Snow began falling quietly over the ruined capital.
At first, only a few pale flakes drifted from the sky, vanishing the moment they touched the blood-soaked streets below. But little by little, the snowfall thickened, covering shattered stone, broken weapons, and mangled corpses beneath a fragile layer of white.
Above the city, the red eclipse was beginning to fade.
The monstrous crimson moon that had drowned the capital in madness slowly lost its color while the final light of sunset bled across the horizon beneath it. Pale orange mixed with dying red across the heavens, casting an eerie glow over the destroyed plaza where rivers of blood still flowed between broken streets and collapsed buildings.
The pressure hanging over the battlefield weakened together with the eclipse.
For the first time in hours, the capital could breathe again.
A cold evening wind passed through the ruins, carrying the scent of ash, blood, and snow across the silent battlefield.
High above the plaza, the Dragon King stood atop the remains of a collapsed tower with his enormous wings folded behind him like white mountains against the fading sky. Snow settled slowly across his scales before melting from the heat radiating off his body.His burning eyes never moved away from Toki.
Below him, amidst corpses and shattered stone, Utsuki sat quietly on the frozen ground with Toki resting in her lap.
One arm supported his shoulders while her trembling fingers brushed strands of bloodstained blue hair away from his face. Blood still soaked both of them completely. Some of it belonged to her. Most of it belonged to him.
The monstrous pressure that once surrounded Toki had vanished entirely.
Without it, he looked strangely young,smaller somehow.
Snowflakes landed softly across his shoulders and eyelashes while his uneven breathing barely disturbed the silence surrounding them.
Utsuki stared down at him quietly.
Her entire body hurt.
Cuts burned beneath the cold air. Her arms trembled from exhaustion, and every breath she took scraped painfully against her lungs after the battle.
But none of it mattered anymore.
Not while she could still feel warmth beneath her fingertips.
She lowered her gaze slightly.
Toki's face looked peaceful now.
And somehow…
That hurt more than seeing him as a monster.
Because she realized she could not remember the last time she had ever truly seen him rest.
Even when he smiled, there had always been exhaustion hidden somewhere behind it.
But now…
Now that his body had finally collapsed completely…
He looked like someone who had simply become too tired to continue carrying the world alone.
Utsuki's fingers tightened around his hand slightly.
"You really are unfair…" she whispered softly.
Snow melted against her eyelashes.
Nearby, rubble shifted.
Bernard slowly pushed himself upright while leaning heavily against Elizabeth for support. Pain immediately crossed his face the moment he moved, but after a few seconds he still managed to force out a weak laugh.
"Still alive somehow," he muttered.
Elizabeth kept one arm firmly around his waist to stop him from collapsing again.
"You almost weren't."
Bernard glanced sideways toward her.
The fading crimson light of the eclipse reflected softly across her red hair while snow gathered along her shoulders. Exhaustion filled her expression completely, yet she still stood beside him without hesitation despite her own injuries.
A crooked grin slowly appeared on his face.
"Well," he said weakly, "it seems all bad things truly end well in the end."
Elizabeth narrowed her eyes immediately.
Bernard gestured dramatically toward Utsuki and Toki.
"Toki gets to rest comfortably on Lady Utsuki's lap," he sighed, "while I receive the honor of being held by the woman I love. Fate remains surprisingly generous toward handsome men."
Elizabeth stared at him in disbelief before immediately driving her elbow into his injured ribs.
Bernard nearly folded in half.
A strangled sound escaped his throat as pain exploded through his chest.
"You were on the verge of dying, idiot," Elizabeth snapped, though her voice shook slightly beneath the anger. "How are you still making jokes?"
Bernard coughed painfully before laughing anyway.
"And yet," he whispered carefully while looking at her, "you still risked your life to save me."
Elizabeth froze immediately.
A faint blush spread across her face despite the freezing wind.
She quickly turned her head away.
"That was different."
Bernard's smile softened.
He knew she would never admit her feelings openly.
Not in front of everyone.
But after surviving tonight, he no longer needed perfect answers.
Simply remaining alive together already felt enough.
A few meters away, Melissa still knelt beside Harold while pressing cloth gently against the wound near his side. The bleeding had mostly stopped by now, though blood still stained both her hands dark red.
Harold watched her quietly for a moment before carefully placing his hand over hers.
"You can stop," he said softly. "The bleeding already closed."
Melissa did not move immediately.
Her eyes remained fixed stubbornly on the wound.
"You're the one who always talks about putting safety first," she muttered quietly.
Harold smiled faintly.
"This feels like a special situation."
Melissa's fingers tightened slightly against the cloth.
For a brief moment, the composure she always maintained cracked apart just enough for fear to become visible beneath it.
"You scared me," she admitted softly.
Harold's expression changed immediately.
Those words struck deeper than any wound he had received tonight.
He slowly squeezed her hand.
"I know."
Melissa finally looked at him properly.
Snow drifted quietly between them while neither moved away.
Further behind them, Smith sat against a broken section of stone while rubbing the back of his neck tiredly. One side of his coat had been almost completely destroyed during the battle, and every part of his body ached beneath the exhaustion settling into his bones.
Still…
He was alive.
Honestly, that already felt miraculous.
A tired chuckle escaped him while he watched the younger generation around him.
Even after witnessing horrors capable of breaking kingdoms apart, they were somehow still finding reasons to smile.
Perhaps humanity truly was terrifying in its own way.
Suddenly, something curled lightly around his hand.
Smith blinked before glancing downward.
A thin crimson thread had wrapped itself loosely around his fingers.
Lorelay stood beside him with her arms crossed while snow gathered slowly in her hair.
"You handled that hit surprisingly well, old man."
Smith coughed awkwardly.
"I believe luck played a large role."
Lorelay slowly leaned closer toward him, her eyes narrowing slightly with amusement.
"Interesting," she murmured. "Earlier you seemed rather passionate while speaking about certain unrequited feelings."
Smith stiffened immediately.
The tips of his ears turned red.
"That," he said quickly, "was simply the heat of battle speaking."
Lorelay's smile widened faintly.
"The heat of battle confessed for you?"
Smith looked genuinely horrified.
"I would deeply appreciate it if we buried this conversation forever."
Lorelay laughed quietly.
Nearby, Tora lightly shoved Ozvold in the ribs.
"Such a shame," she sighed dramatically. "Everyone else has someone waiting for them while you nearly died alone like a lonely old man."
Ozvold immediately frowned.
"I'm perfectly satisfied with surviving."
Kandaki glanced toward her calmly.
"Don't bully him too much," he said. "He already has Suzume waiting for him at home."
Ozvold froze instantly.
Color spread across his face so quickly it became almost impressive.
"That's not—" he began.
Tora stared at him in disbelief.
"You're blushing."
"I am not."
"You absolutely are."
Ozvold looked away immediately.
The others quietly laughed beneath the falling snow.
For the first time since the nightmare began, the battlefield almost felt normal again.
Lilith slowly approached Utsuki.
The smile on her face was gentle, though sadness still lingered behind her crimson eyes.
She stopped beside her quietly before lowering her gaze toward Toki resting in Utsuki's lap.
"You won," Lilith said softly. "You deserve to be the one standing beside him."
Utsuki blinked in surprise.
Lilith expression softened further.
"You're stronger than I am."
Utsuki immediately shook her head.
"You're misunderstanding things," she whispered awkwardly while faint color spread across her face.
But Lilith only smiled sadly.
"No," she murmured. "I don't think I am."
Before Utsuki could answer—
A calm voice suddenly echoed across the ruined plaza.
"My, my… with snowfall this heavy, I suppose repairing the city today is impossible."
Everyone froze.
Smith's eyes widened immediately.
"King Mathias?"
The elderly king slowly approached through the ruined street while brushing snow from his cloak. Several guards followed behind him nervously, though the exhaustion visible on all their faces made them look more like survivors than royal escorts.
Smith stared at him in disbelief.
"How did you leave the shelter?"
The moment everyone noticed the king properly, they instinctively lowered their heads.
Mathias immediately waved one hand dismissively.
"Enough with that," he sighed tiredly. "The knights inside the bunker are too busy maintaining order among the civilians to pay attention to an old man wandering outside."
Despite his calm tone, exhaustion lingered visibly beneath his eyes.
"I stopped hearing noise from above," he continued quietly, "so I thought perhaps the battle had ended."
Bernard suddenly straightened slightly.
"The people," he muttered. "We need to tell the civilians the fighting is over."
But before anyone could move—
The Dragon King finally spoke.
His deep voice rolled across the ruined capital without emotion.
"First," he said coldly, "make certain your enemy has truly fallen."
The entire plaza froze.
Everyone's expressions changed.
Because in their exhaustion…In their relief…
They had forgotten...Rosalin and Reginald.
Every gaze slowly turned toward the center of the ruined plaza.
Snow continued falling over the battlefield while the remains of flesh scattered earlier by the Dragon King's attack lay motionless across broken stone and shattered corpses. Steam still rose faintly from some of the burning pieces, mixing with the cold evening air beneath the dying eclipse.
The scattered remains slowly began dragging themselves together unnaturally, chunks of meat sliding across blood-covered stone as though pulled by invisible strings. Bones cracked. Tendons stretched. Dark blood spread beneath the moving mass while the sound of tearing flesh filled the frozen silence.
Someone stepped out from behind it.
A man wearing torn white clothing stumbled forward while limping heavily through the ruins.
His blond hair hung messily over his face, stained with dirt and blood, while one of his green eyes twitched violently from exhaustion. His entire body looked ruined beyond recognition. Deep wounds covered his chest and shoulders, and one of his arms was completely missing beneath the elbow.
Yet despite his condition—
Hatred still burned inside his eyes.
His gaze locked directly onto Toki lying unconscious in Utsuki's arms.
And the moment he saw that Toki was still breathing—
Something inside him snapped.
The Star Collector staggered forward before screaming toward the grotesque remains of Rosalin.
"WE CAN'T STOP NOW!"
His voice cracked violently beneath desperation.
"TOKI IS STILL ALIVE!"
Snow swirled around him while blood poured from the ruined stump of his missing arm.
"I refuse…" he rasped, "…to lose to him again."
"HE WILL KILL US IF HE FINDS OUT WE FAILED!"
Then, with trembling fingers, he reached beneath his torn coat and pulled out his severed hand.
Several people visibly recoiled.
The fingers were still twitching.
Without hesitation, the Star Collector threw the severed hand toward Rosalin.
The pale flesh landed wetly against the moving mass.
"Take it," he snarled. "Do whatever you want. Just kill him."
For a brief moment, Rosalin's broken face slowly emerged from the shifting pile of flesh.
Her hollow eyes stared at the severed hand silently.
Then she smiled.
Slowly, Rosalin picked up the severed arm and squeezed it hard enough for blood to drip between her fingers.
Then—
She raised it toward her mouth.
The sound that followed made several people look away immediately.
She drank greedily.
Dark blood spilled down her chin while the flesh around her body began twitching violently beneath the fresh nourishment. Reginald's ruined remains shifted together with hers as bones cracked loudly inside the growing mass.
Melissa covered her mouth instinctively.
"What… is that thing…"
Nobody answered.
Because even after everything they had witnessed tonight—
This still felt wrong.
Rosalin finally lowered the ruined hand.
Then she touched Reginald's remains gently.
The flesh exploded outward.
A massive blob of meat immediately began expanding across the center of the plaza while blood vessels twisted together like roots beneath exposed muscle. Bones surfaced and disappeared repeatedly beneath the growing mass as though multiple bodies were desperately trying to emerge at once.The three of them became one.
The smell alone became unbearable.
Utsuki instinctively tightened her hold around Toki.
Even unconscious, his body reacted faintly to the presence ahead.
Meanwhile, Harold, Bernard, Smith, and Ozvold slowly stepped forward despite their injuries.
The Dragon King stared down at the creature from above with visible disgust.
"Another cheap imitation," he growled coldly. "I no longer have the patience to teach you insects another lesson."
The blob suddenly convulsed violently.
It began taking shape.
The flesh compressed inward while bones rearranged themselves with horrifying sounds. Muscles thickened. Skin stretched across a gigantic frame as the creature slowly rose higher and higher above the ruined plaza.
The creature rose higher and higher above the ruined plaza, nearly four meters tall, with broad shoulders and a physique resembling a living fortress.
Long crimson hair slowly spilled down its back while golden eyes opened beneath the fading eclipse.
The moment those eyes appeared—
The Dragon King froze.
For the first time since arriving in the capital…
Fear crossed his face.
The creature slowly lifted its head.
Its golden gaze locked directly onto the Dragon King.
And suddenly—
The entire battlefield felt colder.
King Mathias's expression twisted instantly into fury.
"How dare you…" he whispered.
"HOW DARE YOU TAKE HIS FORM?!"
His voice echoed through the ruined plaza while rage shook his entire body.
"RINDAL IS NOT SOMETHING YOU FILTH MAY IMITATE!"
Several nearby knights looked stunned.
Because the name carried weight even generations later.
Rindal.
The greatest king in the history of the kingdom.
The man who once stood beside the Dragon King himself.
The creature remained silent.
But the resemblance was horrifying.
Its proportions were slightly wrong. The smile stretching slowly across its face looked too wide. Its skin moved strangely around the neck and shoulders as though the flesh had not settled correctly.
But it was close enough.
Close enough to awaken memories better left buried.
Above the plaza, the Dragon King suddenly took flight.
The pressure released by his wings shattered nearby walls while snow spiraled violently through the air.
Melissa's eyes widened immediately.
"We need to call the knights from the shelter!"
Smith shook his head almost instantly.
"There's no time."
His tired eyes remained fixed on the creature ahead.
"We handle this ourselves."
Bernard let out a long, exhausted groan before dragging one hand down his face.
"Can this day please end already?" he muttered bitterly. "This is the third time I thought the battle was finally over.At this point, fate is just mocking us.!"
Harold stepped beside him quietly.
"We're injured," he admitted calmly. "Toki is unconscious, and half the capital has collapsed…"
He slowly drew his weapon again.
"But we're still the captains of this army."
Ozvold sighed heavily while adjusting his grip on his blade.
"What I wouldn't give right now for a hot bath and a bed."
Despite the complaint, he still stepped forward together with the others.
Snow gathered slowly across their shoulders beneath the fading red eclipse.
The battlefield behind them looked like the end of the world itself.
Smith slowly straightened his back before adjusting the torn remains of his coat with surprising dignity.
Then a faint grin appeared on his exhausted face.
"Gentlemen," he said calmly, "I believe it's time we remind this ghost from the past who rules this kingdom now."