The Star of the Sword, Vitalianus Mahel.
A great Sword Saint who had never once succumbed to despair, even amid countless wars and tragedies.
That Vitalianus now walked alone through the darkness.
Then, suddenly, he stopped and looked around for a moment.
“I see.”
Finding it too difficult to search any further, he slowly closed his eyes.
“So in the end, it has come to this.”
He did not despair in any situation. He did not give in.
He had never bowed his head before anyone save the emperor.
He did not look down at his feet, nor did he look back.
Whatever lay ahead, he looked only straight forward.
For he believed that to be the path of a hero, and the duty he had to fulfill.
That was why, even at this moment, he did not lower his head.
He merely closed his eyes slowly and raised one hand to wipe down his face.
That alone served in place of bowing his head.
“Yes… so that is how it is…”
And so he merely murmured to himself, alone and forlorn.
* * *
Freya’s time flowed swiftly.
Ariel’s memories were passing by in rapid succession.
By her estimation, decades, perhaps centuries, may have passed.
Yet the years she experienced through Ariel’s eyes amounted to only a few months at most.
It was the life of a dragon.
An endlessly tedious, quiet, and static life.
Many things must have happened in the meantime.
The world must have changed without end.
But the life of a dragon did not change.
For dragons were absolute beings, unmoved even by the raging torrents of time.
Perhaps that was why it felt all the greater.
A life that had remained tranquil through any storm was so static that, if anything, it was fragile.
Not a change in the world, but a change in life.
A small movement was like a towering wave, and a tiny resonance became a tremendous vibration that shook Ariel’s world.
—A Dragon Knight has been born.
A Dragon Knight, born with the fate of a companion, had come into the world.
It was a change and a birth after thousands of years.
—It seems the time has come.
And the birth of a Dragon Knight meant that a great event, one that would affect the entire dragon race, would soon arrive.
—Preparations are being made.
There was not much time left.
Had not much time passed since the first council Freya had seen?
The gods still remained silent regarding the Abyss, and the dragons had decided to stand against the Abyss on their own.
—Nothing will change. Then, when that day comes, we shall gather again.
Having said all they needed to say, the dragon figures vanished one by one.
The council ended that way, and Ariel’s gaze slowly turned downward.
“……”
A terribly small creature met her eyes with bright, round eyes.
Though Ariel had blurred her presence, there should still have been power and pressure impossible to conceal. Yet perhaps it felt no fear at all.
After staring at her for a long while, its yellow eyes curved as it smiled shyly.
Ariel’s green eyes, too, could not help but curve in the same way.
“Legarda Obier.”
She slowly approached and carefully lifted the small creature into her arms, as though afraid it might break.
“That is your name.”
From that day onward, Legarda and Ariel were never apart, not even for a moment.
She taught him speech and writing, opened the temple library, and passed down to him the knowledge of the world.
She personally instructed him in all manner of weapon arts, and among them, he liked the spear most, so she let him pursue it.
On days when the weather was good, she would take Legarda and fly outside with him.
After they repeated that a few times, perhaps because he had felt the wind firsthand, his spear arts became even more refined and sharper.
Sharing that process was a joy and happiness far greater than she had imagined.
Ten minutes spent talking with Legarda were more enjoyable than a hundred years reigning as an absolute being.
The few decades spent teaching Legarda were a happiness more precious than the thousand years she had guarded as a protector.
Centuries had been no different from mere months, but now a single day held more meaning than hundreds of years.
But time flowed on, and in the end, the appointed moment was bound to arrive.
—The time has come.
At last, that time had arrived.
—We will reach the Abyss first.
Legarda had gone out for a short while.
To begin with, she had not informed him of this plan.
It was not a plan he would benefit from knowing.
“If we fail… we will all be annihilated, won’t we?”
—You state the obvious. Ariel, do you fear annihilation?
At the red dragon’s words, Ariel could give no answer.
Annihilation? She did not fear it.
But death frightened her.
To be precise, what came after death frightened her.
—…So you have come to know fear, Ariel. Is it because of the Dragon Knight?
“You’ll understand too, if something precious ever comes into your life.”
—You speak like a human. You are not human. Judge and act as a protector of the world.
“……I know.”
—The plan will be carried out as soon as tomorrow’s sun rises.
Every dragon understood what the Abyss was, and how dangerous it was.
That was why, before the Abyss could descend upon them, they intended to enter the Abyss first.
That was the plan, and it was the decision they could make as protectors.
—You had best stop delaying and tell the Dragon Knight as well.
“……”
—It may be the last time.
With those words as his last, the oldest red dragon disappeared.
He was returning to his own temple to finish his preparations.
“I suppose I should…”
Ariel, too, finished preparing to cross into the Abyss.
It was a war after thousands of years.
There had been minor problems in the meantime, but this was the first time the dragon race had ever moved with their lives at stake.
That was how gravely they regarded this crisis.
“We believe it to be our first and last chance.”
Even though dragons were the progenitors of magic, a race that handled mana as if it were their own bodies, this much time had been needed for preparations alone.
That was because opening a passage to the Abyss was difficult from the very start.
They had detected signs that the Abyss was about to move, and by using that, they had secretly created a passage.
Since the Abyss could use that passage in reverse, they had to invade in an instant and immediately seal it afterward.
That was the role Ariel had been assigned.
The sealing of the passage.
And all measures afterward would be delivered through Legarda.
“He’ll be greatly shocked, but it can’t be helped.”
She did not know the exact reason, but she had not wanted to tell Legarda until the very end.
She had not wanted to drag him into this horrific war.
But Legarda was already a knight so powerful that few in the human world could match him, and his understanding of the dragon race went without saying.
There were things only the Dragon Knight could do.
That was why Ariel was preparing.
And the terrible disaster arrived at that very instant.
“……!”
The passage opened.
No, it tore apart.
As if it had been waiting for this very moment.
* * *
【The Meaningless Void, the Abyss】
A deep, viscous darkness.
It was a space surrounded by that darkness, yet because of the countless divinities shining like stars, it did not feel all that gloomy.
【Master of that thing】
Antiphus stood at the center of it all.
At least, that was how he felt.
A sensation as though he stood at the center of the world.
Power overflowing.
A feeling as if he could do anything he wished.
【Accept annihilation】
It grated on him.
The existence of those countless gods floating like stars.
Their arrogant gazes, as though looking down upon those beneath them, grated on him.
They were not Antiphus’s thoughts.
They were the thoughts of the owner of this body—the one whose sights, sounds, and sensations he was experiencing.
With that unpleasant emotion intact, he opened his mouth.
—Did all of you gather merely to catch one such as me?
The will that spread out with a cackling laugh shot toward all the gods like cannonballs, delivered as if exploding.
A single casual remark carried a tremendous will capable of tearing an ordinary human to pieces.
—Even going so far as to abandon all the dragons you cherished so dearly.
How laughable.
The being Antiphus was watching truly found it laughable.
They had spouted every manner of hypocrisy about cherishing them and whatnot, yet had they not turned a blind eye to the annihilation of the dragon race?
No, they had surely known it would happen and left them be.
Only then could they have descended directly into the Abyss.
Was light not, by its very nature, a thing marked by lies, superstition, and pretense?
—How is it? As you wished, I personally slaughtered every last dragon.
Because of that, those hateful things had crossed over here themselves, but it did not matter.
It was laughable, and it was amusing.
Watching the dragons die, engulfed in disbelief and horror, had been exceedingly interesting.
—You loathsome things who deceived eyes with splendor and deafened ears to grow your strength.
A voice like scraping iron resounded through the Abyss.
It seemed to echo across the universe itself.
—Do you think you can annihilate me?
The being truly believed so.
They could not annihilate him.
Because he was strong enough to face all the gods?
That was true as well, but it was not the answer.
—I will never be annihilated.
As long as there was light, darkness would not disappear.
As long as gods existed, the Abyss, too, would necessarily exist.
The stronger the light, the deeper the darkness became.
Far too much time had passed.
The gods had grown excessively powerful, and their influence was among the greatest in the entire universe.
Yet the existence of two sides was an absolute law of the world.
To that same extent, the Abyss had also grown vast.
Vast enough to oppose them all.
—Though you know this, you have taken meaningless steps. Beltessia.
At the being’s words, one of the stars, the one shining brightest, slowly approached.
No, it was approaching swiftly.
It only seemed slow because it had been so far away.
A giant of immense divinity rushed up to stand directly before the being in an instant.
【We do not do meaningless things】
—Foolish and arrogant thing. Why do you refuse to acknowledge that you and I have no choice but to coexist?
【We came because we acknowledged it】
—If you acknowledged it, you should not have come. You should have meekly enjoyed the amusement of war. While receiving that praise you love so much.
【There is no need for long words. Accept annihilation, Lord of the Abyss.】
The giant of divinity stretched out its hand.
Brilliant light of five colors surged forth and came crashing down upon the being—upon Antiphus.
The mere thought of trying to measure the weight of power contained in that light made his mind grow faint.
—That is why I said it is meaningless.
The being lightly repelled that power and even launched a counterattack.
He did not commit the primitive act of moving his body himself.
This world, covered by the Abyss, responded to his will alone.
That counterattack pierced the giant of divinity.
Its neck was severed, and its arms were torn away.
—……What?
The oldest divinity was defeated far too easily.
Its last remaining five-colored eye pierced through the being.
It looked straight at Antiphus as he searched through his memories.
【Both light and the Abyss. All of it】
As long as there was light, the Abyss would not be annihilated.
To put it another way, if there was no light, the Abyss could be annihilated.
【Accept annihilation】
With that immense resonance as the last signal, all the gods floating like stars exercised their respective authorities.
The world was dyed in light, and the Abyss opposed it, shaking heaven and earth.
Darkness thrashed violently and extinguished the lights one by one, but there were still many lights remaining, and their will was far too noble.
With that distant battle as the final scene—
“……Hah!”
Antiphus opened his eyes.