Duke Pendragon

[There is no need for you to. Or rather, it would be impossible for you.]

“Hmm?”

Seiel frowned after hearing an unexpected response from Soldrake. He responded with a smirk.

“Queen of the Dragons, I would comply with your words. If you told me not to, I would not, however, the following words were a bit strange, do you not agree? Have you forgotten who I am?”

[I have not forgotten. You are a knight of Illeyna and a general who commands 100,000 angels in the Heavenly Realm. If you utilize the power granted to you by the goddess, you could surely eradicate Elsaroa and the Nameless One from this place right now.]

“Hmm.”

Seiel nodded his head with satisfaction, waiting to hear more.

[However, that is only temporary. In a hundred years, or perhaps in ten years, they will be resurrected once more. Seiel, although your powers could annihilate them temporarily, you cannot completely eradicate them and return them to the arms of god. You should know better the reason behind it.]

“Tsk!”

Seiel clicked his tongue after quietly listening to Soldrake’s words. She was right.

“However, Queen, isn’t that the only option available to us right now? To make them disappear with my power? Whether it is ten years or a hundred years, the world will return to its original position and be at peace for a while, would it not?”

For absolute beings like Seiel, time was impermanent. In particular, his time on earth was only a fleeting moment compared to the time he would spend after returning to heaven. Ten years, one hundred years, it did not matter to him.

It would be similar for Soldrake.

Although she agreed with his words, she did not admit it.

[Time is not of importance. What is important to me is the fact that they will one day resurrect and threaten Pendragon once again.]

“Hmm…”

Seiel crossed his arms while continuing to press Elsaroa with the brilliance of an archangel, showing off his overwhelming power.

“I understand the will of the Queen. But as you said, if we are to completely eradicate them, we need the power of a god. Not just one either, but two or more.”

Seiel turned his head after speaking. His gaze passed over Elsaroa, who was shaking and trembling with pain, anger, and overwhelming fear, then stopped at the Nameless Necromancer and the army composed of thousands of monsters. They were facing off against the six dragons in the sky.

Kwaaaaahh!

Six dragons, their queen, a descended angel, the Queen of Death, and a sorcerer who existed for an unfathomable time, who was also the high priest of the Death God…

The sight of absolute beings emitting overwhelming energy while closely watching each other was simply unrealistic. It was an otherworldly scene. Surely there was no place for humans to intervene.

As if to prove it, the surviving troops of the Pendragon Duchy could nothing else but stare at the sky with their mouths wide open. It did not matter which race they belonged to. All of them felt something, something that went beyond helplessness.

How could mere humans, orcs, and centaurs intervene in the matters of such beings?

Even Emperor Aragon would have been powerless.

However… one person was different.

Boom!

The ground trembled with a roar, and everyone’s attention was drawn to the source. The figure appeared quite different from the lofty, majestic, absolute beings.

His armor was stained with blood and flesh.

His face was covered with blood and sweat.

Unlike the absolutes, who looked down on the world with arrogance and an unmatchable presence, his gaze burned with a concoction of various emotions.

He was a ‘human’ – a being completely contrasting to the absolute existences. He shouted after stabbing his sword into the ground.

“Angels or gods, I do not care. Don’t bullshit me! This is the land of Pendragon! And I am the lord of this land! I am Duke Pendragon!”

“…..!”

The cry of a human, the human monarch, penetrated the ears of the humans, the other races, and the absolute beings.

“My fate! And the fate of those who are here! We are responsible! We will fight for it and obtain it!”

[Ray…]

Soldrake called out.

Raven turned his scorching gaze towards her and replied.

“Sol, you know of a way to get rid of them forever, right? But to do that, something needs to be sacrificed. And that something… is related to me?”

[…..!]

Soldrake’s eyes quivered slightly.

She and Raven were companions of the soul. As such, Raven could detect and feel her thoughts and emotions.

The third way.

Her swaying emotions must have been conveyed to Raven when she thought about it.

“What is it? How can we get rid of those beings from this land?”

Soldrake did not answer. She was clearly hesitant.

[That is…]

Soldrake started to speak, but was interrupted when thousands of monsters surrounding Fort Bellint began their charge with an enormous roar.

[Foolish beings!]

Amuhalt’s eyes glimmered with a light. He began to attack the monsters along with the other dragons.

Kiyaaaaahk!

Even if there were thousands of monsters, they would have difficulty facing a single dragon, let alone six of them. Normally, it would be impossible for them to put up a fight against the fierce attack of the dragons, but they were accompanied by the Sorcerer of Darkness, the high priest of the Death God.

Amuhalt turned his attention and started attacking the Nameless Necromancer, while the other five dragons exhaled their breaths toward the monsters.

Kwaaaaaaaahhh!

Dazzling pillars of fire once again descended to the ground. Monsters were objects of fear for humans, but they melted into nothingness in front of light and flames.

However, the Nameless Necromancer repelled Amuhalt’s Dragon Breath without batting an eye.

Kwaaahk!

[Hmm?]

Amuhalt narrowed his eye at the sight. His dark red flames were being dispelled into dozens of stems after coming into contact with a hemispherical barrier of mana created by the Nameless Necromancer.

But he wasn’t shocked because the Nameless Necromancer was blocking his breath. Rather, with the amount of mana he possessed, the Nameless Necromancer could have protected the monsters with a similar projection and utilized powerful black magic just like Elsaroa.

Even so, the Nameless Necromancer was not taking any action.

“Ha!”

Seiel had been observing the sight from the sidelines. Then he suddenly burst into a peal of short laughter.

“Is that what you were planning? That evil thing, and you. Both of you were thinking the same thing?”

Seiel spoke absurdly, then turned towards Soldrake rather than the Nameless Necromancer.

[…..]

Soldrake still had no answer. She quietly stared at Raven, as if she had made a determination.

“Sol…!”

Raven cried out in a desperate voice. Then, the spirit surrounding Soldrake gradually deepened.

Kwaaaarraaak!

Her figure was engulfed in light, and soon, she transformed back into her main body. A brilliant glow radiated from her five horns as she spoke.

[Ray. Die for me and Ray.]

“…..!”

Raven’s eyes filled with shock. His companion of the soul was telling him to die.

Death.

The destination that awaited at the end of time, when everything disappeared. The decades he spent tenaciously surviving to fulfill his revenge would end. Death would signal the end for his hard-earned happiness, his loved ones, and his soon-to-be-born children.

That was death.

“…..”

But strangely, Raven felt calm. It was because Soldrake had spoken such words. His soul’s companion was the one telling him to die.

“All right.”

Raven nodded without hesitation.

As if she had been expecting his answer, a smile came to Soldrake’s mouth. Although she was in her draconic form, Raven could clearly see that she had smiled.

[Ray. Kill that witch, Elsaroa. Then Ray will die too.]

“W, what?!”

Elsaroa shouted with fear. Everything had been going awry ever since the appearance of the angel, Seiel, and the Nameless Necromancer. Until now, she had been eyeing for a chance to make her escape.

She forced a wicked laughter and responded while trying to hide her anxiety.

“Oh-ho! Oh-hohohohohoho! You are out of your mind, Soldrake! That child cannot kill me! When he stabbed his sword into the heart of the girl named Luna Seyrod! His qualifications as the Duke of Pendragon disappeared! So no matter how hard you try to…”

“How stupid.”

[No.]

Raven and Soldrake spoke simultaneously, cutting off Elsaroa’s words.

“W, what are you saying!? You, a petty human, would dare to think you can kill me? Me!? I am Elsaroa, the Queen of Alcantia and the master of all death and fear…!”

Elsaroa unknowingly raised her voice, trying to deny the creeping sense of anxiety. Numerous emotions swirled inside Raven’s eyes as he met Soldrake’s gaze. He slowly turned his gaze towards Elsaroa.

“I… returned Luna’s soul as Raven Valt, not Alan Pendragon.”

“Raven… Valt?”

Elsaroa took on a blank expression after hearing the unfamiliar name.

“That is correct. Luna Seyrod did not love Alan Pendragon, but me, Raven Valt.”

He felt it when he stabbed Luna, who was being manipulated by Elsaroa – that the one she loved at the expense of her life was not himself as Duke Pendragon, but rather Raven Valt who dwelled within.

That was why she had spoken such words to him when she was finally freed.

Thank you.

It was addressed to the true soul contained within. She had thanked him for acknowledging and accepting the love she had for him as Raven Valt. As such, Raven completely broke the remaining chains binding him to the past. Now, all he had remaining was his identity as “Duke Pendragon”.

And now, he had to give up all he had left and walk towards death. It was something only he could do to completely eradicate Elsaroa.

“Die. Come face with a fear and death much worse than the fear and death you dominate.”

Fwooooosh!

A final burst of spirit flowed from Raven’s body. The Spirit of the Dragon, which could cut anything in the world, erupted stronger and more desperately than ever. The spirit poured into his sword.

It was more dazzling and intense than anything being emitted by the absolute beings in the sky of Fort Bellint.

“A mere human… Huh!”

Seiel flinched after letting out an involuntary sound of admiration. Even though he was an angel and a knight of a god, he had been briefly intimidated by a human’s energy. With even Seiel being surprised, there was no need to speak of Elsaroa’s reaction.

“W, what…! No! Go away!”

She shouted and screamed in disbelief. She turned her back and attempted to flee after seeing a growing sword of light that rose up 30 feet (about 9 meters) into the air. However, the fortress was surrounded by a veil of light by Seiel, and there was nowhere for her to escape.

Fwoooosh!

Raven’s body slowly rose into the air.

“N, no!”

Elsaroa looked around madly. Her eyes glistened, and she shouted with desperate hope.

“You! Hurry up and save me! Çarcas ordered you to revive me, right? You are his high priest, so you are for me, right!?”

However, despite her desperate cry, the Nameless Necromancer did not budge. He stood amidst the remains of the monster, in the plains outside the fortress littered with gray ash. His eyes were empty as he gazed at Elsaroa, who begged crazily, but did not respond.

“What are you doing!? You need to…”

“Everything is flowing as it should be. Obey the causality, Queen.”

“…..!”

Elsaroa’s eyes widened as if they would tear apart. At that moment, she felt a spirit and a light much more intense and enormous than even Seiel’s.

“N…!”

She attempted to scream, then her body was bent backwards like a bow. A dazzling blue-white blade had penetrated her heart from the back.

“Even…so… I will never… disappear… Keugh!”

She desperately tried to smile, then reached out to grab the blade. Then she became wide-eyed. Her fingers were gradually turning into dark green ash and disappearing. It was quickly spreading to her arms and her entire body.

“This… cannot be… You are not… Pendragon…”

She struggled to speak. A vain smile appeared around her lips.

“But… Since I led Pendragon to death… Success…”

She was never given a chance to finish her words. The first witch, who attempted to envelop the entire world with fear and death after hundreds of years, completely disappeared.

Passsss.

After destroying Elsaroa, Dragon Blade began to fade away. The green fragments left by Elsaroa slowly fell on the blade, then began spreading to Raven’s body.

“Uah! M, my lord!”

Killian cried out. He had been helplessly watching the scene play out. With his body still in the air, Raven slowly turned. He stole a glance at his own body. Due to the last curse left by the Queen of Death, his whole body was slowly turning dark green. He smiled.

“Take care, Mark.”

Fwoosh!

With his last word, Raven’s figure was engulfed in a dark green flame.

Raven Valt, and not Duke Pendragon.

Thus, he killed himself.