Eldric frowned at the cryptic response, but before he could answer, Aria stepped forward. Her voice came out stronger than her injured body suggested.
"Eldric, this doesn't have to end in bloodshed. We can find a solution. Stop this before more people die."
Eldric turned his attention to her, and his expression twisted into something between fury and contempt.
"Traitor." The word came out like poison. "You should kneel and beg for forgiveness. Maybe, just maybe, we'd execute you quickly instead of letting you rot in a dungeon."
Aria didn't back down. Her chin lifted defiantly.
"I will never kneel to a kingdom that sacrifices its people for pride."
Selene, who had remained silent until that moment, raised her bow. The arrow pointed directly at Aria's heart, the string taut and ready to release. Her voice came out broken, filled with pain and rage mingled together.
"I should have killed you when I had the chance. I won't fail again."
The tension exploded like an over-tightened string. Adelheid half-drew her sword. Marcus raised his shield, and the golden light of his divine protection began to glow. Guards on both sides brought hands to weapons. The air itself seemed to thicken with imminent violence.
Kaito knew the moment had come. Eldric was about to give the signal for his ambush. He could see it in the way his eyes moved subtly sideways, checking positions.
And then it happened.
Eldric raised his left hand in a seemingly casual gesture—scratching the back of his neck. But it was the signal.
From the surrounding bushes and rocks, thirty soldiers of Avernor emerged like ghosts materializing. They rose from depressions in the terrain, from behind rock formations, from bushes that seemed too small to hide anyone. They moved with military precision, surrounding Kaito's group in a perfect semicircle that cut off any obvious escape route.
Eldric smiled with savage triumph.
"Did you think I'd come to negotiate in good faith? How naive. You were always the stupidest of us."
The Neudämmerung soldiers tensed, forming a defensive circle around Kaito. Adelheid positioned herself in front of him, sword fully drawn now. Lilith began murmuring, preparing her mist. Aria, despite her injury, nocked an arrow with trembling hands.
But Kaito showed no panic. He showed no surprise. Instead, he smiled—a small, almost imperceptible smile.
"No. That's why I did this."
He snapped his fingers.
The sound was like a starting signal. From BEHIND the Avernor troops, from the valley side that was supposed to be their secure rear, something emerged that Eldric never expected.
Naporia emerged like a personified storm, with forty Neudämmerung assault soldiers flowing behind her like a tide of steel. They had been there all along, hidden for hours in positions they had prepared the night before, patiently waiting for Kaito's signal. They hadn't just outflanked—they had encircled the encirclement.
Naporia drew her sword with dramatic flourish, her fierce smile visible even from a distance.
"SURPRISE, IDIOTS!"
Eldric's face went from triumph to shock in a second. Marcus spun sharply, his shield rising instinctively toward the new threat. The Avernor soldiers who had emerged to surround Kaito now found themselves trapped between two enemy forces.
Kaito spoke with a calm voice that somehow carried clearly over the growing chaos.
"You predicted my move. I predicted yours. We're even, Eldric. So I ask again: do we negotiate? Or do we all die here?"
For a moment, it seemed Eldric might consider the option. His jaw worked, his eyes rapidly calculating the odds. But then his pride—that pride that had defined his entire life as a favored hero—won out.
"ATTACK!" he roared. "KILL THEM ALL!"
And the valley exploded into violence.
---
The soldiers clashed like opposing waves. The sound of steel against steel, war cries, conflicting orders, and the whistle of arrows filled the air. The careful formation disintegrated in seconds, becoming dozens of individual duels and group skirmishes scattered throughout the valley.
Adelheid lunged at Eldric before he could reach Kaito. Their swords clashed with force that sent sparks flying. It was her rematch—the chance to erase the humiliation of her previous defeat. But this time, she fought differently. More controlled. Colder. Remembering Kaito's words about not losing herself, she channeled her fury into precision rather than brute strength.
Eldric, for his part, fought with renewed rage. Every blow was designed to crush, to break, to destroy completely. But Adelheid dodged, blocked, deflected—never meeting his strength directly, but redirecting it.
"Coward!" Eldric shouted. "Fight like a warrior!"
Adelheid didn't respond. She simply cut toward his leg, forcing him back.
Across the field, Naporia had reached Marcus. The clash between them was almost philosophical—faith versus conquest, light versus darkness made steel. Marcus blocked each blow with his massive shield, divine light creating barriers that repelled Naporia's attacks. But she was tireless, striking from impossible angles, forcing him to constantly turn to keep his shield between them.
"The light of the gods will repel you, demon!" Marcus declared, thrusting forward with his shield in an attempt to strike her.
Naporia flowed around the attack like water.
"Your gods aren't here. Only us. And I'm much more real than any god."
She cut toward his exposed side. Marcus barely managed to interpose his shield in time.
Selene and Aria met on a slightly elevated section of the valley. There were no words this time—only the whistle of arrows and the dull thud of impacts. Aria, struggling with her injured arm, relied completely on her teleportation ability to compensate for her reduced mobility. She shot from unexpected positions, making her arrows appear from angles Selene couldn't predict.
But Selene was a master in her own right. Every arrow she shot was perfect in form, and her rate of fire was terrifying. For every arrow Aria shot, Selene shot two.
One of Selene's arrows passed so close to Aria's cheek it left a superficial cut. Another embedded in the ground inches from her foot. Aria rolled behind a rock, gasping, her vision blurring at the edges from exertion and pain.
Lilith moved through the battlefield like a ghost, not fighting directly but sowing chaos wherever she passed. She whispered names, touched passing soldiers, exhaled her mist in small concentrated doses. Avernor soldiers began stopping, confused, attacking their own comrades or simply standing still, forgetting why they held weapons in their hands.
It was psychological massacre, more effective than any sword.
And in the center of all this chaos, chained and guarded by guards who were now too busy fighting to pay him complete attention, Drake watched.
He watched how the Avernor soldiers fought—efficient, disciplined, but also cold. When one fell wounded, his comrades simply stepped over him, continuing the attack. No one stopped to help. No one checked if they were still alive. They were chess pieces, sacrificial and forgettable.
He watched how the Neudämmerung soldiers fought—chaotic, less refined, but with something different. When one of them fell, another risked themselves to drag them to cover. They covered each other. They shouted names—not ranks, but real names. They cared.
And then he saw something that broke something inside him. A young Avernor soldier, no older than sixteen, fell wounded meters from Drake's position. He screamed for help, his hand reaching toward his comrades. But the Avernor soldiers pressed on, ignoring him completely. Orders were orders. No time for weakness.
A Neudämmerung soldier—an older man with scars from ancient battles—veered from his path, dodged two attacks, and dragged the wounded enemy soldier behind a rock. He gave him water from his own canteen before returning to battle.
Drake looked at his chains. Magical chains, yes. But he had Dragon's Fury. He'd always had enough strength to break them if he really tried. He just needed to fully activate his transformation and accept the pain of the electric shock.
He had been waiting. Waiting for the right moment. Waiting to decide.
And in that moment, he decided.
He closed his eyes. Activated his power. Felt his skin harden, his muscles grow, the strength of the dragon flow through his veins. The chains reacted instantly, sending brutal electricity through his body. He screamed—couldn't help it—but he didn't stop.
CRACK!
The chains shattered.
The sound was like thunder in the midst of battle. For a moment—just a moment—everyone stopped. Soldiers on both sides turned toward the sound. Eldric froze mid-strike against Adelheid. Marcus lowered his shield slightly. Naporia stopped moving. Aria lowered her bow.
And everyone looked at Drake.
He stood, free, the broken chains falling from his wrists and ankles. His skin showed burn marks where the electricity had torn through, but his eyes blazed with clarity and purpose. His half-dragon form gleamed in the midday sun—dark green scales, black claws, golden eyes with vertical pupils.
Eldric was the first to speak, his voice a mixture of relief and command.
"Drake! Thank the gods! Kill Kaito. Now!"
Drake looked at Eldric. Studied the face of the man who had been his leader, his comrade, his supposed friend for months. He saw the expectation there, the automatic assumption of obedience, the lack of any question about how he had been treated or what he had experienced.
Then he looked at Kaito. The young man who had captured him, yes. But who had also treated him with dignity. Who had refused to allow Naporia to torture him. Who had offered him choice instead of demanding loyalty.
Marcus, horrified, stepped forward.
"Drake... brother... what are you doing?"
Drake walked slowly. Each step was deliberate. His dragon tail dragging behind him, leaving a furrow in the earth. The entire valley held its breath.
He stopped.
Between Kaito and Eldric.
Equidistant from both.
And then, with a movement that seemed to happen in slow motion but was actually instantaneous, he turned.
Toward Kaito.
He stood beside him. Looking toward Eldric.
His voice came out as a low growl, distorted by his dragon form, but the words were clear.
"Sorry, Eldric."
The shock on Eldric's face was total. His mouth opened, but no sound came out. Marcus dropped his shield slightly, his expression one of absolute disbelief. Selene lowered her bow completely, her eyes enormous.
Eldric found his voice. It came out as a roar.
"TRAITOR! DAMNED TRAITOR!"
Drake shook his head.
"I'm not the traitor. I just... chose the side that treats me like a person. Not like a weapon."
He looked at Kaito briefly.
"Someone asked me what I would choose. This is my answer."
Kaito nodded with something like respect. He said nothing—there was no need. The gesture said it all.
Eldric was trembling now. Not from fear. From absolute, pure, incandescent fury. His crimson aura began to manifest, brighter than ever before. Energy crackled around him like living flames.
"THEN DIE WITH THEM!" The cry was primal, almost inhuman. "ALL OF YOU! DIE!"
He activated Line Breaker at full power. The energy exploded outward, pushing Adelheid back. The ground beneath his feet cracked. His eyes blazed blood-red.
And he charged.
Not toward Kaito.
Toward Drake.