The walls, brought from New Terra and rebuilt with all of humanity's technology, still stood firm amidst the chaos.
Though more sections had collapsed than remained intact, the walls were still standing, and people capable of fighting were gathered atop them.
"Your Majesty!"
Led by Junior, people who saw me return alive for the first time ran to me, crying out. While I appreciated the tearful welcomes, now was not the time for such emotions...!
Thankfully, everyone quickly calmed down.
Boom! Ka-ka-ka-boom!
To the south, Night Bringer and Jörmungandr continued their apocalyptic battle.
The split ground and emerging night swirled together in the air. Just watching it sent chills down my spine.
"...Senior."
Evangeline, who was rallying the troops, looked back at me, and I nodded.
"Good. Is everyone gathered?"
I had already sent Elize here to gather the troops and supplies.
I quickly explained the 'Night Closing' operation to the heroes and soldiers on the wall.
Though everyone looked exhausted, they focused because they knew this operation was our last chance for a counterattack.
"So, soon the airship will depart to pierce the Veil of Darkness... we need to support from the ground."
"What do you mean by support...?"
"Though there are gaps in the Veil, it continues to repair itself... the gaps have narrowed. We need to widen those cracks."
I looked at Damien and nodded.
"Damien will target those gaps."
Damien nodded back. He had been observing the rifts in the sky from the observation tower. He knew their precise locations better than anyone.
"But Damien's magic bullet alone isn't powerful enough. So... everyone here needs to lend their strength."
Evangeline and Junior widened their eyes.
"Lend our strength?"
"Yes."
As soon as I finished speaking, Lilly and the alchemists came struggling with something from inside the city.
"We brought it, Your Majesty!"
It was Burnout's special large-scale ballista.
Originally designed with various customizations in mind, it had been used in many ways, such as connecting to the Dandelion Corps Commander's magic core. We intended to utilize that aspect this time as well.
'Thank you for your legacy, Burnout.'
Bodybag, lifting the equipment with telekinesis, skillfully began setting up the ballista.
The large ballista was quickly installed atop the wall, and the alchemists connected it to the magic core and various artifacts.
"Damien, over here!"
Called by Lilly, Damien ran and fitted [Black Queen] to the top of the ballista.
As I watched the assembly of this unprecedented temporary magic bullet launcher, I explained to the remaining heroes.
"We will divide the heroes into four groups: spiritists, magicians, priests, and everyone else."
Nodding at Hannibal and the spiritists, I continued.
"First, the spiritists will enchant Damien's magic bullet."
Spiritists are skilled at 'imbuing.' They can embed spirits into equipment or attribute properties to objects...
They would coordinate the entire magic bullet enchantment process.
"Next, the magicians will compress their magic and infuse it into the magic bullet."
Magicians will enhance the magic bullet's 'power.'
Junior, understanding my intent with a simple command, nodded and led the magicians to the launcher.
I then looked at Zenith and Rosetta. Despite being covered in bandages from battle injuries, their eyes were sharp.
"Priests will convert divine power to light through the magic concentrator, helping the bullet resist darkness as much as possible."
Priests will handle 'light.'
The primary goal of this operation was to penetrate the Veil of Darkness. And priests had the highest efficiency in converting light through the magic concentrator.
Their role was to imbue the magic bullet with light to counter the darkness.
At my command, the priests nodded in unison and ran to the launcher.
"And everyone else, protect the launcher to ensure stable firing."
Led by Evangeline, the frontline heroes nodded.
The situation throughout this area was dire. If unexpected variables arose, the frontline heroes needed to protect the launcher... and Damien.
"Alright. Everyone, make the best shot. I'm counting on you."
"Yes, sir!"
After watching everyone run off to their respective tasks,
I headed to the end of the wall. There, two familiar dragons awaited me.
"Scalian, Parekian."
"Ash, you really came back."
Scalian's body was scorched and blistered, likely from blocking the breath attacks.
With a nerdy expression on his massive dragon face, he looked me over and then chuckled.
"You're still fighting even after becoming 'like that'? Truly indomitable will."
"I'll take that as a compliment."
I gestured with my chin and stood at the edge of the wall.
"Come with me, Scalian. Parekian. I need you both."
Orders had been given to the troops who would board the airship and those who would support it with sniper shots.
Now, I planned to return to the battlefield... to the place where those colossal mythical creatures were fighting.
Just then.
"Me, me, me too!"
A small figure stepped forward hesitantly from between the two dragons.
"I'll go too, Your Majesty!"
"Violet?"
It was Violet, the leader of the Gambler's Club and an illusionist.
Surprised by the unexpected request from an unexpected person, I blinked in astonishment.
Standing before me, Violet's shoulders and body trembled, but her eyes held a determined resolve.
"..."
After meeting her gaze and peering into her inner thoughts, I chuckled.
"Alright, if that's the case."
I put my foot on the wall's railing and looked towards the distant south.
"Good, there are five of us... a full party."
Me. Crown. Scalian. Parekian. And Violet.
Shattered commander, immortal clown, nerdy eastern dragon, enigmatic western dragon, and human illusionist.
I had no idea what kind of nonsensical combination this was, but anyway, it was a party of five.
Scalian smoothly glided through the air and landed at the edge of the wall. I climbed onto his back first and extended my hand to Violet.
"Are you ready to become a legend, hero?"
Violet took a deep breath, nodded emphatically, and grabbed my hand to climb onto Scalian's back.
Parekian quickly followed, and Crown grumbled as he climbed on last.
"Am I naturally included too?"
"Were you planning to laze around here forever? You will act as the interpreter to make Jörmungandr follow my orders. Let's go."
With everyone aboard Scalian,
Thwack!
Scalian's body coiled like a spring in the air, then shot forward in an instant. We flew towards the place where Night Bringer and Jörmungandr were battling.
Or rather, we tried to fly there...
Shortly after taking off, we were all taken aback.
"...?"
"What?"
"What is that."
At the southern edge of the plains.
The place where the two mythical creatures had been fighting.
Where night and ground, darkness and earth were chaotically swirling together, suddenly fell silent—
Whoosh...!
From that place, something massive was flung outward.
The enormous object, spraying blood everywhere, flew through the air towards Crossroad. I recognized the identity of that gray mass a moment late.
It was...
"...My God."
It was the lower half of Jörmungandr's body, torn off by force.
Night Bringer had ripped Jörmungandr's body in half from the middle, then thrown the tail half towards Crossroad.
***
With a roar from the rear thrusters, the airship 'La Mancha' shot up from the hangar.
Following it, the skeletal remains of 'Alcatraz' rose into the sky as if escorting La Mancha.
The two airships soared side by side, rising higher into the dark sky. Long flames trailed from the rear of the two airships, illuminating the darkness.
"Airship launch confirmed!"
"Operation Night Closing has begun!"
Scouts on the wall shouted busily as they watched the airships take off.
Click, click, click—!
Damien exhaled deeply as he converted [Black Queen] into a railgun-like form.
The long barrel of [Black Queen], combined with the mounted ballista, was aimed high into the sky.
Artifacts were attached haphazardly, making it difficult to determine where the barrel (銃身) began or ended, causing the magic bullet launcher to become enormous.
Damien, almost lying down in the gunner's seat, stared into the distant sky and slowly placed his finger on the trigger.
Crackle, crackle...
The seven magic bullets of Black Queen had already completed the process of merging into one while rotating in the air.
And the merged magic bullet underwent individual processes by the magicians, priests, and spiritists.
"Magic power charging, complete!"
On one side, the magicians refined and infused magic power into the bullet,
"Light concentration through the concentrator, complete!"
The priests also crammed the compressed light into the bullet.
"All enchantment processes completed!"
Hannibal, who oversaw all these processes and finally summoned wind spirits to surround the bullet, spoke while sweating profusely.
"I don't know if it's the strongest, but it's definitely the best shot we have...!"
"..."
"Due to the unprecedented excessive enchantments packed into one bullet, its duration is extremely short! The spirits will hold out as long as they can, but—"
Hannibal was about to explain further when—
Whoosh...!
A sudden gust of wind blew.
The startled heroes all turned in that direction, then gasped.
Squeeeeal—!
Flying towards Crossroad.
It was the long, severed tail of Jörmungandr, thrown by Night Bringer.
Evangeline, standing guard in front of the launcher, groaned.
"What is this...?!"
Shhh—!
In the sky, the magic barrier Ash had deployed appeared, but it couldn't fully block the overwhelming mass flying towards it.
The tail of Jörmungandr, having bounced off the magic barrier once, flew straight towards the southern wall of Crossroad.
There was no way to stop it.
Boom—!
The wall, which had withstood countless attacks, finally crumbled completely.
The magic bullet launcher installed on the wall was shattered along with it.
***
Boom, boom...
Amidst the rubble of the collapsed wall.
"..."
Sitting atop the broken launcher debris, holding Black Queen in both hands. Damien still aimed at the sky.
And all the other heroes, covered in blood, surrounded him, standing guard.
Despite the unprecedented disaster of the wall's collapse, Damien remained unharmed thanks to protective magic and the heroes' physical defense. While all the other heroes fell and got injured, they protected him with a united effort.
"Kh..."
Evangeline, who had taken the brunt of the falling wall debris for Damien, trembled at the corners of her mouth.
"Can you shoot, Damien?"
"...Of course."
The launcher was destroyed, but the magic bullet was already completed.
Though the target was out of sight, he had already seen it with his own eyes.
Damien, sitting in the rubble that now surrounded him like a well, smiled faintly.
"I've done it before."
The next moment, the sniper's finger pulled the trigger.
Boom—!
With a dazzling burst of magical flame, the bullet shot out of the barrel like a bolt of lightning returning to the sky.
The magic bullet pierced the darkened sky, illuminating it sharply as it ascended endlessly.
Like the last fireworks they all watched together during the autumn festival...
Boom...!
Suddenly, dark clouds gathered in the southern sky, and the white snow falling from the sky turned black and sticky like tar.
A pitch-black snowstorm raged fiercely, pouring down towards the ascending magic bullet. It seemed as if the sky itself was trying to thwart the bullet.
But the pure white magic bullet, drawing an impossible trajectory, pierced through the layers of the snowstorm.
It accurately reached its intended target, the scar in the southern sky.
Silently, the magic bullet burrowed into the Veil of Darkness.
...
And in the next moment.
Rip—!
The dark clouds tore apart, creating a massive hole in the Veil of Darkness.
It was as if a deep wound had been inflicted upon the sky.
"Target confirmed."
Inside the bridge of the airship 'La Mancha.'
Lucas murmured without inflection as he confirmed the breach in the Veil of Darkness.
"We're going in."
Following Lucas's order, Kellibey pulled the control stick sharply.
Boom!
Inside the airship, which shook violently as it changed direction, the eyes of the special forces heroes preparing for battle glinted fiercely.
"Let's go."
Staring at the next layer of the Veil of Darkness spread endlessly above the breached veil, Lucas growled.
"To cut through the night."