Several hours after the breath bombardment.
Hotel Crossroad. Temporary meeting hall.
"Let's flee."
The king of the Ariane Kingdom, Miller Ariane, repeatedly insisted with a deathly pale face.
"No, I will flee. I'll pack my bags and head north immediately!"
A considerable number of kings were perturbed, but even more were infuriated.
"If you're just going to spout nonsense, shut your mouth, Ariane!"
"Let's go out bravely and fight the monster!"
"Such cowards should just disappear!"
As the kings pointed fingers, King Ariane chuckled with trembling lips."Sounds like a coward. You all are blind to reality."
"What did you say?"
"A monster is coming from three days' ride away, breathing out destruction, breaking through the walls and burning the city."
King Ariane pointed south, veins bulging in his neck.
"Can you even calculate how much damage we'll suffer if we confront it?"
"So, you plan not to confront it? If we don't stop it here, are you just going to watch as it ravages the entire world?"
"The entire world... Speak properly. At most it would be the southern part of the continent, maybe the central. The north has nothing to do with this disaster!"
Faces of the kings now showed not anger, but murderous intent.
"Miller Ariane! You have always..."
"Compared to the courage shown by your daughter, you are truly—"
"A tiger's daughter above, a dog's father below, I've lived to see such a case."
However, King Ariane showed no shame.
"What my daughter showed was not courage but recklessness. What remains in the end? Nothing but a young life lost in someone else's war."
"What?"
"It's always been like this."
King Ariane shouted, filled with resentment.
"Normally, the north doesn't matter at all, but as soon as a problem arises and the esteemed Everblack Empire is threatened, then they suddenly call it ‘the world’ and force us all to sacrifice together."
"..."
"It's always been like this! Southern, western, what's the difference? Think about it. If this monster rampage had happened outside the empire's territories, would we even have gathered like this?"
Amidst the rising murmurs and angry shouts in the hall, King Ariane declared.
"Why should our people from the north sacrifice more to kill this terrible monster? As the king of the Ariane Kingdom, I'm trying to make a more rational choice... Enough with the gold and glory! We are pulling out."
Miller Ariane said no more.
As the enraged kings charged, lieutenants and soldiers intervened to prevent a fight, and Ariane Kingdom's warriors hurriedly escorted the king out of the hall.
Once King Ariane had left the hall, the atmosphere finally calmed. The chieftain of the western nomads 'Mirage' sighed and asked.
"What's the damage situation in the city?"
"The citizens had all been evacuated in advance, so there are no casualties... But the rest of the damage is severe."
A lieutenant waiting to report to the kings briefed the situation.
"Five warehouses caught in the attack were completely burned, and ten collapsed. Most soldiers escaped harm, but a new barracks got caught up... about five hundred lives vanished instantly."
The kings sighed. The lieutenant continued.
"There's a big hole in the southern wall, and hundreds of soldiers who were on guard there are dead or severely injured. Lord Valen who was on the wall also suffered major injuries, but fortunately, his life is not in danger."
The lieutenant turned the next page of the report and swallowed dryly.
"...At least the southern wall held up, but the breath that cut through the city broke through the northern wall, which completely collapsed."
The southern wall of New Terra had been brought in and completely rebuilt and fortified unlike the original walls of Crossroad.
Initially designed to block monsters from the south, the northern wall had been maintained but its protective strength was far less.
When the breath penetrated the northern wall, it simply couldn't withstand the force and crumbled.
"As for the damage to houses and other buildings... the tally is still not complete. There are still many places where the fire has not been extinguished."
"The city has been utterly wrecked."
The kings glanced outside the window. The city, which had been dim over the past week, was now brightly lit. The reason was the flames that still hadn't been extinguished everywhere.
"What's the status of the Black Dragon?"
As the chieftain of Mirage asked, the meeting hall fell silent for a moment.
A lieutenant gulped down his saliva and answered with a trembling voice.
"After firing the breath, it remained stationary, but... it has just started moving north."
"…!"
No one spoke, but the air inside the hall noticeably swirled with anxiety.
"However, due to its massive size, its speed is not very fast. It's not flying, just slowly moving northward along the road... That's all the reports we have so far."
The lieutenant closed the folder as he finished reporting.
The chieftain of Mirage looked around at the other kings.
"What should we do?"
The kings exchanged uneasy glances.
The commander who had gathered them here and had been leading the front—Ash—was currently missing.
"I heard a rumor... that Prince Ash is missing in action."
As someone cautiously spoke, the atmosphere in the hall became uneasy.
"Missing in action usually means he's dead..."
"Watch your words! The prince has killed countless monsters, he's the foremost expert in monster combat on this front. He wouldn’t die so easily."
"But, the word going around is..."
"If Prince Ash really is dead..."
"Then how should we..."
The one who had been waving the flag at the forefront was gone. The presence that directed the front with certainty was missing.
It was natural for the kings to be disturbed. Soon, they began to vehemently express their opinions.
"There's an advance base near Lake Kingdom. Let’s meet it there!"
"Didn’t Prince Ash and his expedition already fail to subdue it there? Even the elite of monster hunting failed, how do we fight it?"
"We have to push with numbers. Right now, Crossroad has assembled military forces from around the world. The mighty army of the Everblack Empire is also stationed here."
"Are you suggesting we attack the Black Dragon with soldiers? I hear that without special equipment, we can't even scratch it."
"From ancient times to the present, the strongest weapon in war has always been numbers! No matter how tough the scales, they can be penetrated if pierced enough. Let’s surround it with overwhelming numbers and kill it quickly."
"The damage will be great. Wouldn’t it be better to proceed more cautiously?"
"Better that than sitting here and burning to death!"
As the murmuring continued, the meeting was interrupted.
"Report, I have to report!"
A soldier rushed into the meeting hall.
"The Black Dragon has fired its second breath!"
"...!"
"...?!"
The meeting hall instantly plunged into chaos. Several frightened kings hurried under the tables. The chieftain of Mirage, standing awkwardly, shouted.
"Is it headed towards Crossroad again?!"
"No, this time it's directed at the advance base in front of Lake Kingdom...!"
A few kings were about to sigh in relief, but the following words made them stop.
"The advance base was engulfed in flames in one strike... and we've lost contact with the troops stationed there..."
"…"
A chilling silence filled the hall.
The advance base, an ideal location to confront the Black Dragon, was lost.
What now?
Thud, thud—
It was then.
With distinct footsteps, someone entered the hall. Everyone turned towards the sound without realizing.
"Sorry about this. Had some matters to attend to, I'm late."
The Emperor of the Everblack Empire.
Traha 'Peacemaker' Everblack entered the meeting hall, his cape fluttering.
Some kings, who harbored strong resentment against Traha, raised their voices.
"Traha! The situation is critical, why are you so late?"
"We've even lost the advance base while you were dallying...!"
"How can you be so shameless—"
But those kings had to stop talking as the kings beside them urgently gestured them to silence, and soon they realized why.
The Everblack Empire was now in a situation where Prince Ash was missing in action.
Traha had lost his son.
The kings hated the empire, but they were parents and children before that. So, they kept their mouths shut.
"What, why that look? I'm fine. It’s true I'm late to the meeting, so feel free to blame me."
Traha smiled instead.
"Above all, I believe in my son."
"...!"
"No matter where he may wander or get lost, he will eventually reach the destination I desire."
Traha flashed a dangerous smile, baring his teeth.
"And... I haven't yet received an answer. The answer to the question I asked."
"..."
"One cannot simply ignore the trial set by the emperor and run away. If he were such a person, I would never have appointed him crown prince in the first place."
With a statement that was hard to tell if it was a joke or serious, Traha shrugged his shoulders.
"I have already dispatched a rescue team. Loyal warriors have just left to search the area where my son went missing."
Traha grabbed one of the randomly placed chairs in the meeting hall and sat down tiredly.
"So let's set aside worries about me and my son and talk about the immediate problem. From what I hear, it ultimately comes down to one issue."
With coldly settled eyes, Traha quickly summarized.
"Shall we go out and fight, stay and hold the fort, or run away altogether..."
"..."
"Put simply, will we die quickly or slowly. Isn’t that the issue?"
A cruel smile lingered on the emperor's lips.
"Just like our lives, you see."
***
Lake Kingdom Dungeon.
The passage between zones 9 and 10. In front of the bridge.
"..."
The leader of the volunteer prince's rescue team was Lucas.
Many heroes had volunteered, but most were severely injured, leaving few able to move freely.
Lucas, acting as commander, had selected those with lesser injuries and had safely made it here.
Lucas led the way to the front of the bridge. He lifted a torch and slowly looked around.
Thud, thump...
From the intermittently vibrating ground beneath the lake.
The ancient bridge built over a thousand-foot abyss was stained pitch black. Was it dried blood, or ashes pressed into it by fire?
It was unclear, and Lucas had no interest. His gaze was fixed on a sword pitifully stuck in the dirt in front of the bridge.
Excannibal.
The voracious demon sword that Ash had refused even to consider using when requested, citing its dangerous nature.
Instead of scattering its usual malicious energy, the demon sword lay there powerlessly stuck, pale and drained of all venom and vigor.
"..."
Lucas looked around.
Right here, Ash and Night Bringer had held a meeting. And then...
It didn't take long for Lucas to find it.
The massive amount of blood left on the ground. And the trail of blood that led down the abyss.
There was not a drop of the evil dragon's blood. All the blood spilled was human.
It was the lifeblood of its owner.
"..."
As his head felt faint and a ringing sounded dully, Lucas tightly closed his eyes.
Thud, thump...
The entire Lake Kingdom vibrated again.
Perhaps the dungeon itself trembled, knowing the end of the world was near.
The ground roared, and aftershocks followed, like Lucas's own quivering heart.
Kuilan, Verdandi, and Kellibey, who had come with the rescue team, also said nothing and kept their mouths tightly shut.
They gritted their teeth as they looked at the trail of Ash's blood leading down the cliff.
Kuilan's teeth made a sound as if they might break from grinding, Verdandi quietly shed bloody tears, and Kellibey's beard bristled.
All three had already lost their natural eye color, which had turned completely golden.
"Let's go back."
Lucas reached out with his bandaged left arm.
Excannibal, stuck in the ground, was grasped and pulled out by his hand. As if waiting, dark energy flowed from the demon sword, staining Lucas's left side.
Power returned instantly to his left arm, which had been rendered nearly immobile by the dark flames of Night Bringer.
Lucas gripped the handle of the demon sword tightly and accepted its power without hesitation.
Haaa...
Lucas exhaled a long breath. Pale breath streamed through his swollen lips.
Through his disheveled blonde hair, Lucas's pale blue eyes were no longer human.
"To take revenge on him."
Those were the eyes of a beast.
--TL Notes--
Hope you enjoyed this chapter. If you want to support me or give me feedback, you can do it at /MattReading