Broken shards are noisy in the night sky.
The divine protection of a white snake that shines loudly with it.
And there was a magic circle with a messy crack right in front of it.
'This is…'
Beyond the dizzyingly broken magic circle, Geronimo, with a pale complexion, reached out his arm.
The red color on his pure white lips is vivid.
"Vlad! Snap out of it!"
Vlad's vision isn't quite clear.
It feels like something warm is trickling down his forehead, likely from a blow.
"Damn it!"
Even Auguste's voice pulling him back feels distant.
Through gradually returning vision, he sees elves rushing towards Nidhogg.
"Ugh..."
"How many do you see? How many fingers am I holding up?"
Firm, sharp, and cunning.
The most formidable adversary encountered thus far.
Nidhogg approached Vlad like an insurmountable wall.
"I can't tell about the fingers, but he had three bloody claws for sure."
"...Fine. Get up."
Auguste lifted Vlad up, looking at his blue eyes that were shaking but had regained focus.
This young knight hasn't lost his resolve.
"He's going up!"
"Throw the grappling hooks!"
Shouts echo as grappling hooks are thrown from various directions.
But with just a few dozen elves, they couldn't stop Nidhogg's relentless advance.
Ahhh!
Amidst Nidhog's resounding roar, the elves tumble and falter in all directions.
Ropes tangled around his neck and feet from all directions, but it was insufficient to halt the momentum of Nidhogg, driven by hunger.
Elves pulling on the ropes were being dragged mercilessly.
"Can you do it?"
"...At least once."
At Auguste's words, Vlad quickly assessed his condition.
His armor was partially shattered, but the protection of the white snake still faintly glimmered.
Though Rutger's sword ominously wavered, its sharpness remained.
Perhaps it will be able to fulfill its role at least once.
"Do you know how to climb a tree?"
"I'm from the city, so..."
"Then it would be good to learn this time."
Auguste and Vlad's gazes were fixed on the same place.
Something dreadful climbing the World Tree under the moonlight.
The cries of spirits from above were pitiful.
"Now!"
Elves holding onto the ropes swayed back and forth.
In between them, young and old knights dashed out.
The two people, who started from the ground but had their eyes on the sky, closed their left eyes without anyone taking the initiative.
Two stars were twinkling behind the dragon climbing towards the sky.
"You bastard!"
Auguste, who arrived first in a straight line, swiftly climbed up around Nidhog's tail and plunged his sword in.
It wasn't necessarily a weak point, but it was the least defended area.
Perhaps he could divert the creature's attention here.
Ahhh!
Feeling the sharp force from behind, Nidhogg's pupils narrowed vertically.
"Kuk!"
The tail approaching dizzyingly was fierce.
Already burdened with holding onto the tree with one hand, Auguste did his best to evade.
Phew!
He narrowly dodged Nidhogg's tail.
However, thorns flew relentlessly through the swirling wood debris.
Auguste, having already experienced Nidhog's attacks once before, calmly exhaled.
"Why didn't that come out sooner?"
Auguste's narrowed eyes gleamed with a blue hue.
The original intention behind discerning weaknesses was to find the optimal path.
Through the thicket of flying thorns, Auguste saw a glimmering path.
It was the only route to avoid Nidhogg's flying thorns.
"Hup!"
Amidst the malicious thorns, the old body dodged.
Auguste's movements, cleverly avoiding thorns that were faster than arrows, were already almost magical.
"...!"
Vlad makes a big comeback following the curve.
Vlad, who had arrived on top of Nidhogg, saw Auguste's movements through his closed left eye.
The roar of the dragon and the trembling of the World Tree.
And his world, shining under the desolate moonlight, was approaching as a vivid scene.
"Now! Vlad!"
"...!"
Auguste's afterimage still lingered.
Before that image vanished, Vlad swiftly descended towards Nidhogg's head.
Ahhh!
There it is.
It was as faint as a shadow, but the path reached him.
Vlad's right eye, wide open until then, began to glow with a blue light.
"What?"
Ignoring Auguste's confusion, Vlad calmly charged towards Nidhogg's horn.
Crash!
Rutger's sword shattered into pieces.
Seeing Vlad cutting his thorns, Nidhogg's lips curled up in a sneer directed at humans.
But the target of that sneer continued to coldly stare back at him.
The human didn't stop.
"...!"
Even though it was creaking, Vlad thought it would hold up for once.
That was the only path he had seen.
"Huaaaah!"
Amidst the flying shards of the sword, Vlad's right hand began to sparkle.
From Vlad's hand, a white lightning bolt descended ruthlessly towards Nidhogg's greedy eyes.
"Laugh at me again!"
The feeling of the blade sharply digging in.
The sword was short but intense.
Suddenly, Jorge's dagger, which had been drawn, was piercing into Nidhogg's eye.
Ahhhh!
Finally, Nidhogg's agonizing scream echoed loudly through the World Tree.
The knight with the blue eyes had made a single mark on the flawless being.
It was Vlad's swing towards the colossal wall blocking him.
"Die---!"
He is Vlad of Shoara, but he's also Vlad of the back alley.
Vlad didn't hide the dark memories that formed his roots.
Jorge's shining dagger.
With a single gesture from Vlad, Nidhogg's eye was bursting out.
Grrrrr!
Die, you bastard!
In their respective wounds, the two dragons were roaring at each other.
Today, I will kill you.
I will kill you!
"Damn it!"
The agonizing struggles were intense, and the panicked movements were significant.
Auguste, overwhelmed by Nidhogg's desperate thrashing, lost his footing and missed his chance to pursue his path.
Stripped of even the smallest space to maneuver, Auguste could no longer assist Vlad.
"Watch out!"
With a warning shout, a single star that had opened a path for the young knight fell beneath the World Tree, along with the blood flowing from the last place he had stood.
"Damn!"
Vlad had no time to worry about the falling Auguste.
Nidhogg's eye was now fiercely glowing, directed at their last remaining enemy.
Crash! Roar! Crash! Crash!
The World Tree was shaking mercilessly.
Unable to detach Vlad from his head, Nidhogg was thrusting his sharp horn into the young World Tree.
Vlad was shaking violently, and blood was spraying from the burst eye.
"Argh!"
Vlad was waving back and forth like a flag, relying on Jorge's dagger that was barely inserted.
The fragments of the World Tree that burst out from behind were sharp.
"This son of a bitch!"
Though Jorge's dagger had done its best, it was not deep enough.
It would have been better to have a sword that could penetrate deeper, but this was Vlad's best.
Roar!
Finally, Nidhogg's head pierced through the trunk of the World Tree.
Though he held on tenaciously, the handle of the dagger, slick with blood, was not something Vlad could hold onto for long amidst the ongoing intense shocks.
Amidst the continued violent shocks, Vlad was finally thrown from Nidhogg's head.
"...!"
For a moment, Vlad felt the dizzying sensation of falling, and his hands were left floundering.
At that moment, the sanctuary within the World Tree, which he had seen with the girl, was empty.
The World Tree had emptied itself to receive the sunlight and moonlight down to its roots.
A single star was falling towards the spiritual roots.
The roar of the dragon from above was gradually fading from Vlad's ears.
※※※※
The air enveloping his head feels cool.
"······."
When Vlad opened his eyes with difficulty, what he saw was not Nidhogg's fierce gaze.
"······Where is this?"
Red maple leaves flutter.
What Vlad was now greeted with was the autumn scenery contained within the amber stone.
[Are you hurt?]
Vlad turned his head towards the direction where the voice came from.
Someone standing under the large maple tree.
Though only seen from behind, and though they had never met, Vlad felt like he knew who it was.
An injured young knight.
The man looking at Vlad had a subdued voice.
"······I did my best. It didn't go well."
Vlad slowly got up and walked towards him with faltering steps.
But no matter how much he walked, he couldn't get any closer to him.
"It's still not working?"
[······.]
It seemed the gap between the voice and Vlad could not be bridged yet.
After walking so hard, he still couldn't reach him. It was rather heartbreaking for the young knight.
"No matter how hard I try, it doesn't work. Nothing works."
The boy from the alley has become a knight, facing off against the dragon.
Each step, each progression was a painful journey of endurance and perseverance, yet before Vlad still loomed the towering wall and the immense world.
No matter how much he climbed, all he grasped were small successes, leaving the young knight feeling exhausted.
[······.]
The man bit his lip when he heard Vlad's crying voice coming from behind him.
How could one comfort the sadness of attempting and yet failing to reach?
[Nevertheless, I am proud of you.]
The world is often filled with more things one cannot do than things one can.
Still, the boy from the alley never stopped reaching for the star hanging above the blacksmith shop.
The voice could not forget the light shining in the boy's eyes at that moment.
[Even if no one acknowledges it, I am proud of you for looking up.]
The world may be vast and cruel.
But do not forget this.
The place you look at will soon become your world.
So, lift your head up, young knight.
"······Was I doing well?"
[Yes.]
"It's too difficult. I want to give up now."
[You've done well enough until now. Just keep doing what you've been doing.]
With each encouragement from the voice, the young knight's head lifted higher.
Having walked this path once before, I know just how difficult it is.
Young knight, you are truly doing remarkably well.
[You are right, and you are just.]
With those words, the voice threw the sword sheath hanging from his waist to Vlad.
It was a silver sword, emitting a majestic light, the sword of the Swordmaster.
"This is..."
Vlad lifted his head to look at the voice.
The figure now turned towards him.
Though the man's face was obscured by deep shadows, his lips were visible.
He was smiling.
[So now, it's your turn.]
Maple leaves are fluttering.
The vibrant red leaves filling his vision seemed to bid farewell as they spread their fingers, saying goodbye.
The figure of the smiling man under the tree was getting further and further away.
"...My turn."
As the fluttering leaves disappeared along with the autumn scene, Vlad, awakening once more, found himself gazing not at the autumn landscape but at the moonlight above.
The pure white moon was filling Vlad's blue eyes.
※※※※
Grrrr!
Finally, Nidhogg reached the top of the World Tree.
His greedy gaze fell upon the young spirits hanging between the branches.
Gazing at the multitude of terrified young spirits, Nidhogg grinned as if in delight.
His left eye was torn out.
His tail partially severed.
Despite the meager appearance, it doesn't matter.
Now, I will seize the potential of those children to become even more perfect!
"That's not going to happen."
At that moment, from somewhere, came a resolute voice.
There was a presence daring to throw cold mockery towards the one who dared to become perfect.
Whirr...
A knight with blue eyes.
His narrowed eyes were fierce like a wild dragon, but what he held was the sword of a knight—a being who held two incompatible worlds within.
Vlad of Shoara.
Grrrr!
Nidhogg burst into wild anger as he saw Vlad standing in front of him.
He couldn't shake him off no matter how hard he tried.
The only ones standing at the highest point of Ausrina were Vlad and Nidhogg.
Now, no one else would protect the spirits behind him.
Now it's my turn.
'...A little deeper.'
Vlad slowly opened his left eye, which he had been closing while taking deep breaths.
A deeper world.
He knew it was not in his eyes, but within his heart.
Now it's his turn.
Now it's his turn to protect.
A light that originated from the heart began to shine alongside the silver sword.
"Uwaaaaah!"
Grrrr!
With the starlight, abandoning the young spirits behind, began to reach out towards the dragon.
Faster and more intense than anyone else.
With only his own determination imbued within.
"..."
Vlad avoided the sharp horns by taking the nimble steps that the one-eyed knight taught him.
Swiftly, he parried the rapidly incoming thorns with the protection of the White snake and reinforced armor.
"Ugh!"
Slightly pushed back, but he held his ground through reinforced ankles with Larmund's technique.
Find the most optimal path that someone showed him today.
The worlds overlaid upon the swordsmanship of a swordmaster were opening a path for Vlad.
"Krrraaaa!"
Nidhogg, seeing the young dragon standing up against him, widened his eyes in disbelief.
To become perfect, one must climb over others' potential.
However, the young dragon with blue eyes was surpassing the wall with his own potential alone.
A sight that would make anyone proud.
Grrrr!
Vicious thorns were breaking between the torn skin.
The relentless potential, which couldn't fly alone, was splitting apart with the starlight.
The voice of the dragon, dreaming of perfection, was fading away with screams.
"Now it's my turn!"
Today, a newly emerged star was shining at the highest point of Ausrina.
So that anyone could look at it, so that anyone could look upon it.
That light was the starlight that the boy had harbored in his heart all along.