"I… won…"
My shoulders heaved for air as blood dripped from my skin. I glared down at Asem, who lay flat on his back, and declared my victory.
The earth groaned and tore itself apart. A massive crater swallowed the immediate area, fracturing the ground into deep fissures that stretched to the horizon. High above, a sound like shattering glass echoed endlessly across the sky. Looking up, the entire realm of space was cracking, dropping shimmering fragments like rain in a scene that felt surreal, almost beautiful. Surrounding us was a sea of crimson energy. The sky—once a sickly, terrifying shade of blood—had been overwritten by a vibrant, brilliant red.
It had been an all-out strike. A crimson fist carrying every ounce of strength, willpower, and emotion I had left.
Ddraig spoke up within me.
'That was your greatest strike yet. A desperate, clutch display of power, sure, but to affect the surroundings to this extent... Well, I suppose that's just like you.'
"Yeah, no kidding," I muttered back mentally. Anything less wouldn't have even reached him.
Asem showed no signs of moving, but he wasn't dead. His half-lidded eyes were still locked onto mine. Surviving an attack like that with his consciousness intact was terrifying, but I suppose that was to be expected from the man who created Razul. After all, Razul hadn't gone down easily when taking my full power, either.
Just as I was marveling at his bottomless durability, Asem let out a faint chuckle.
"Haha… That hit hard… really hard. It feels as though everything I built has been crushed to dust… To think that weak, weeping boy could come this far… This match is my loss."
Battered and broken, Asem muttered those words with a strange sense of nostalgia.
Come to think of it, this guy had been watching me ever since I was flung into Ast Arde. He saw me when I was just a clueless kid, when I wept for my lost friend, when I picked up power to fight, when I defeated the Demon King Sirius, and even after I returned to my original world.
He'd watched my entire journey. So now, being defeated by the very boy he had observed, Asem was probably feeling a flood of complex emotions.
Lying spread-eagled on the cracked ground, Asem asked softly, "You said… that people don't need 'pain' to change, didn't you?"
I nodded in response.
"Yeah… Sure, maybe humans and gods alike can't change unless they suffer to the point of near-death regret. That happened to me, too. But even without that, people can change. It might take time. We might pass each other by, or make mistakes along the way. Even so… I choose to believe in the potential of people."
To hear a twenty-year-old kid say something so grand might sound foolish. But the path I walked—the events I witnessed and felt with my own heart—were permanently engraved inside me.
Fighting, hurting others, getting hurt myself. It was a bloody, violent life. But precisely because I lived it, I was able to see something vital.
—The light within the human heart.
The warmth of people, the strength of bonds, the power to protect something precious. Humans hold endless possibilities, and I had experienced that firsthand.
"When we defeated Rosward, humans, devils, and gods all united. Because everyone entrusted their hopes to me, I was able to save him. That warmth is still right here."
I pointed to my own chest.
The warmth left inside me gave me absolute conviction: even if individual lights are small, when brought together, they can overcome any absurdity.
Suddenly, a wave of agony shot through my body. The damage I took from Asem was too severe; I couldn't even maintain my balance. Collapsing into a sit next to Asem, I forced myself to keep talking.
"You started this battle because you believed in that too, didn't you?"
"…What makes you think that?" Asem asked, still unable to move.
I let out a long breath before answering.
"When you launched this war, you said it yourself, didn't you? 'Think. Figure out what each of you must do to survive, fulfill your duty.' Tiamat told me that right before we invaded this realm."
I looked down at him. "You wanted everyone to overcome the 'absurdity' that was you. If we stayed divided, we never stood a chance against your side. So you forced the entire world to point its will in a single direction—regardless of whether they were strong or weak."
"..."
Asem didn't answer. He simply closed his eyes and listened.
When we fought, Asem claimed he would change the world through 'pain.' I believed that was genuine, too. But alongside that, he had secretly wished for it—for humans, devils, and gods to hold hands, transcend their differences, and defeat him. His method was extreme, but even so—
"Isn't that enough now? You've suffered and agonized plenty. You don't actually want this either, do you? So—"
"I'm afraid you're wrong."
Asem cut me off. Forcing his broken body to move, he stood up and looked down at me.
"So let's end this fight… That's what you want to say, right? But you see, I can't let things end half-heartedly like this."
As he spoke, an aura began to ooze from his body.
My eyes widened in disbelief. His aura wasn't just returning—it was expanding rapidly.
"Guh…! You… you still have this much power left…!?"
He should have been at his absolute limit! We had both taken damage that should have killed us multiple times over. And yet—
Ignoring my shock, Asem wove a set of hand signs and slammed his palms into the earth.
The very next instant—
BOOOOOOOOOOM!!
A sudden gale swept across the field as the earth shuddered violently!
What the hell!? What did he just do!?
Dust billowed into the air, obscuring my vision. But I recognized this ominous, chilling aura—a pressure so severe it sent shivers down my spine just by touching my skin!
As cold sweat ran down my back, the dust cleared to reveal the horrifying truth.
Ddraig gasped in shock.
'Trihexa…!? Don't tell me he summoned that monster here!?'
There they were: seven Trihexas! To be precise, it was the Trihexa split into seven bodies… and all of them were surrounding us.
Are you kidding me!? Why the hell was Trihexa here!? It was supposed to be completely immobilized by Rose's barrier! Had the barrier expired already…?
I looked up at the beasts, but the barrier was still active, wrapping around their colossal forms. None of the seven bodies were moving. Rose's magic was definitely still holding.
As I struggled to process the situation, Asem spoke up. Without me noticing, he had equipped that black gauntlet onto his left arm.
"Heh… The moment I realized the former Valkyrie's research was aimed at sealing Trihexa, I knew you would create a spell to freeze it in place. So, I decided to make use of it."
"What…?"
We only deciphered Rose's paper a few months ago. Does that mean he set this trap back then!?
Asem continued, "The sealing spell placed on Trihexa is magnificent. Even with a time limit, freezing a legendary beast completely takes an incredibly dense, flawless formula. Her intellect and talent might truly be on par with the gods."
Great, so Rose has god-tier intelligence now.
Come to think of it, Asia's talent as a Dragon Handler was said to be god-class, while Miu and Alice unlocked God-Princess forms to gain god-like power… Wait, are all the other members going to reach the realm of gods eventually? It felt entirely possible—especially considering the terrifying training Master Morris was putting everyone through.
Asem looked up at the beasts. "When breaking a barrier meant to seal oneself, all consciousness and energy naturally focus toward the spell. That creates an opening. Even for a legendary beast, that rule applies."
Asem's body began to glow with an eerie light. Simultaneously, the seven split bodies of Trihexa caught the same glow. They were resonating. The light intensified until threads of pure energy stretched out from all seven Trihexas, connecting directly to Asem.
A smirk crossed Asem's face. "Anticipating this exact outcome, I planted a unique formula inside Trihexa before it ever woke up. A spell… to absorb Trihexa into myself."
"WHAT…!?"
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