The air inside the throne hall grew colder with every passing second.
Not a natural cold.
It was the kind of chill that made breathing difficult. The kind that wrapped itself around the heart and whispered that death was close.
Captain Finn stood before them, his yellow eyes glowing in the darkness like those of a beast.
Then—
He casually dropped King Leopold Kal's severed head onto the blood-soaked floor.
The head rolled across the marble and stopped beside the shattered throne.
Without hesitation, Finn crushed it beneath his boot.
Crunch.
Blood and fragments stained the floor.
He slowly drew his Nexometal sword.
At once, Noah, Heinrich, and Karoschi raised their own weapons.
The atmosphere exploded.
Finn charged.
His sword descended like lightning.
But Karoschi reacted instantly.
Steel collided with steel.
CLANG!
Sparks erupted.
,,Karoschi: JOHANN!! Take Anna and Perfidus and get Princess Leyla out of here! Now!!
,,Johann: Got it! Anna! Perfidus! Help me!
Anna and Perfidus hurried toward the wounded princess.
Leyla's face was pale. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she stared at the bodies of her parents.
,,Leyla: Mother… Father…
Johann swallowed painfully.
,,Johann: Sorry, Princess… but we need to move!
Together, they carried her from the throne room.
Meanwhile, Finn kicked Karoschi in the chest with terrifying force.
CRASH!
Karoschi was thrown across the hall and slammed into a pillar.
Finn immediately turned his attention to Heinrich.
His blade came down.
CLANG!
Heinrich barely blocked in time.
,,Heinrich: Holy shit!
Before Finn could strike again—
Noah arrived.
SWISH!
Finn's arm flew through the air.
Blood exploded everywhere.
,,Finn: AAAAAAAAHHHHH!!
He stumbled backwards toward the shattered window.
But instead of fear…
He smiled.
,,Finn: Don't you understand?
His eyes glowed brighter.
,,Finn: You cannot defeat Karag.
,,Finn: Karag is God.
Noah's eyes burned with anger.
,,Noah: He isn't God!
,,Noah: And what do you think will happen when he's finished with his goal?!
,,Finn: Isn't it obvious?
He laughed.
,,Finn: He will turn this world into paradise.
,,Noah: Paradise?!
Noah pointed his sword at him.
,,Noah: Once humanity is gone, do you really think he'll still need any of you?!
,,Noah: You're tools!
,,Noah: The moment you're no longer useful, he'll erase you just like everyone else!
Finn's smile vanished.
,,Finn: Lies!
His severed arm had already regenerated.
,,Finn: Lord Karag will bring order to this world!
,,Finn: His power is absolute!
His body exploded forward.
,,Finn: Those who oppose God—
,,Finn: Must die!
Slash!
Noah's arm was severed instantly.
,,Noah: AAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!
Blood sprayed violently.
He crashed into the floor.
Karoschi's eyes widened.
,,Karoschi: NOAH!!
He rushed forward.
Their swords clashed.
CLANG!
CLANG!
CLANG!
Finn grinned.
,,Finn: Karoschi…
,,Finn: You've disappointed everyone.
His smile widened.
,,Finn: Tell me…
,,Finn: Does Clara know you've betrayed us?
Karoschi's expression changed.
Pure rage.
,,Karoschi: Stay away from my family.
,,Finn: Hmm?
,,Finn: I think she'd prefer your head as a gift.
,,Finn: After all—
,,Finn: You're nothing but a filthy traitor.
BAM!
Karoschi punched him in the face.
Blood burst from Finn's nose.
Then—
THUD!
A kick to the stomach.
Finn staggered.
But he retaliated.
CRACK!
Karoschi's legs were severed.
,,Karoschi: GHHH!!
Blood flooded the floor.
And then—
Finn reached into his pocket.
He pulled out a horn.
He blew into it.
BWOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!
The sound echoed across all of Kalburg.
On the walls—
The guards froze.
Then, one after another…
They abandoned their positions.
Finn laughed hysterically.
,,Finn: HAHAHAHAHA!!
,,Finn: This is your end!
,,Finn: Kalburg's walls are undefended!
,,Finn: Mimic's army can march in freely now!
Then—
Something changed.
The entire throne room was bathed in blinding magenta light.
Heinrich froze.
,,Heinrich: T-That's…
,,Heinrich: That's the same light…
,,Heinrich: From Siegfried Hartmann Castle…
Outside, Anna, Johann, Perfidus and Leyla stopped.
The light illuminated the sky.
,,Anna: Noah…
Johann grinned.
,,Johann: Hell yeah.
,,Johann: He's kicking Finn's ass.
Inside the throne room—
Karoschi and Heinrich slowly turned around.
Noah was floating.
His body was surrounded by brilliant magenta energy.
His eyes glowed completely magenta.
And before their eyes—
His missing arm regenerated.
Finn's smile disappeared.
For the first time—
Fear appeared.
,,Finn: N-no…
His body trembled.
,,Finn: I've only seen this light twice…
,,Finn: Once…
,,Finn: In Daig…
His eyes widened.
,,Finn: And once…
,,Finn: In that filthy Elias…
,,Finn: The man who sealed Lord Karag…
Noah descended to the floor.
And vanished.
BOOM!!
Before Finn could react—
Both of his arms flew away.
,,Finn: AAAAHHH!!
He turned and tried to flee.
But—
THUD!
Heinrich tripped him.
,,Heinrich: Not so fast, asshole!!
Finn crashed onto the floor.
Noah arrived instantly.
Slash.
Both legs were gone.
Slash.
Slash.
Dozens of wounds covered Finn's body.
His regeneration slowed.
Then—
Karoschi approached.
Dragging himself across the floor.
Finn's confidence shattered.
,,Finn: W-wait…
,,Finn: Karoschi…
,,Finn: Please…
,,Finn: We can talk…
Karoschi remained silent.
He raised his sword.
,,Noah: Karoschi, stop!
,,Noah: He could still be useful!
,,Karoschi: No.
His voice was cold.
,,Karoschi: He's too dangerous.
Panic consumed Finn.
,,Finn: WAIT!!
,,Finn: I know where Clara is!
,,Finn: She's at Toren Fortress!!
Karoschi's eyes darkened.
,,Karoschi: Even so…
He raised the blade higher.
,,Karoschi: I won't let you live.
SWISH.
Finn's head fell.
Silence.
The magenta light around Noah vanished.
His eyes returned to normal.
He collapsed to one knee.
,,Noah: Karoschi…
,,Noah: Why?
,,Karoschi: Because some people…
He stared at Finn's corpse.
,,Karoschi: Cannot be saved.
,,Karoschi: Sometimes…
,,Karoschi: Mercy isn't the answer.
BOOOOOOOOM!!!
The entire castle shook violently.
Everyone looked toward the broken window.
Outside—
Kalburg's gigantic walls were collapsing.
The sound of falling stone echoed throughout the kingdom.
Citizens stopped.
Children froze.
Mothers screamed.
A massive cloud of dust rose into the sky.
And then—
The dust slowly parted.
What stood beyond the ruined walls…
Destroyed all hope.
Thousands of monsters.
Skeletons.
Golems.
Karagnists.
Titangolems.
An endless sea of monsters.
And at the very front—
Banners carrying the Nexoria symbol.
Then—
The entire army charged.
Like a tidal wave.
Like the end of the world itself.
Screams erupted throughout Kalburg.
People ran.
Soldiers panicked.
And standing before the broken window…
Watching hell descend upon the kingdom…
Noah felt his heart sink.
Because one terrible thought had begun consuming him.
A thought more horrifying than the army itself.
,,Noah: ...
His hands trembled.
,,Noah: If we had never come here...
His voice broke.
,,Noah: Would this have happened at all?
And as the monsters marched toward Kalburg—
Noah could only watch.
As hope itself began to die.