that emerged then reached the sky."
The pillar of light that Nameless fired at the end undoubtedly touched the dark shroud.
That fierce vortex of light tore through the seemingly immaculate sky-
"It burned away the darkness at that point."
It left a scar.
"A 'crack' was formed."
Having transcended, I could see that distant sky clearly without binoculars.
It was even brighter because the light scattered by Nameless was embedded in the pitch-black sky like stardust.
"We can't waste it. The one and only path my friend gave up his soul to create...!"
After confirming the 'damage' engraved on the dark shroud.
McMillan slowly lowered his binoculars and stammered his next question.
"I saw the crack in the shroud too. But it's just a crack, we'll need to make additional attacks. Merely approaching it causes mental contamination, making it hard to move properly. How do you plan to attack?"
I smiled faintly.
"With people."
"Pardon?"
"We have those on our side who can endure that vile air up close."
As soon as I finished speaking.
"My lord."
A voice came from the side. McMillan and I turned towards it.
"I've assembled the entire Special Forces."
Standing there were my heroes who embraced darkness to fight it.
Led by Lucas, there were Kellibey, Verdandi, Kuilan, Torkel, Dearmudin, Chain, Nobody... Along with several reserve heroes wielding Dragon Slayers.
They all looked at me in disbelief, so I lifted my weary lips into a smile to meet their expectations.
"Why are you all looking at me like you've seen a ghost? It's really me."
"..."
"I did die once, but I've returned nonetheless."
I then spread my arms wide.
"We don't have much time, but we can still manage a hug... Ugh?!"
I was punched.
Kellibey, who had charged at me, swung his fist and struck me. Following him, Verdandi pinched my whole body, and Dearmudin hit my head with his staff.
The rest of the heroes, unable to bring themselves to hit me, surrounded me and fumed.
Kellibey, who had led the charge, glared at me with teary eyes and shouted.
"We thought you were dead, you bastard!"
"I did die. I came back to life... Well, it's a bit different technically..."
It seemed silly to explain that I had evolved from being shattered to being super shattered, so I just let them hit me.
"Everyone is safe... It doesn't seem like it, but I'm glad we could meet again, alive."
Though everyone was crying and yelling, after some effort, the atmosphere settled.
I glanced around. There stood a werewolf with a silver-red mane, trying to appear calm.
I called out abruptly.
"Hey, Lunared."
"Argh?!"
Lunared, the shadow of a nightmare that possessed Kuilan's body, coughed violently.
"W-What are you saying, Captain?"
"Stop pretending, you bastard. I can see right through you."
Currently, I was in a state where three transcendental auras overlapped.
I could immediately grasp Kuilan's condition. This guy had overexerted himself and given his body to Nightmare Slayer.
"A-Are you blind after all this time away... It's me! Kuilan!"
Lunared avoided eye contact and continued to act evasively.
I folded my arms and sighed deeply, then whispered to him.
"Lunared, you bastard."
"How dare you insult this great Wolf King-!"
Immediately, Lunared gasped and covered his mouth with both hands. It worked perfectly. Ridiculous.
"You're not Kuilan, you're Lunared?!"
"This damn wolf dares to take Kuilan's body...!"
"Exorcise him! Expel him! Give Kuilan back!"
The other heroes surrounded Lunared, their eyes blazing. Lunared raised his claws with a distressed expression.
Lunared was undoubtedly a formidable monster, but having reincarnated by taking over Kuilan's body, he couldn't exert the full power he had as the Nightmare Legion's commander.
On the other hand, our side was filled with heroes who had immersed themselves in darkness, their destructive power breaking through the ceiling.
In the tense atmosphere, I was pondering what to do when I noticed something.
"..."
Immediately, I waved my hand.
"Enough. Everyone, lower your weapons and calm down."
"My lord? But."
"That guy is definitely Lunared right now... but it's fine."
I smiled faintly.
"It's fine. Let's trust Kuilan."
Saying that, I gestured towards a spot on Lunared's body, and the heroes, after seeing it, gradually lowered their weapons one by one.
"...?"
Lunared still didn't understand the situation, keeping his claws raised and looking around warily.
"Everyone, I know you have a lot to say... but time is of the essence."
Whether he's Kuilan or Lunared, we don't have time to fight. More urgent is dealing with Night Bringer over there.
"While Jörmungandr buys us time, let's go and do our job."
"Where are we going?"
"To Crossroad first, so we can reach the sky."
After nodding towards the precarious castle wall, I led the way.
"We have our target location, now we need to find a way to get there. Let's go!"
The heroes followed me en masse.
I gestured to Lunared, who was awkwardly standing alone in the back.
"Hey, Lunared! You come too!"
"Uh... what?"
"If the world ends, you're finished too! We need to get rid of that Black Dragon first if you want to devour whatever's left. Right?"
I smirked.
"Hurry up and follow! It's a temporary alliance until we defeat Night Bringer!"
***
"Ha...!"
Standing dazed for a moment, Lunared slowly followed Ash and the humans, his crimson eyes glinting.
He didn't know why they hadn't restrained him despite knowing his identity, but he was confident they would regret such a foolish decision.
'For now, I'll pretend to ally with you to kill the Black Dragon... but after that, immediately!'
I will devour you all...!
Plotting secretly, Lunared licked his lips. It was crucial to lower their guard as much as possible.
He retracted his claws and calmed his aura, ready to quietly follow the group when...
"Huh?"
Lunared looked down at his hand, puzzled.
In his hand was a round ball of silver fur, seemingly made from his own body.
"What is this?"
Lunared realized belatedly.
When surrounded by the human heroes earlier, he had unconsciously gathered the fur from his body into this ball.
He also realized that this was what made the human heroes lower their hostility.
"...?"
Could it be that the owner of this body, Kuilan, had a ridiculous habit of making fur balls when nervous?
Baffled, Lunared threw the fur ball behind him and followed the group.
Caught in the earth-shaking vibrations caused by the two colossal monsters, the silver fur ball was swept away into the swirling snowstorm, disappearing from sight.