It was a sound the Black Badgers loved.

Because it meant the territorial reclamation battle was nearing its end.

10.

The moment the clear, ringing voice echoed out, the Badgers lifted their heads.

And they looked up at the sky, now almost completely covered.

At some point, the sky had grown more opaque.

Even the stars that had shone brightly, indifferent to the burning battlefield, were no longer visible.

If this had been a typical reclamation battle, the Black Badgers would have raised their voices in unison.

[9]

Because the countdown was always so short.

[8]

“...Where’s Hilde?”

Jonathan spoke.

His morphing weapon was being used to form a defensive wall, and Ricardo—who had been fighting with a rifle—also lifted his head at that.

The ground was still trembling.

[7]

“He’ll win...”

Ricardo muttered.

He lowered his gaze again.

“We just have to believe that...”

[6]

Creatures stepped on mines and exploded.

Others rushed forward over the remains.

The Badgers fired into the advancing swarm.

Most of them, pulling the trigger, had noticeably relaxed shoulders.

[5]

At this point, the chance of the device failing was extremely low.

They were steadily pushing back the Creatures.

[4]

Even the tremors caused by Hildebert and Kyle had begun to weaken.

3.

It almost felt like Hildebert had deliberately moved away from the Core device after seeing it being formed.

2.

And perhaps the two of them were intercepting the incoming Creatures from outside—their numbers had dropped drastically.

[1]

[Core generation complete.]

“Don’t relax yet!”

Yehyeon shouted from the frontline, still pulling the trigger.

“It’s not over!”

The Badgers, who had raised their clenched fists toward the sky, returned to battle.

But many couldn’t hide the smiles forming at the corners of their lips.

Through the comms, Ska Owen issued orders to clear out the Creatures inside the Core—and to capture humanoid ones alive.

That meant one thing for certain.

Aside from the Swordmasters, the victor of this battle was humanity.

Amid the quiet excitement, some Badgers did not smile.

Those who didn’t kept working their hands, casting uneasy glances toward the device.

THUD—!

The ground shook again.

Those aware of Hildebert and Kyle’s battle flinched.

As gunfire and explosions gradually died down across the battlefield, Sophia muttered,

“Hildebert will win.”

“Yeah.”

Kai answered immediately.

“As he always has.”

Unlike a typical reclamation battle, they would not withdraw in divided formations.

Because the fight was not truly over yet.

A Swordmaster could destroy the Core device they had painstakingly built as easily as breaking a wooden door.

They had witnessed that with their own eyes just hours ago.

So while clearing out the Creatures inside the Core, the Black Badgers remained at the frontline.

The knights led by Igor worked to capture or force the surrender of their kin who had taken the opposing side.

The sound of suicide drones landing.

The number of threatening Creatures steadily decreased.

Badgers evacuated the wounded to the rear.

Those who had recovered—or reinforcements who had just arrived—continued to move toward the frontline.

Gradually, fewer people were left fighting.

And finally, when gunfire near the frontline ceased—

Those gathered near the central Core device began to stand, one by one.

A cool dawn wind tugged endlessly at their black coats.

The first light of day pierced through the translucent veil, staining the earth.

The Badgers stood under the pale morning sunlight.

Those who had come this far, enduring countless battles over three years alongside Hildebert, turned their gaze toward where he would be.

Now—

Hildebert stood alone beneath the open sky.

The dawn light would fall on him without obstruction.

White hair.

Golden eyes that shone.

And over the pristine, elegant sword in his hand...

***

“Put up a barrier.”

That was the first thing Meierbold said when he saw Nabarate, collapsed on the floor etched with the teleportation array, pouring out all his mana.

“That mage—!”

RATATATAT—!

Instead of raising a barrier, Nabarate extended enormous palms toward the ceiling.

From those hands, blooming like flowers, attacks burst forth.

Shu pressed her hoverboard against the wall, dodging the barrage that tore holes into the lobby ceiling.

Then she turned her head to check Cecil—

The Grand Mage was protecting herself with a transparent barrier.

“What are they doing?”

Cecil’s voice came sharply.

“I thought Meierbold was opening the teleportation array.”

Shu flinched at how authoritative her tone sounded—far more than expected.

But ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) Rose, who in the Empire wouldn’t even have been permitted to meet Cecil’s gaze, simply smiled calmly.

“That’s right. It seems this is their final decision. Those who seek revenge will remain, prepared to die—and the rest will leave.”

“Have they found a proper destination?”

“It appears so.”

Boom—!

Another blast fired from the blooming hands.

But it lacked conviction.

As if the mage’s mana was being focused elsewhere, leaving those hands neglected.

Though eyes formed on the palms, watching their movements—

The power was nowhere near what it had been before.

Attack magic that couldn’t even reach the lobby ceiling.

Rose tilted her head.

“Are they maintaining a barrier from the inside? The power dropped suddenly.”

“So you want me to interfere with them?”

Cecil asked instead of answering.

Rose immediately lifted her head.

“No. Quite the opposite.”

She looked straight into Cecil’s golden eyes.

“In truth, I wished to ask something completely unrelated to them.”

And briefly, she explained.

As her words came to an end, the hands blooming from the floor began to fade one by one.

The portal zone became visible again.

Cecil did not miss that moment.

BOOOOM!

The white flowers on the ceiling transformed instantly into golden arrows and rained downward.

At the same time she fired them, Cecil descended into the portal zone—

Pulling the hoverboard along with her through some unknown force.

“Grand Mage—!”

The white space spread out before them.

The man organizing the people turned sharply the moment he saw them.

“Nabarate! Don’t support the teleportation array—stop Cecil—!”

“No need.”

Cecil landed calmly in the portal zone.

“I have no intention of interfering.”

The blond mage channeling mana into the array looked up in disbelief.

But Cecil paid him no mind.

She ignored the young summoner glaring at her.

Ignored Nabarate, who raised his head through gritted teeth.

Instead, after confirming that Rose and Shu had landed safely, she looked over the countless members of her kin filling the portal zone.

They stood frozen, unable to decide whether to flee—or rush into the teleportation array.

Nabarate, still supporting Meierbold with mana, bit his lip and looked up.

“You’re lying—”

“You know you can’t attack me right now. If you stop supporting the flame mage, the teleportation array will shut down.”

Veins bulged on Nabarate’s forehead.

But he couldn’t refute it.

He remained rooted in place.

Standing a short distance away, the healing mage continued observing her kin.

Having seen Hildebert’s memories, she knew Kysis’s final words.

The last command of her lord—to save as many as possible. Cecil possessed extensive knowledge of Earth from Hildebert and Simon Diamond’s memories, but those were still someone else’s memories.

To her, her own kin mattered most.

Having never experienced internal division among her people, she held no hatred toward those who had split away.

“If I didn’t have urgent business, I would’ve helped you.”

The same went for Kyle.

Of course, she couldn’t possibly like the mage who had forcibly dragged her out and then acted so brazenly.

Still—

Cecil did not hate them.

Among all those her kin had desperately tried to save—

The one she had grown most attached to was Hildebert.

Fifty years was not a short time.

“I have something else to do.”

Cecil murmured.

“Are you certain what you said is what Hilde wants?”

She looked at Rose.

The red-eyed criminal standing in the portal zone.

Rose smiled faintly.

“The battle is nearing its end.”

Cecil understood immediately.

“No one can interfere in the duel between two Swordmasters who are Children of the World Tree. Kyle is undoubtedly satisfied right now. He’s saved those he needed to save—and he’s crossing blades with the one he seeks revenge against.”

“And Hildebert?”

“You already know.”

Rose spoke softly.

“The Captain has always been the same. His wish has never changed. To save as many of his kin as possible. Even one more.”

“That one... is Kyle?”

“Most likely.”

She said it lightly—but there was certainty in her voice.

The red-eyed woman studied Cecil’s expression, then smiled again.

“I always want to help the Captain obtain what he desires.”

Perhaps it was because she was thinking of Hildebert—

A faint flush rose to her pale face.

Though the sharp intelligence in her voice remained intact.

“Grand Mage.”

“...Alright.”

Cecil answered.

“I’ll try. But the method you suggested won’t work.”

“My knowledge of magic is limited.”

Rose replied gently, placing her long, slender fingers over her chest.

“But I know that you care for the Captain. So I trust you’ll find a far better way to help him.”

“...It would’ve been better if my mana circuits weren’t twisted.”

Cecil muttered quietly.

“But waking someone from mana feedback normally requires two Grand Mages. I should be grateful Nabarate managed it alone.”

Her gaze returned to her kin.

At Cecil’s declaration of non-interference, the people in the portal zone began moving again.

Nabarate poured out raw mana.

Meierbold, inefficient as his support method was, still began regaining vitality thanks to the sheer volume of mana.

The teleportation array did not dim.

If anything, it shone brighter.

Though their unease had not vanished, people once again stepped into the array one by one.

Shu stood beside Rose, watching blankly.

One by one—

People disappeared.

With resolute expressions.

Or relieved ones.

Vanishing from Earth.

A child holding someone’s hand.

Lovers gripping each other tightly.

Adults with complicated expressions—

And children smiling brightly among them.

The belongings they carried.

Hummmm—

“I’ll open the space.”

A cold wind struck her face.

Shu turned—and her eyes widened.

A completely alien scene lay before her.

What stood there was something far beyond any teleportation array she had seen until now.

No—

Was this even a teleportation array?

Wasn’t it far too large?

Calling it a portal didn’t feel sufficient either.

It was as if Cecil had torn a piece out of the world itself—and painted another scene into it.

Or like a page had been ripped from a picture book, revealing two different worlds across facing pages.

The heavy shielding door that had once stood at the entrance to the portal zone was gone.

Where there had once been a wall—

Now lay a withered, dying land.

The scent of blood rushed in.

Explosives.

Corpses.

A battlefield.

“Captain!”

Rose shouted.

All of her previous composure was gone.

“Captain! Captain!”

“...Hilde.”

Shu muttered his name in a daze.

The colors of the two spaces merged.

Pale dawn light spilled over the white tiles of the portal zone.

“Hildebert!”

THUD—!

The ground shook.

The portal zone trembled.

***

Oh.

Surrounded by blood, sweat, and ash—

I found myself thinking.

My mind was half gone.

Something about the flow of the air felt... strange.

It seemed Kyle felt it too.

Something had changed.

In this space that had held only the two of us—

There was now something else.

The Core had already finished forming, so it wasn’t that.

And if the Core had been torn apart, gunfire and alarms would’ve resumed—but instead, everything around us was eerily quiet.

The stillness of dawn wrapped around us.

I inhaled the scent of morning.

Clear.

Fresh.

Ah.

Ah—

The space...

“Hilde.”

The man whose sclera had completely burned away spoke.

“Let’s finish this.”

The pale morning light reflected off his sword, flooding my vision.