The mountains that had stood for thousands of years were now nothing but shattered and melted heaps. Rivers of blood flowed through the deep chasms, and the ashes of dragons scattered in the wind.
And at the center of that hell, Daniel stood calmly. His clothes were still clean, his breathing was steady, and his golden eyes observed the destroyed battlefield without the slightest change.
Before him, the three commanders barely remained on their feet.
Rodric had fallen to one knee. His white and gold armor was almost completely destroyed, and black cracks covered his entire body. He had lost one hand.
Alindra held her bow with one hand, but even her fingers trembled. Her long silver hair had turned gray, and blood slowly dripped from the corner of her lips. Two holes had been created in her abdomen, and more than half of the bones in her body were broken. Her connection to nature was severed, and if it weren’t for the elves’ supreme healing ability, she would have died like Miralia by now.
And Varkas...
The dragon commander floated in the sky with a half-burnt body. One of his massive wings was destroyed, his black scales had cracked, and there was no trace of pride left in his eyes.
"Their final attack was truly dangerous." Daniel muttered quietly to himself in a way that no one could hear.
Even though he appeared to have come through that attack completely unharmed, the reality was not that simple. He had been forced to activate and mobilize all his laws to create tens of thousands of defensive layers.
In the end, about 95% of his defensive layers were destroyed, and the attack was about to reach him. He was lucky that the attack was not something these beings could maintain for more than a few minutes, and it ended after just a few seconds.
Otherwise, that attack really might have killed him.
His gaze slowly swept across the field, over the hundreds of thousands and millions of knights. Over the remains of dragons that once covered the sky, over the elves who hadn’t even had a chance to flee.
And for the first time in this entire battle, he felt bored.
"That’s it...?" Not mockery, not pride, just the quiet disappointment of someone who had expected more.
Aside from that final attack, this battle had been far too tedious.
A heavy silence spread among the ruins, then Daniel’s gaze fixed on Varkas.
The dragon commander still stared at him with anger, even in that state.
"Come here." That caused Daniel to say quietly.
No explosion occurred, no law or array was activated, but at that moment, Varkas’s body moved against his will.
His eyes suddenly widened. The muscles in his neck tensed, and black flames exploded around his body. He tried to resist, but despite all his effort, his body moved forward.
First step. The ground beneath him shattered.
Second step. The veins in his neck bulged.
Third step. A muffled roar escaped his throat.
"S... Stop...!"
But his body did not obey. Not his will, not his pride, not even his royal dragon blood.
He was obeying, and that was more terrifying than any wound he had received in this battle.
"Varkas!" Alindra suddenly shouted.
But the dragon commander could not even turn his head.
"What is this? What is he doing to that dragon?..." Rodric stared at Daniel with fear, and a real coldness shook his spine.
Because he understood. This was not forced obedience, but something deeper, something acting at the level of blood and instinct.
Varkas finally stood before Daniel, like an animal dragged against its will toward an absolute predator.
His entire body trembled, his black flames swirling wildly around him.
But Daniel just looked at him calmly.
"Kneel." He said.
The sound of crushing rocks echoed through the ruins. Varkas’s knees struck the ground. A massive crack formed beneath him, and ash rose into the air.
And then... silence.
The dragon commander had knelt. Varkas breathed heavily, his eyes trembling with shock.
He tried to rise, every muscle in his body screaming, but something deep inside him did not want to resist.
And that brought true fear into his gaze. Not fear of death, but fear of a truth his blood had sensed.
Why was he obeying this monster’s commands? What had happened here?
Daniel laughed quietly.
Like someone who had finally found an interesting idea. Then he looked at the remaining dragons.
Dozens of surviving dragons still floated in the sky; wounded, burnt, but alive.
"You’d better kneel before your god as well." Daniel said quietly.
At that moment, something was released. A majestic, transcendent presence that seemed to have existed since the beginning of time.
The sky turned golden-black, space trembled, and even time stopped for a moment.
And then the dragons collapsed. Some fell straight from the sky. Some folded their wings and unconsciously lowered their heads. Some could not even look at him, because their blood instinct screamed.
"Superior."
"Absolute."
"Origin."
The pressure of that presence... was exactly like what was written in ancient legends about the Dragon God.
Not a dragon king, not even a dragon emperor, but a being from which dragon blood itself originated.
Varkas lowered his head. This time not from force, but from the depths of his heart.
"Dragon... God..." His voice trembled.
Even he did not know why he was so certain, but his blood did not lie. The man standing before him, this monster... was actually the Dragon God!
All the anger he had felt toward Daniel vanished instantly, replaced completely by submission, hope, joy, and absolute obedience.
"Oh Dragon God! Forgive this lowly dragon for failing to recognize your supreme existence! I am ready to accept any punishment!" He then struck his head harder against the ground, his tone not hiding his distress.
He deserved death! A dragon who cannot recognize his god deserves execution!
"No punishment is necessary, but..." Daniel looked calmly at the other three commanders.
"Start by killing those three." He said very simply.
A few seconds of absolute silence reigned, then Varkas bowed his head without the slightest hesitation.
"Whatever my God commands."
And suddenly, all the dragons turned.
"...What?" Alindra’s eyes widened.
Black flames covered the entire sky. Hundreds of dragons simultaneously attacked the allied forces.
Roars shook the sky. Dozens of remaining elves had no time to react.
The two commanders, Alindra and Rodric, had no chance to understand the situation.
But the chaos spread far too quickly for them to control it.
"You swore an oath of alliance!" Rodric shouted in disbelief.
Varkas no longer even looked at him. His eyes saw only Daniel.
"For the Dragon God!" And then he roared with absolute devotion.
The sky exploded. Black flames devoured the elves. Dragons attacked the two commanders.
Varkas personally dove toward Rodric, and Rodric was struck by the black flames.
But in the midst of that chaos, Daniel was no longer interested in the battle. Something else had caught his attention.
He quietly turned and looked at the tree behind him. A smile appeared on his face.
The fruit was now massive, shining like a white and golden sun among the dark roots.
Each pulse shook space, and Daniel could sense that it was complete.
And a familiar screen appeared before his eyes.
[The first phase of the fourth floor has been successfully completed.]
[The final phase begins.]
[Protect the fruit until it finishes shedding its skin.]
"Shedding its skin...?" Daniel’s eyebrows furrowed slightly for the first time.
He had thought the fruit’s growth was the end of this process, but now he realized that was only the beginning.
And at that very moment... crack.
A quiet sound suddenly echoed in his ears, and a piece of the fruit’s shell separated.
Beneath it, a white color could be seen. But not an ordinary white, a white combined with turquoise.
Daniel was silent for a few seconds.
"I see..." Then he whispered quietly, understanding what was happening.
At least he could be glad that, unlike the previous floors, this floor had no more than two phases, and in fact the second phase was the final phase.
That way, he could probably leave this place soon.
And then, as if his work with this battlefield was done, he calmly turned and stared into the distance, somewhere far beyond the battlefield.
"Are you still just going to watch?" And then Daniel said quietly.
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