Chapter 776
I was defeated in Stage 50.
The final strategy failed, and the world was destroyed.
Fifteen years have passed since then.
In this ruined world, survivors are still clinging to life.
And I am still rebelling.
Against the fate of destruction that has already come…
* * *
"…"
While tidying up my appearance, I looked in the mirror.
Through my black hair, which has grown long over 15 years of not being properly cut, I see my still-young face.
Since inheriting the power of two dragons, I no longer age.
But in my deeply sunken, tired eyes, the undeniable passage of time can be felt.
For some reason, I now…
Look very much like my father, Traha, who is already dead.
"…"
I turned away from the mirror, full of cracks and dirty stains.
I had to attend Lilly's funeral.
* * *
Lilly's funeral was held simply.
For 15 years after the world's destruction, Lilly had been a great help to us despite being unable to move her legs.
She appropriately distributed our scarce resources, placed our limited manpower where it was most needed, and supplemented our lack of warmth with her fire magic.
Without her, the remnants of our World Guardian Front wouldn't have been able to carry out even our last resistance activities properly.
But Lilly, who seemed like she would endure strongly forever, fell ill recently and didn't last long after that.
"This is a good death, isn't it?"
Looking at Lilly's face laid on the frozen pile of firewood, Sid spoke indifferently.
"In a world like this, to be able to die with one's limbs intact, in the arms of those who care for you, by the warmth of a bonfire… how fortunate is that?"
"…"
Sid remained calm even in the face of his mother's death.
This wasn't bravado or pretending to be strong. Truly, Sid considered it fortunate that Lilly died this way.
This child, who grew up in a ruined world, sincerely thought so.
And in reality, dying from illness was considered a relatively intact end. Compared to the miserable deaths of other heroes who fell before…
In this world that has become like this, cremation was indeed the only funeral method that could fully preserve the peace of the deceased.
Other methods couldn't maintain the integrity of the body for various reasons.
We prepared Lilly's funeral near the entrance of the cave we were using as a hideout. We gathered what little firewood we had and sprinkled hard-to-obtain oil.
At that moment, one of the heroes keeping watch around us approached me and quietly spoke.
"Your Highness."
I turned to see a woman with indigo hair dressed as a mortician.
It was Elize, the mortician swordswoman, one of the few remaining skilled warriors in the current World Guardian Front.
She wore an eyepatch over her lost right eye and a magical prosthetic in place of her lost left arm, but the sword coffin on her back was the same as 15 years ago.
Inside the sword coffin were the weapons of fallen comrades preserved.
The belongings of Serenade, who was her lost master and my lover, would also be preserved in Elize's sword coffin.
"Your Highness."
While I was momentarily dazed thinking about Serenade, Elize called me again.
Even though the world has been destroyed and Everblack no longer exists as a country.
Elize still called me Your Highness. Even in a world where status no longer matters. Even though my coronation will never happen.
"If we light such a large fire, 'they' will notice us."
"…"
"Their encirclement is already closing in on us. If we light a fire now and they pinpoint our location, we'll have to abandon this hideout we've just found."
It had been only a week since the remnants of our World Guardian Front moved to this cave, escaping from 'their' pursuit.
It was a comfortable hideout found after a long time. It was a shame to give it up.
But even if we hold out longer, it's only a matter of days. After that, we'll eventually be discovered by them and have to find a new hideout.
As we've done for the past 15 years.
"Do you have a place in mind for the next hideout?"
When I asked, Elize hesitated before slowly nodding. I nodded back.
"We can't carelessly conduct Lilly's funeral. Even if we have to move our hideout earlier than planned, let's send Lilly off properly."
"…Understood."
A faint sadness clearly swirled in Elize's eyes as she stepped back.
Although she had witnessed the deaths of countless comrades and recovered their weapons, Lilly's death seemed painful for her too.
Funerals in this era were really nothing special. What use is there in praying for blessings in the afterlife in an already ruined world?
We just quietly mourn and light the fire.
'…In the past, priests would bless the afterlife, soldiers would fire salutes into the sky, and I would recite poetry.'
I suddenly recalled funerals from the world before its destruction.
Come to think of it, when was the last time I recited poetry?
After the destruction, with too many people dying and unable to hold proper funerals, I stopped reciting poems for the deceased.
As much as I cared for Lilly, I wanted to utter even a single verse, but.
"…"
Now, I couldn't even recall a decent verse properly. I kept my mouth shut.
After everyone's mourning ended, it was time to light the fire.
Sid, who had been standing quietly beside me with an emotionless expression, snapped his fingers. Magical fire ignited the firewood beneath Lilly.
We watched Lilly burn, engulfed in flames, until the very end.
She had been my comrade since 18 years ago, when I first faced the black spider legion at the forward base.
Now that Lucas and Damien, who shared those times with us, were already dead or missing.
The departure of Lilly, the last veteran hero, made my insides churn.
The fierce magical flames soon subsided, leaving only ashes where Lilly had lain.
Sid waved his hand once more, and a gust of wind scattered even those ashes, making them disappear.
This was a funeral in the age of destruction, and it was the cleanest ending among the funerals I had seen over the past 15 years.
And for good reason.
Squeak…
Squeak squeak squeak squeak.
After the destruction, this world became infested with 'them'.
Before we knew it, a horde of rats had gathered around the entrance of our hideout cave. Moving like waves, they surrounded us from afar, their blood-red eyes glinting.
It's unclear what these rat hordes eat to maintain such numbers in this ruined world, but one thing is certain: they don't leave the bodies of my heroes alone.
To avoid desecrating the deceased, cremating and scattering even the ashes is the best option. At least Lilly's death will not be defiled by those creatures.
'…A good death, huh.'
Thinking of Lilly, who had now disappeared from this world without a trace, I took a long breath.
'A good death… '
I could feel the rat horde, undulating like waves in the distance, gradually closing in.
I looked around and said.
"Let's move. To the next hideout."
Once the rat horde starts to swell, it becomes unmanageable.
But more fearsome than the rat horde is the arrival of 'what comes next'.
The rat horde is merely the eyes, nose, and ears of the real enemies. Just scouts controlled by the real enemies.
Before the real enemies arrive, we must flee.
The survivors had already packed their belongings. In fact, it was an era where there wasn't much left to pack.
We began to move, following the guidance of Elize, our pathfinder. The rat horde surrounding us scattered all at once, making way.
While still fixing their bright red gazes on us.
Trying hard to ignore the rat horde, we advanced into the frozen world where white ash fell like rain.
In the distance, a black storm was approaching.
* * *
On the way to the next hideout.
With our robes or cloaks pulled up to cover our heads, we walk through the endlessly falling ash.
Although it was such a fierce downpour of ash that we could barely see straight ahead, we remained calm. In fact, this level of weather was barely considered bad weather, just an ordinary day.
That's the kind of era it was.
"Do you regret it?"
Suddenly, such a question came from beside me.
I turned to see Sid. The small boy was calmly climbing the ash-covered hill where his feet sank with each step.
I asked back.
"Regret what? Holding your mother's funeral? Leaving our hideout because of it?"
"No."
Clear eyes gazed at me from between the boy's heavily covered robe.
"Fifteen years ago, on the day of the last defensive battle, the choice you made."
"…"
"In the end, that choice of yours made this world like this, didn't it? Do you… regret it?"
I was momentarily dazed.
It was because my memory of what my choice was 15 years ago was unclear.
'Back then, when we reached Stage 50, I… '
Instead of killing 'The Sleepless Lake Princess', I tried to save her.
To do that, I met the Demon King separately…
Throb!
Instead of the moment of choice that didn't come to mind clearly, memories of the terrible consequences that followed the failed strategy overwhelmed me like a tidal wave.
Crossroad burning.
The final boss, 'The Sleepless Lake Princess', finally breaking through.
And following her, an infinite… truly endless horde of monsters.
Melting walls, the soldiers on them evaporating together.
"…"
I tried to communicate with 'The Sleepless Lake Princess' until the very end.
Because I believed it was the only way of strategy that could lead to the true ending.
But the final boss merely swung her sword mercilessly.
At this time, Serenade pushed me aside and took 'The Sleepless Lake Princess's' sword instead, dying in my arms.
Lucas stood alone against the enemy commander to allow me to escape from 'The Sleepless Lake Princess'. And he continued fighting until he sent all of us out of Crossroad.
I don't know his final moments.
"…"
Torkel died fighting, guarding the front gate until the end.
Kuilan, Kellibey, Verdandi, and the Rompeller siblings maintained the resistance line until the very end with the blessing of their racial gods, but eventually collapsed before the endless wave of monsters.
Numerous soldiers and kings sacrificed themselves to buy time.
To save me.
After escorting the group of defeated soldiers I led to the outskirts of Crossroad, Evangeline turned back and rushed into Crossroad again at the last moment.
Saying she would meet an end befitting the heir of House Cross.
Saying she didn't want to leave Lucas alone.
She ran into her hometown now swarming with demons and monsters.
I don't know her final moments.
"…"
On this day, the World Guardian Front was annihilated.
And the world began its destruction.
The endless horde of monsters led by 'The Sleepless Lake Princess' burned every land, sea, and sky in this world.
We, the final remnants of the World Guardian Front, tried to organize a resistance force to fight back somehow, but they were infinite and we had lost all our elites.
Even those who managed to survive lost their lives one by one during the 15 years of life on the run that followed.
And so, here we are now.
In a world that has already been destroyed, where the earth is frozen and the sky is burning.
We are living because we cannot die.
I am wandering through this hell… searching for a non-existent move to turn the tables.
"I heard from Mom."
Sid asked me again as I remained silent.
"That day, before the final battle, there was a chance to kill that monster. But you chose dialogue over war, and as a result, the world ended up like this."
"…"
"Do you regret it?"
I felt suffocated under the boy's clear gaze.
"If you could go back to that day's choice… would you change it?"
"…"
The answer didn't come easily.
That's when it happened.
"Your Highness!"
Elize, who was leading the way at the front of our group, shouted urgently.
"Enemy!"
Thud thud thud thud…
The sound of hoofbeats rang out in the distance and quickly drew near.
All survivors hurriedly drew their weapons. Elize shouted at the top of her lungs.
"It's the Apocalypse Knights-!"
As soon as her shout rang out, cavalry with fluttering cloaks charged at us from all directions, cutting through the ash downpour.
Plague.
Famine.
War.
Death.
These enemies that have tormented us relentlessly since the destruction descended upon us like dark clouds, swinging their weapons.
Chapter 777
Apocalypse Knights.
These monsters we once defeated have appeared in this world again.
But when you think about it, it's only natural.
This is the world after the end of the world.
It's not surprising that monsters symbolizing destruction, embodying the concept of annihilation, would revive and rampage.
Boom boom boom boom!
Through the hazy view caused by the swirling ashes, Apocalypse Knights charged in from all directions.
"Form a circular defense! Take defensive positions-!"
I shouted, reaching for the flagpole at my waist — but it wasn't there.
Only then did I realize.
My flagpole, in the form of a ceremonial longsword, [■■ ■■■], was destroyed 15 years ago.
"…Kuk!"
I tried to deploy my exclusive armor, but it was the same.
Clink, clink, clank-!
The chain mail armor, [■■ ■■ ■■], that once fully covered my body had been damaged during the long battle, and with the remaining chain parts, I could only form something like a gauntlet that barely covered one hand.
I grabbed that gauntlet and struck the head of an approaching Apocalypse Knight.
Thwack-!
The one hit by my fist had half its head blown off, but soon it regenerated the injured part and stood up like a zombie.
'Damn it!'
These were tough enemies even 15 years ago.
And now they've become even stronger with this apocalyptic era as their battlefield.
They're too strong for us to handle, having lost most of our ace heroes and reduced to a group of defeated soldiers.
"Kheuk!"
Even Elize, our strongest vanguard swordsman, couldn't withstand the fierce attack of the enemy cavalry and kept retreating.
The rest of the survivors fell, spewing blood, or rolled on the ground screaming.
In an instant, our defense collapsed. I gritted my teeth.
'At this rate…!'
Inevitably, I tried to awaken the dragon's power within me.
There's a price I have to pay every time I use this power, but now is not the time to be picky!
"Lord."
At that moment, a light touch landed on my shoulder.
"Leave it to me."
"…!"
Whoosh-!
With a sound of the air boiling.
Sid, who had suddenly floated up into the sky, looked around with his characteristically emotionless eyes.
Behind the boy, a dazzling rainbow-like radiance was bursting out in all directions.
That's right.
The reason why our World Guardian Front, weakened and tattered as we are, could still survive without being completely annihilated.
It's all thanks to this boy.
Flash-!
Countless magic elements poured out from behind Sid's back and began to merge into a massive ring shape.
The Mana-Chosen.
A genius among geniuses who learned the basics from Dearmudin, was trained by Junior, and surpassed even their achievements.
Now that the two previous Archmages are dead, he is the last Archmage of humanity, carrying on their legacy.
This is the boy before my eyes, Sid.
Clap-!
As Sid lightly clapped his hands together and then spread them left and right, the rings of light that had been spinning around the boy's body flashed out in all directions.
"…!"
Black darkness gushed out like blood from the bodies of the Apocalypse Knights hit by these rings of light.
More than half of the Apocalypse Knights died instantly and sprawled on the ground, while the rest barely pulled themselves together and quickly turned back.
Boom boom boom boom…!
The enemies are retreating.
As I watched them move away, I let out a sigh of relief.
"Thank you, Sid. We survived thanks to you."
"…But many still died."
Sid, who had landed next to me, muttered indifferently as he looked at the fallen comrades on the ground.
The enemy's surprise attack was brief, but in the short time until Sid unleashed his magic to repel them, it had inflicted great damage on our side.
The survivors gathered the bodies of their fallen comrades.
We lit a fire and blankly watched as the lives turned into another form of ash amidst the falling cinders.
"Let's go, Your Highness."
Elize, adjusting her sword coffin, jerked her chin.
"The new hideout is far. We need to walk quickly before the enemies attack again."
Leaving the pervasive death behind, we silently marched forward once more.
How long did we walk like that?
The place Elize guided us to was a ruined city.
As the earth's axis continues to twist and the land repeatedly decomposes and reassembles, it's impossible to know exactly where in the continent this city was before the apocalypse.
We can only be grateful that we can shelter from the ashen rain for one night.
"The hideout I scouted is still half a day's walk away. Let's stay here for tonight and continue moving tomorrow."
We unpacked in one of the ruined buildings and prepared to camp.
After setting up watch shifts, people in the ruins collapsed one by one as if fainting.
As usual, I sat at the entrance of the building, trying to think about tomorrow's plans, but extreme fatigue interfered with such thoughts.
I was tired.
My eyes closed involuntarily.
* * *
"Do you often have nightmares, Ash?"
A sweet voice, but one I never want to hear again, comes from in front of me.
"…"
I glared ahead.
I'm sitting at a table, and seated across from me is the Vampire King.
Celendion.
With his bright red eyes twinkling amiably, twirling a wine glass in one hand. He's smiling at me.
"Nightmares uncover the deepest fears in a person's inner self. They show you what you fear most in a tangible form."
I know.
This is a memory from long ago.
Stage 5.
Part of a conversation I had with him during the 'Commander's Meeting' amidst the final battle with the Bloodkin Legion.
"But imagine this. What if that nightmare doesn't end with the dream, but comes out into reality?"
Celendion stared intently at the wine glass in his hand.
"If it crawls out from the other side as a living, breathing monster with a clear form. If that monster stands before your eyes and looks into you. How would that feel?"
This is a meaningless, empty koan.
"Well then, young human. Let me ask you once more."
Even though I know this, I found myself drawn into his words without realizing it.
"Do you often have nightmares? What is it that you fear most?"
What I fear most?
That is…
"I hope it's not too terrible."
Celendion slowly turned his gaze.
There stood the familiar walls of Crossroad from Stage 5, sturdy and strong.
"Whatever it is, if you look too deeply into it, it might become reality."
And on those walls.
There are the figures of dear comrades who fought alongside me long ago.
Someone among them is shouting something.
Desperately reaching out their hand towards me.
As if earnestly hoping their voice would reach me…
I can't hear the voice.
But I can read their lips.
"My Lord-!"
* * *
"Lord."
I opened my eyes with a start.
Once again, I tumble from the nostalgic mire of the distant past into the barren reality.
A ruined world where ash rains down.
This is my reality now.
"Lord. Please eat."
Sid, who had approached me without my noticing, was holding out a skewer of meat.
Along with the heat of what seemed to be freshly grilled, a pungent smell hit me. I waved my hand.
"No. I don't have an appetite…"
"…Then, can I eat this? I'm hungry after using magic."
"Sure. If you want."
Sid then quietly began to eat the meat skewer that was meant for me.
That skewer is made of rat meat.
It tastes bad, smells awful, and has little nutritional value, but it's one of the few food sources available to us in these times.
"Is it edible?"
"No, it tastes bad."
Sid mumbled as he quickly finished the rat meat skewer while chewing.
"But at least we don't have to eat each other, right?"
"…"
Unlike his bleak and cynical voice, Sid's face as he licked his greasy fingers was still young.
Born in such an era, forced to become a premature adult… As I quietly watched this child, I suddenly asked.
"Sid, do you remember cotton candy?"
"Huh?"
Sid tilted his head.
"Cotton candy? What's that?"
"It's candy made by melting sugar into threads, then wrapping them up to make it look like a cloud."
"Sugar? Cloud? Candy…?"
Sid kept tilting his head at this parade of unfamiliar words.
"It's food, right? What does it taste like?"
"It's sweet. Very sweet."
"Sweet taste…"
Sid furrowed his brow as if trying to recall that taste he had rarely experienced in his short life.
"I think I knew what it tasted like, but what was it again…"
"…"
I swallowed my words internally.
'On New Year's Day, the first after you were born. Your mother put a piece of cotton candy in your mouth.'
You probably don't remember.
I can't recall it well anymore either…
But even in this ugly world, there was once such a beautiful moment.
"I'd like to try cotton candy someday."
Sid mumbled, finally giving up on recalling the sweet taste.
I chuckled.
"Yeah. That would be… nice."
It might sound like empty talk.
But who knows? If we're alive, anything could happen.
"…"
Really.
Will anything actually happen?
It was then.
"Your Highness."
Elize approached.
She looked tired and exhausted after tending to the wounded inside the ruined building.
"Many were injured in the earlier battle, and we've run out of medicine and bandages."
"…So we've finally run out."
"At this rate, many will die tonight unable to hold on."
It's been three years since Rosetta, our last healing priest, died.
Since then, we've been treating injuries with always-scarce medicine and dirty bandages, and now even those have run out.
"As it happens, this place seems to have been a city, albeit now in ruins, so I plan to search around. If we're lucky, we might find some useful items besides medical supplies."
"I'll go too."
I decided to go along, not wanting to let Elize struggle alone.
Then Sid hurriedly followed us, wiping his fingers on the hem of his robe.
"I want to go too! It's my first time in a city, so I want to look around."
"…Alright. Let's go together."
We don't know what threats might be hiding in this long-abandoned ruined city.
But the three of us — me, Elize, and Sid — are the strongest forces left in the World Guardian Front. If there's a problem, we should be able to crush it.
After leaving the night watch and guard duty to the other heroes and soldiers, we left the campsite and entered the ruined city.
* * *
In a world that has ended, when searching ruins or structures for supplies,
There are all kinds of threats one might encounter.
Starting from the danger of collapsing old buildings, ferocious wild beasts, all sorts of monsters like ghosts and demons,
The horde of rats that surrounded us earlier and waited for an opening, the Apocalypse Knights that suddenly hunt living humans, and also…
But more dangerous than any of these.
"…There's a light."
Other survivor groups.
People, that is.
"I can see a bonfire inside that building over there. It seems there are other survivors staying in this city."
"…That's not good."
That's my honest feeling.
Meeting people is not good.
In a world that has ended, it's actually easier to make judgments. Because every being you meet is an enemy aiming for your life. So I can be wary and kill them all, and that's that.
But people are in a grey area that can't be simply treated as hostile.
Because they're people, we can't just cover it up and kill them. They might be of help to us, and further, they might even become allies.
However, in this changed world, with a very high probability,
People are our enemies.
The only beings that can gain our trust, then deceive us and stab us in the back. That's what people are.
Monsters that are only human in form.
"What shall we do? Should we bypass them?"
"No."
I sighed.
"We still need to make contact. We might be able to get medicine."
I took the lead towards the building where the light was flickering.
Elize and Sid, exchanging glances, cautiously followed me.
As I walked without stopping, Celendion's voice from the dream I had earlier suddenly came to mind.
— Do you often have nightmares? What is it that you fear most?
"…"
I shook my head vigorously.
And strode towards the campfire, not knowing if those around it were enemies or allies.
Chapter 778
Fortunately, the survivor group wasn't hostile towards us.
No, they were more than just not hostile; they were friendly.
And for good reason…
"Prince Ash! How long has it been?"
They were familiar faces.
King Miller Ariane of the Ariane Kingdom greeted me warmly and offered a handshake. I grasped his thin hand and shook it.
"Miller. It's been a long time. I'm glad to see you alive."
"We Ariane people are used to this kind of weather! A mere blizzard can't kill Miller Ariane!"
His once muscular body had shriveled unimpressively, but his eyes still shone as brightly as they did 15 years ago.
I didn't bother asking about Yun. In a world like this, there's nothing more foolish than inquiring about someone who isn't present.
After briefly catching up on how we'd been doing, I brought up my original purpose.
"Is there any chance we could get some medical supplies? We have many wounded."
"Medical supplies… We're not well-stocked ourselves, but we'll contribute what we can."
Miller instructed his subordinates to gather medical supplies.
His subordinates, with dull, lifeless eyes, nodded vaguely before disappearing into the shadows of the dark city.
After sending his subordinates away, Miller drew close to me and lowered his voice.
"So, Prince Ash. You have it, don't you?"
"Pardon? Have what?"
"Why, the one thing that can turn everything around in an instant, of course!"
Miller clenched his fist with his one remaining arm.
"The one thing that can topple those cursed monsters covering this land and save the world in one go…! You have it, right?"
"…"
I was at a loss for words.
No such method exists.
The world has already ended. It can never return to its former state.
Even knowing this, I searched for a miracle that might not exist. Because if I didn't believe in such a miracle, there would be no reason to live on.
So, the best I could manage was this response:
"…I'm still searching for it myself."
Miller's face, which had retained a hint of a smile, hardened.
He must have read the resignation and fatigue in my voice, in my face.
"I see, so that's how it is…"
He chuckled hollowly while stroking his unkempt beard.
"Prince Ash, I don't know exactly what you're looking for, but I'm sure you'll find it in the end. No matter where or how long you search, if it's you…"
Silence fell.
An awkward atmosphere filled the area around the bonfire. Ahem! Miller cleared his throat and brightened up as he spotted his subordinates returning from afar.
"Oh, here come my men… Hey, how much medicine do we have left?"
Clink. Clink.
But.
In the hands of the approaching subordinates were blades instead of medical supplies.
Moreover, their numbers had swelled far beyond those who had initially dispersed. It seemed they had gathered all their comrades scattered throughout the city.
"…"
Elize, Sid, and I calmly remained seated in front of the bonfire, glancing at the survivors swarming to surround us.
But Miller was visibly flustered.
"What are you doing, you fools?!"
"…"
"This is supposed to be a welcoming gathering for our esteemed guests! Put down those blades at once!"
"Your Majesty, please step aside."
Among those surrounding us, a gaunt middle-aged woman spat out words while gripping a rusty kitchen knife.
"We all know. Prince Ash, this man was the commander of the World Guardian Front."
"…"
"This man had the responsibility to protect the world. If he had done his job properly, the world wouldn't have ended so horrifically."
I closed my tired eyes. The middle-aged woman screamed in a hoarse voice.
"It's all because of you, Prince Ash! It's all your fault! If you had done things right, the world would have been safe, and my children wouldn't have had to die so miserably!"
"…"
"All these failures are your responsibility! So you should take responsibility! Why are you still shamelessly alive?!"
The survivors surrounding us took a step closer in unison.
The ominously raised weapons gleamed red, reflecting the bonfire's light and their hostility.
"Atone with your life."
"…"
"At least die now! Apologize to my children who died first…! To this world that died first!"
Miller stood up abruptly and shouted.
"You fools! Stop this nonsense!"
"Don't try to stop us, Your Majesty!"
"Isn't this world over anyway… Stop being so formal!"
"Let's kill these bastards and finally feast on human flesh…!"
Miller's intervention was futile.
The next moment, the survivors who had been slowly closing in rushed at me all at once, shouting.
I didn't dodge. I had several means to block their attack, and I was too tired to even move to avoid it.
But something completely unexpected happened.
Thud! Thud thud…!
Miller intercepted the attack meant for me, taking it with his body.
"Kuhak!"
"Miller?!"
Several blades pierced his old, skinny body and were pulled out along with spurts of blood.
Not just me, but even the survivors who had thrust their blades were shocked.
"Y-Your Majesty! Why!"
"Huk, huk, kheuk…!"
Spewing blood from his wounded body, Miller muttered.
"Who dares… to throw stones at this man…!"
"…!"
"Everyone who was on that front knows. Without this man, the world would have ended long ago. Because of this man, hope existed in this world…"
Miller raised his empty sleeve.
It revealed the burn scar from the black dragon's flames. He still considered that wound a glorious medal.
"I remember. That miraculous moment when this man brought sunlight back to the world…"
"…"
"So, if you want to throw stones at this man… Huk. Kill me first. Until I die, never…!"
The survivors were taken aback, but gradually their eyes changed. Their hands gripping the blades tightened.
"Yeah, we're sick of your pathetic old tales, Your Majesty…"
"Give us one last meal to fill our hungry stomachs before you go."
"Kill all four of them! Let's feast tonight!"
Even in a situation where the people he once led had all betrayed him and were pointing blades at him, Miller stood firm on trembling legs, as if trying to protect me.
I stood up and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"…Thank you, Miller."
"Huk, huk, Prince Ash…"
He looked back at me with trembling eyes.
It was an era where everything was being tested.
Humanity, beliefs, banners, will, all of it…
I was no exception. In this ruined world devoid of hope, I was about to give up on finding salvation.
I was about to accept the slowly withering fate.
But even in times like these, this old king showed that there are still people who genuinely believe in me.
So, I spoke with sincerity.
"Thank you."
Perhaps reading the determination returning to my eyes instead of resignation.
A smile slowly formed on Miller's blood-stained lips as he stared blankly back at me.
"I see… That's… enough…"
Thud.
Miller collapsed.
The old king was dead.
I quietly looked down at him, fallen in the pool of his own blood… then turned to survey the survivors surrounding us once more.
To those gripping blades and revealing their individual hatreds and desires, I spoke softly.
"I kill monsters. I protect humans."
"…?"
"That has been my lifelong creed."
I reached out my hand towards them.
"And still, I want to protect you all."
"…"
"It's not too late. Everyone, put down your weapons. Please, don't become monsters. Remain human."
Especially in times like these.
Someone must remain a lantern. Someone must remain a beacon. Someone must remain a flag.
If the world's destruction is my responsibility, then protecting the last of humanity is also my responsibility.
Rekindling that spark in people is also my responsibility.
"Don't become monsters like them."
"…"
"Even if it's difficult and painful, let's… live as humans until the very end."
The expressions of the survivors were varied.
Some burned with even more intense hatred as if the idea was absurd, some wavered and were confused, some had trembling eyes…
I calmly waited in front of these bewildered and restless people.
But in the end.
"Don't make me laugh! We'll kill you, Prince Ash!"
Once the faint emotions evaporated, what remained in the survivors' eyes was deep-rooted hatred.
"Save your pretty words for hell! Now that even that useless old man Miller is dead, we have nothing to hold us back!"
"We'll gladly become monsters if that's what it takes to survive in this hellish world!"
"Meat, meat, give us meeeeat!"
…Right.
This is reality, I suppose.
Still, I tried to persuade them until the very end. I tried to make even one person regain their senses.
But then.
Boom…
A sound echoed from afar.
"…?"
Everyone turned their heads towards it as if on cue.
Boom… Boom… Boom…
The heavy sound gradually drew closer.
The survivors swallowed their panicked screams and one by one dropped the blades from their hands. Confusion and despair appeared on everyone's faces.
They all knew the identity of this sound.
"Your Highness!"
Elize, who had hurriedly stomped out the bonfire, shouted.
"Hide!"
Elize urgently led me and Sid behind a ruined pillar.
Boom…! Boom…! Boom…!
At the same time, the sound began to intensify.
As if something very heavy was rushing across the ground.
And the moment after we hid behind the pillar-
Kwabooom!
Crushing all the collapsed ruins, three giant statues appeared amidst a cloud of dust.
Beings that appear to hunt humans by reading the negative emotions that surge when people are hostile to each other.
One of the worst monsters of the apocalyptic era-
"Tamn-Jin-Chi…!"
The giant statues with heads of a rooster, a snake, and a pig, their eyes flashing blood-red, raised their weapons. Then they spoke in monotone voices.
"Always greedy,"
"Always full of anger,"
"Always foolish. Oh humans."
The three spoke simultaneously.
"Come, let us journey together towards Nirvana."
And they began their hunt for humans.
Whoosh!
Splat-!
With every dance of the giant crescent blade, twin halberd, and four-pronged spear, the necks and heads of the survivors who were alive just moments ago separated, spraying blood in all directions.
"Aaaagh!"
"Run away, run away-!"
"It's Tamn-Jin-Chi! We can't beat them! Hurry and esc…"
A man who had been shouting at the top of his lungs was caught in the hand of a giant statue, and his upper and lower body were torn apart.
The man continued screaming for a long time even after his lower body was thrown far away.
"You damned monster! Back then, you took my children-"
The middle-aged woman from earlier charged at the giant statue with her kitchen knife, but.
The next moment she was struck by the statue's fist, and her blood and flesh exploded in mid-air, splattering everywhere.
A massacre occurred.
Those who quickly hid in various ruins like us survived, but those who were outside were horribly slaughtered.
"Kuk!"
As I slowly began to raise my magical power, a panicked Elize stopped me.
"Your Highness, what are you doing!"
"But, the people…!"
"We can't defeat those monsters now! You know that! We need to hide and look for a chance to escape!"
Then Sid muttered quietly.
"…It's too late to escape anyway."
"What?"
"More are coming."
Sid murmured, looking around with eyes tinged with a faint magical light.
"Other monsters too."
"…!"
Whoosh…
From beyond the ash-covered land, the ground approached like a wave.
No, it wasn't a wave.
It was an innumerable horde of rats.
In the center of that rat horde was a single massive lump of flesh.
"Mother Rat…!"
It was the monster I often called the Great Rat Mother, the mother of all rats.
In other words, it meant that the main force of rats that had swallowed this world had arrived here.
"Aaaagh!"
"It's the rat horde! The rats have appeared!"
"If we're swallowed, it's over, hurry and run…!"
Those who tried to flee outside the city were terrified and tried to come back into the ruins, but it was already too late.
The wave of rats, moving at a speed far superior to humans, engulfed the survivors.
Those swallowed by that wave couldn't even scream before their flesh was torn off and their blood sucked dry in a matter of seconds.
The bodies, turned to skeletons in an instant, rolled on the ground.
And it didn't end there.
Clop! Clop! Clop!
The sound of hooves.
Along with the swift sound of galloping hooves, four Centaurs appeared. They were each wrapped in plague, flame, water, and ice.
"The four generals of the Apocalypse Knights…"
This is truly going from bad to worse.
As I shuddered, Sid added.
"This isn't the end."
"What?"
When I turned to look, Sid's face was paler than I'd ever seen it.
"It's looking this way. It's coming towards us."
Sid's eyes trembled as he looked at me.
"The 'real' enemy…!"
The next moment,
Boom-!
With an earth-shaking roar, the sky split open.
The sky, always black with swirling smoke, cracked open to reveal the undulating darkness of another world.
Countless eyes blinked incessantly through the crack, peering down at the ground.
And following that path in the sky, under the clouds and in the starlight… two beings descended.
"…!"
One of them was a woman with her face covered by a mourning veil, its edges burned.
The dress she wore also had its hem and sleeve ends burned, and the tall crown on her head was also scorched black.
Even her long white hair, almost trailing on the ground, had blackened ends.
'The Sleepless Lake Princess'.
The worst enemy, and once my friend.
And beside her…
"It's been a while, Ash."
Wearing a blackened mask that constantly emitted dark smoke, with a crown of thorns atop the smiling mask.
Dressed in a white royal outfit completely blackened at the edges, with a white cloak also blackened at the edges…
There stood a jester.
I spat out his name.
"Crown."
Then, the crowned jester smiled behind his mask and asked.
In a low, deep, pleasant voice…
"How is it? Have you gotten used to this nightmarish life yet?"
Chapter 779
Three types of monsters swirl around the ruins, closing in.
Countless rats led by the Great Rat Mother devour everything alive.
Tamn-Jin-Chi and the 108 Defilement Statues chant corrupted sutras, driving humans mad and making them kill each other.
The Apocalypse Knights, led by the Four Horsemen, negate human life itself through plague, famine, war, and death.
They destroy human habitats,
They destroy human hearts,
They destroy human life itself…
As if born for this purpose, the monsters ravage the world of the apocalypse.
The ruined city is already filled with human corpses.
As prey diminishes, the three monster groups begin to fight each other.
The rat swarm surges like a wave, climbing over the giant statues — Tamn-Jin-Chi.
The colossal statues, unconcerned about the rats clinging to them, chant the most horrific sutras towards the Apocalypse Knights.
And the Apocalypse Knights brandish their bows, greatswords, scales, and scythes to slaughter the rats.
"…Haa."
In the middle of this surreal battlefield.
Sid let out a quiet sigh.
"We only came to find medicine…"
As we had done for the past 15 years, saying goodbye to comrades, moving our shelter, eating rat meat, searching ruins, fighting other survivor groups…
We were just trying to live another day like that.
But now, the destruction of everything was right before us.
Boom boom boom boom boom-!
The monsters, having long since discovered our location, rushed towards us through the gaps in the ruins.
Clap-!
As Sid clapped his hands and spread them outwards, a massive ring of light formed, cleanly erasing all the monsters that had swarmed the area.
But pushing back the enemies was only momentary; their empty spaces were immediately filled by the next wave of monsters rushing towards us.
Thud!
Elize, who had stepped in front of me, planted her sword coffin into the ground and spat out the activation words as if chewing them.
"Sword coffin, deploy."
Without even looking back at the widely opening sword coffin, Elize charged towards the pouring monsters and shouted.
"Sword 2, Sword 4, Sword 7, Sword 12, Sword 13… Damn it! Just launch all the weapons we can use!"
Woooong!
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
Various swords shot out from the sword coffin like rockets, raining down like a bombardment on Elize's position.
Elize caught these swords in mid-air one after another and struck down the monsters approaching nearby.
She brutally sliced through the grotesquely transformed ratmen, the defilement statues spewing evil sutras, and the Apocalypse Knights shooting curses with fluttering cloaks.
Clang! Clang! Slash…!
As the enemies were also tough and resilient, Elize's swords didn't last long before breaking.
But Elize paid no mind, discarding the used sword and grabbing the next one to thrust into the enemy's head.
"…"
Sid cleared the surroundings whenever magic gathered, and Elize directly dealt with the enemies that broke through that magic.
This alone maintained some balance on the frontline, but we still couldn't break free from their encirclement.
And far in the sky, two beings — the 'Sleepless Lake Princess' and Crown were approaching us moment by moment.
At this rate, escape was impossible, and we would be caught by them.
"Phew."
I closed my eyes and opened them, slowly awakening the dragon's power within me.
Grooooar…!
The earth vibrated slightly, announcing the dragon's descent to the world.
A panicked Sid turned to me urgently and shouted.
"Lord, you mustn't!"
"What's there to 'mustn't' in this situation."
More monsters swarmed in, to the point where even Sid's magic could no longer fully drive them away.
"Kuuugh!"
I saw Elize's prosthetic arm being caught and torn off by the enemies as she fought bravely.
There's no more time to hesitate. I awakened all the dragon heart and dragon blood within me in one breath.
"Ugh…!"
My vision alternated between black and red. I felt my existence instantly distancing itself from being human.
Having called upon the dragon's power too often after the apocalypse, I had now reached the point where my sense of self was corrupted every time I used the dragon's power.
Memories are lost, and the wills of the black dragon and red dragon mix, repel, and clash within me.
From the beginning, I was an existence patched together to continue fighting through Stage 50. It's only natural that I'm going mad after using it for another 15 years.
'It doesn't matter!'
I took a deep breath.
And towards the direction where the monsters were gathered most thickly — I exhaled with all my might.
Hwaaaargh!
Dragon Breath.
Black and red flames that couldn't mix shot out, pushing each other aside and burning everything in their path.
'Ugh!'
I tasted blood inside my burned throat.
As my winter coat burned away from the heat of the breath, my upper body, including my neck, was exposed to the world. My body covered in black and red dragon scales…
"Haa, cough! Cough!"
I coughed violently and spat out blood.
My body was a bit of a mess, but thanks to that.
"A path has opened!"
All the monsters in one direction were swept away by the breath and annihilated.
Elize, who had run to me, supported me and shouted.
"Your Highness, this way!"
* * *
As we barely broke through the encirclement and escaped, the survivors of the World Guardian Front were rushing to meet us.
They had been waiting, knowing a battle had broken out.
"We must escape this city immediately!"
I shouted urgently.
"Other monsters are a problem, but the two worst enemies of the Lake Kingdom are descending to the ground! Before we're caught, hurry-"
But perhaps it was our downfall that we had spent time breaking through the monsters' encirclement.
Before I could finish speaking, a woman in a dress, floating down from the sky… gently landed between me and my comrades.
"…!"
Under the split sky, shimmering starlight scattered around the woman.
The ends of her pale white dress, as if not of this world, had turned black, glowing ominously with the darkness of another realm.
Beyond the pure white mourning veil covering her face… I could see teal eyes that were once familiar, but now devoid of human emotion.
I uttered in a trembling voice.
"…Nameless."
With the vain hope that my old friend might recognize my voice and return to how she was before.
But of course, that was impossible.
Whoosh-!
Black energy gathered in the 'Sleepless Lake Princess's' hand, condensing into the shape of a longsword, and the monster swung it vertically.
Slash-!
Sid, who had rushed towards me urgently, pushed me aside.
The blow unleashed by the 'Sleepless Lake Princess' narrowly grazed me, and the trajectory of that sword… split the world from sky to ground.
The torn sky pours down, and the split earth collapses.
We can't win.
She's not that kind of existence to begin with.
She could only have been killed before she was completed as a monster, within the Lake Kingdom. Having escaped the Lake Kingdom and become the embodiment of all nightmares, she is literally invincible.
"We'll buy time, Your Highness! Escape!"
Elize, gripping a broken sword, urgently commanded the people.
"Sid, I'm counting on you with His Highness!"
"…Yes."
Sid, who had nodded silently, supported me. I shouted urgently.
"What are you saying, Elize! If we're escaping, we should go together-"
"Your Highness is our flag."
Elize said, biting down on a navy blue dagger.
"Especially in a world like this, please keep flying until the very last moment possible."
"…"
"I'll entrust this sword coffin to Your Highness. The wills of those who fell before us remain inside."
After pushing her sword coffin towards me.
Finally, giving me a complex look, Elize dashed towards the 'Sleepless Lake Princess'.
"Waaaaaah-!"
"Block the monster as much as you can!"
"Buy time-!"
All the remaining members of the World Guardian Front charged towards the enemy commander, shouting.
"Take this, my master's enemy-!"
The dagger Elize thrust out with her final shout failed to leave any wound on the 'Sleepless Lake Princess's' body.
The next moment, after confirming Elize being shredded and blown apart by the black energy, I tightly closed my eyes and turned my body in the opposite direction.
While my people bought time with their lives, I fled with Sid's support, carrying the sword coffin.
Once again, as we had done for the past 15 years…
* * *
Perhaps it was because the sky had split.
Ash no longer fell. Sid and I were crossing a white ice field under an unusually clear night sky.
"Haa, haa, haa…"
Sid exhaled irregular breaths.
We walked like that for a while, leaning on each other.
That's when it happened. Suddenly, a strong wind blew. Sid and I held onto each other and barely withstood the gale.
And when the strong wind stopped…
"…!"
The white ash covering the ice field was completely swept away.
The cleanly frozen plain perfectly reflected the clear night sky.
Starlight bloomed like flowers on the earth.
"Wow…"
Forgetting the current situation, Sid let out an exclamation like an innocent child.
"I know this isn't the time to say this, Lord, but isn't it beautiful?"
"…Yeah. It really is beautiful."
I murmured, surveying this landscape with Sid.
"It's like a flower field."
"A flower field? What's that?"
"A field where lots of flowers are planted."
Sid, who had never seen flowers or fields since the world became like this, didn't quite understand my words, but.
"I guess that flower field thing must be this pretty too."
He said, as if somehow understanding.
Thud.
Right after, Sid collapsed. I hurriedly caught the child and checked his condition.
"This is…!"
There was a long gash across Sid's chest.
It seemed to be a wound from when he pushed me away from the 'Sleepless Lake Princess's' attack. He had sealed it with magic and walked this far, but it was a wound that couldn't heal, and he had reached his limit.
Looking back at the path we had walked, I could see droplets of blood scattered here and there. My face contorted.
Had I really walked all this way, gladly accepting the support of the child, not knowing my godson had such a wound?
"Haha. Looks like this is as far as I go."
Sid, mumbling with blood in his mouth in my arms, looked up at me with clear eyes.
"Do you regret it, Lord?"
"…"
"That choice that day… do you regret it?"
I kept my mouth shut.
It was the content of that conversation I had with Sid not long ago.
If I had gone to find Nameless and killed her before the final defense battle began.
If I had prevented the 'Sleepless Lake Princess' from descending to the human world. If I had given up on the true ending and instead achieved the ordinary ending we had in the game.
We might not have seen this worst future.
Then my people, and Sid, could have lived in a better world than now…
That's when.
"Don't regret it."
"…!"
Sid continued calmly.
"Mom said so. That you fought to save the world, Lord. That if you hadn't been there, the world would have ended long ago."
"…"
"That you willingly took the lead on a path that everyone else in the world doubted, found difficult, and didn't want to take."
"…"
"You walked the path you believed was right, didn't you, Lord? If you have no shame in that choice… don't regret it."
The child's young voice held clear conviction.
"I think the reason my mom, and other people, followed you with their lives… was because that path of yours was right."
"…"
"So, for the sake of those who followed your flag… instead of regret, please fight until the very end."
As I looked into the child's eyes, I asked.
"…Sid. Being born into a world like this, weren't you unhappy?"
Then Sid blinked quietly and looked up at the sky.
"Do you remember? When I was very young. That day, like this, the sky was unusually clear."
A faint smile formed on the child's lips as he recalled the old memory.
"Everyone went to play on a hill covered in ash near our hideout. They said they'd give me a sled ride. I followed excitedly, not even knowing what a sled was."
"…"
"They put me on the last remaining sack of wheat, and Uncle Zenis and Brother Damien took turns sitting behind me. They gave me sled rides from the top of the ash-covered hill to the bottom."
Sid's face, as he talked about the memory, had somehow… regained the innocent and cute look that a child his age should have.
"Master Dearmudin and Sister Junior nagged that we should have magic lessons while the weather was clear, but before long they were waiting for their turn on the sled too. Haha, at the end, they even had a competition to see which was faster, the fire sled or the wind sled."
"…"
"After playing excitedly like that until the sun went down, when we returned, dinner was being prepared outside the hideout… I still remember. What Mom said that evening. She said, 'The weather is nice today, so let's eat out! And since we're eating out, let's have a special meal!'"
I know.
Everyone knows.
This world is hell.
"It would be a lie to say it wasn't painful… but there were definitely happy moments."
Absurd, nonsensical, nothing goes as I want. Even if I painfully overcome the hurdle right in front of me, it's still only painful.
A hell where no one but a saint could possibly live.
But, even in such a world…
"I liked those moments."
The child remembers moments that shone like stars.
I… remember too.
Those moments that bloomed between all those difficult days, beautiful like a field of flowers bloomed from weeds.
Sid smiled brightly at me.
"It wasn't a bad life."
I gritted my teeth.
Clenching my fists, I widened my eyes as they grew hot.
And I, too, smiled at the child.
"Same here."
We're living in this wretched landscape.
But does that mean we'll give up on the strategy?
…No.
"So, I won't have any regrets."
The strategy must continue.
Until the very moment life stops.
"I'll fight."
Believing in the path I've chosen, steadfastly.
Without giving up.
Thud…!
At that moment, someone landed on the far side of the ice field where Sid and I were.
Saaaa…
The final boss, spreading a suffocating evil aura, 'The Sleepless Lake Princess'.
And her brother, the Demon King's proxy, the one who made this world like this.
'The Pied Piper'.
Crown.
"Is this as far as you go, Ash?"
He muttered from behind his black smiling mask.
"This nightmare lasted 15 years before reaching its end… Truly remarkable willpower."
That's right.
And now, I finally realized.
"Well then… shall we repeat it once more?"
"…"
"The nightmare you fear the most."
That this nightmarish world… is none other than Stage 49 itself.
Chapter 780
"Yes, this is inside your nightmare."
Crown approached, speaking.
"To be precise, it's inside the 'World's Nightmare'…where all of humanity's nightmares gather and stagnate."
As I listened to Crown's words, my hazy consciousness gradually became clearer.
As if waking from a long dream.
And I started to remember.
What happened before I entered this world of nightmares.
* * *
After Stage 48 ended.
After seeing Sid's first steps and first words.
A few days after we started preparing for Stage 49.
Strange phenomena began to engulf Crossroad.
Some of those who fell asleep continued to sleep, never to wake again.
No one in this world, not even the strongest warrior, can avoid sleep. But once asleep, there was a high chance of losing consciousness.
One soldier who woke up just before losing consciousness among those who had fallen asleep reported to me.
"I heard the sound of a flute in my dream."
"The sound of a flute?"
"Yes, a very sorrowful and mournful… and somehow eerie flute sound…"
People continued to lose consciousness.
Everyone went to bed trembling with fear every night. They fell asleep terrified of hearing the flute sound in their dreams.
And when there were far more unconscious people than those awake, when news started to spread that this endless sleep was spreading to other nearby cities and countries.
That's when it appeared in the sky above Crossroad.
A massive sphere of darkness, rippling like liquid.
The Sky Knights attempted to approach it from the air, but the moment even a hair's breadth touched it, they immediately lost consciousness and fell. And these knights, too, never regained consciousness.
The mages from the Front didn't take long to identify the nature of this sphere.
"It's a materialized nightmare."
"This is… a nightmare?"
"Yes. We suspect it's formed by the nightmares of those currently unconscious, all gathered together."
Materialized nightmares were separating from the bodies of sleeping people, bubbling up into the air.
The sight… was chillingly similar to the countless 'dark cocoons' that exist in the Lake Kingdom.
An emergency strategy meeting was immediately convened.
"We quickly grasped the principle of the magic, but the completion and intricacy of the spell are too exquisite. It seems to be using some lost ancient magic…"
I asked the Front mages presiding over the meeting.
"So can we break it or not?"
"To put it simply, we can't dispel it from the outside."
Junior explained, breaking out in a cold sweat.
"The nightmares gathered in the sky are, so to speak, the 'result'. What we need to dispel is the 'cause' of this phenomenon… which is estimated to be in the core of that nightmare."
"You mean [Element Decomposition] won't work?"
"That's right. What use is it to dry up a puddle if it keeps raining? It's the same principle."
"This phenomenon, it's not a mental status ailment either?"
"Having nightmares is actually a natural thing for humans. Gathering them operates on a different principle from the mental realm…"
This means it's not the kind of phenomenon I can counter with [Unyielding Commander].
As I clutched my forehead, feeling a headache coming on, Junior continued.
"However, while it's difficult to dispel from the outside, if we can find the core from the inside, it shouldn't be hard to dispel."
"…!"
"If we have a catalyst to send our elites into that nightmare, we can dispel the spell from within… and save people from the nightmare."
But what could we use as a catalyst, and how?
After closing my eyes and pondering for a moment, I took a deep breath and said.
"I'll go in myself."
"…!"
"I'll be the catalyst."
Naturally, my subordinates protested, but I was certain.
The only one who could act as a catalyst, maintaining their sense of self without being swallowed by that massive nightmare, and call in allies from the inside.
It could only be me.
Because I was the most accustomed to this kind of trial.
'Above all… we're running out of time.'
Most of those affiliated with the Front had already fallen, and this strange phenomenon had spread across the entire southern continent. At this rate, it seemed poised to engulf the entire continent in just a bit more time.
Before the land was swept away by the waves of nightmares, I had to trust in myself and dive in.
Finally, just after my deployment was confirmed, one hesitant hero asked.
"Um, Your Highness. But… even if you succeed in your mission, isn't it possible that we might fail?"
It was Violet, the illusionist.
I quietly gazed back at her.
"Couldn't we all fall asleep and be swallowed by the nightmare, unable to endure? Then even if Your Highness acts as a catalyst in there, wouldn't it all be meaningless…?"
"No, Violet."
I smiled and looked around at the heroes gathered in the conference room.
"You will endure, without fail. I know it."
I surveyed the faces of my people surrounding me, one by one.
My warriors who were still standing, looking at me with clear eyes, not yet succumbing to the nightmare.
This wasn't a baseless belief.
I knew very well that they would not yield to nightmares.
So-
"I'll be back."
Trusting in my comrades, and no one else.
I decided to willingly plunge into the nightmares of my people.
"When I call, you must come to save me, okay?"
* * *
And so, back to now.
At the edge of some nightmare, I'm holding the dying sixteen-year-old Sid in my arms, facing Crown who stands right in front of me.
"Haa…"
Exhaling a white breath, I felt my consciousness gradually clearing. I felt my self awakening to my original self, escaping from the 15-year nightmare.
The principle behind how Crown could control monsters with his flute all this time.
It was because he had inherited the authority to rule over 'nightmares' from the Demon King.
And now, as the Demon King's proxy with all authority over nightmares amplified, he exercised his power to the fullest.
He extended his dominion even to the nightmares of people in the mortal world, forcibly abducting their consciousness and collecting nightmares.
'What we have to face in this defense battle is none other than 'nightmare' itself.'
And it was the nightmares of my people, no less.
"This is the world's nightmare."
Crown uttered calmly.
"It's the culmination of everything humanity fears. And right now, what your people fear most is the end of the world."
An era where doom approaches before our eyes.
All sorts of mythical monsters invading the mortal world, an endless night falling, news of the annihilation of elite forces gathered from all over the world spreading everywhere.
It was only natural for people to fear the end.
"And Ash, you represent everyone living in the mortal world."
"…"
"The 'worst future' among your memories, the most terrible and painful one… has been realized as a nightmare experienced by everyone in the world, adapted to your current situation."
In other words, this ruined world.
Is it saying that the worst iteration I actually experienced in the past has been recreated as a nightmare shared by everyone in the world?
I quietly looked down at Sid dying in my arms.
"…"
This is not just a story in a dream.
In some world-line I don't remember.
People continued such a difficult and miserable life after the end.
Some young boy born and raised in such a world would have met such a pitiful and sad end.
"And if I fail and die in this nightmare, you make me repeat this post-apocalyptic world from the beginning… is that it?"
"That's right. Until you despair, give up, and declare surrender yourself. Until the moment your heart breaks. This world repeats infinitely. And this time-"
"No, don't tell me how many repetitions it's been."
I glared at Crown with a bitter smile.
"I'll fight to the very last end anyway."
"…Do you really think you can bear the nightmare of all the people you represent, the nightmare that this world itself is having?"
Crown narrowed his eyes behind his mask.
I know.
That this is similar to the hardships his younger sister… Nameless experienced.
That's why I answered proudly, chest out:
"That's why I'm here, Crown."
"…"
Crown smiled bitterly in return and pulled out his flute.
"No matter how hard you try, your world will never be saved, never. You'll just wander this hell for eternity."
"Then I will fight for eternity."
I slowly rose to my feet.
"If that is my mission, I will simply do so."
Thud thud thud thud…!
The sound of monsters approaching could be heard from afar.
Countless monsters revealed themselves, surrounding the ice field where we stood.
"In an eternally repeating nightmare, like my poor sister…"
Crown blew his flute.
"Embrace all the nightmares of the people you tried to save, and be crushed to death…!"
Piiiiiiiii…!
With a long, sorrowful sound, an infinite number of monsters from all directions, and the 'Sleepless Lake Princess', advanced towards me.
I quietly observed this massive tidal wave of monsters.
Now, I could understand.
'This is my fear.'
The nightmare brought on by my fear that all those who follow me might fall into suffering due to my wrong choices.
Perhaps even at this moment, I am afraid.
Knowing well the meaning hung on my flag, the number of lives shouldered on my shoulders, I fear the path I must tread.
But I also know.
That there are those who believed my path was not wrong even in a world like this.
That there are those who told me not to regret.
So-
I continue my strategy.
I walk my path.
I fight, in my own way.
"This is your nightmare, but it's also a world where monsters have triumphed!"
Crown shouted mockingly at me, surrounded by infinite monsters.
"Every time, always, you spoke as if you knew better, but you always lost! Nothing will change this time!"
"No."
I answered with conviction.
"This time is different."
I lightly kicked open the lid of something at my feet.
It was the coffin that this world's Elize had handed over, and Sid had carried all the way here.
A collection of my comrades' relics.
The Sword Coffin.
Clank-!
Inside the opened Sword Coffin were only shattered, broken weapons.
They were all so completely destroyed that they were utterly unusable. They were so thoroughly damaged that I couldn't even remember their exact names.
I picked up one of them.
It was a completely smashed magic gun. With the barrel itself gone, only the trigger and handle remained in an ugly shape.
But as I grasped its handle.
"…!"
The battles I had fought with this gun came vividly to mind, clearing my consciousness.
And the name of the equipment I couldn't remember began to come back clearly.
Yes, the name of this magic gun is [■■ ■]…
No.
"…[Black Queen]."
The moment I uttered the full name of the equipment.
Cha-rrrr-ruk…!
Click! Click! Click!
As particles of light gathered in the air, the broken magic gun was restored.
A long barrel sprouted above the handle that had only the trigger left, and beautiful decorations bloomed in succession.
And right after [Black Queen] was fully restored in mid-air,
Flash!
The particles of light gathered even more intensely, forming a human shape— and snatched that magic gun.
A young man with brown curly hair tied back and brown eyes shining like stars.
The strongest sniper of the Monster Front and my eternal trigger.
It was Damien.
"Did you sleep well, Your Highness?"
As Damien flashed a bright smile, beside him.
Flash! Flash! Flash-!
The other broken equipment also rose into the air one by one, shining brilliantly as they were restored, and their owners appeared in this nightmare as reinforcements, equipping their gear.
A mage with a red staff, a martial artist wrapped in a silver cloak, a shield knight wearing a helmet combined with a laurel wreath.
A dwarf wielding a hammer and chisel, an elf with daggers and a bow, an old man in a black feathered robe…
My comrades appeared endlessly from within the dazzling light, forming a protective circle around me.
I whispered quietly.
"Welcome."
Those who have faced their fears.
Those who have already overcome their most terrifying nightmares.
In my front, we call them this-
"…Nightmare Slayers."
Tearing through the dark night sky, into the world's nightmare-
My nightmare slayers, who never succumb to fear, appeared one after another.