The wind blows. A black wind that will sweep everything away.
The fairy's wings were torn off and fell to the ground.
The hammer was shattered, and bright red flowers bloomed across the fox's body.
The raven was left with nothing but feathers, and the commander's screams faded away.
The sacred flame was going out. The sacred flame that had seemed as if it would burn forever soon vanished, leaving only dying embers behind.
The rabbit.
■■■■■!!!!
The black wind swept the rabbit away.
His eyes were crushed, and his arm was chewed apart.
The wind blows. A black wind that will sweep everything away.
The rabbit, too, is swept away without exception.
The expedition to subjugate the Black Dragon was assembled in a single day.
To be exact, it took a little less than half a day. It might have seemed rushed, but considering the situation, even that was slow.
"The battlefield is Melhen."
Melhen had already been wrecked by the Leviathan. The village was under reconstruction, with food and other supplies piled up there, but no buildings or residents remained.
In other words, it was the perfect place to smash things without worrying about anything else. Of course, the cost would be enormous, but what did that matter when the opponent was the Black Dragon?
No one objected to the decision. The crisis was simply too enormous for anyone to raise their voice.
The opponent was the invincible monster that had brought Dungeon Oratoria to its end. A living legend that had survived since ancient times.
The Black Dragon with the Single Eye, the final of the Three Great Quests.
The expedition was made up of Zeus Familia and Hera Familia.
It was the full gathering of all first- and second-tier adventurers, excluding only the bare minimum needed elsewhere.
Among them, only a handful could truly fight the Black Dragon. The rest were nothing more than sacrifices to support their attacks.
And even though both we and they knew that, they did not tremble in fear. They were tense, but not afraid.
Because they believed that even if they died, their deaths would not be wasted. That those deaths would become links leading to victory.
Even if each one was only one of countless links.
They were adventurers.
"Of all times, it had to be now..."
Arphia frowned and muttered in annoyance.
It was almost time for Meteria to give birth. As if the Black Dragon's rampage toward Orario had deliberately chosen this moment, when she should be staying by her beloved younger sister's side, Arphia's anger swelled.
Invisible killing intent sharpened like a blade. The people around her shivered for no reason they could explain, but Meteria only laughed as if she had no idea what was going on.
That was proof that she was controlling that surging killing intent properly.
"If you can control it, isn't it better not to let it leak out at all?"
I thought that, but I didn't say it out loud. Vesta knew the value of his own life, too.
"Arphia, really. I'm not a child anymore, you know?"
"Even so..."
"No, wait. Come to think of it, I'm the one with more life experience here, since I got pregnant first, right?"
She puffed herself up proudly. Arphia's face filled with helplessness at Meteria's shameless words. She naturally ignored her sister's nonsense, but she couldn't imagine what it would feel like to have family absent at the moment of childbirth.
How different did it feel to have someone beside you to hold on to while enduring the pain? Arphia was worried first and foremost about Meteria, who would have to get through such a major ordeal alone.
"What are you talking about? You have him."
"There's no way that guy could properly play the role of a husband."
"Heh heh heh."
...Meteria, you really can't even deny it as a joke. Your husband is crying beside you, you know?
"By the way, shouldn't the two of you be having a wedding?"
"Ah, we're planning to after the baby's born. The three of us—me, the baby, and my husband—will have a proper grand ceremony."
"...I see."
That was a choice only possible if you believed you could survive even after giving birth.
What would they have done in the original timeline? Would they have held the wedding before I was born?
'...What am I even thinking about?'
It was a story that had nothing to do with me anymore. The more I thought about it, the more my mind drifted toward a time I never knew.
I shook my head and brushed away the stray thoughts, then glanced at the gods directing things.
"So I should probably..."
"It's already decided. Stop talking nonsense."
When they said they weren't taking me along, Arphia accepted it without another word. In fact, she even seemed reluctant for me to go.
Maybe Arphia had sensed something, too. She couldn't know everything the way the gods did, but perhaps she had vaguely foreseen the future through some unconscious feeling.
It really isn't easy, is it?
I was still worried. Was it really all right for me to just stay here like this?
"...I do not acknowledge that guy."
"Arphia?"
"So, I'll leave Meteria in your care."
Arphia's eyes, as she said that, were trembling slightly unlike usual.
"So stay here."
"..."
I hesitated, not knowing what to say in response.
"Hringhorni has arrived!"
"...It's here."
"That's..."
The flying ship used during the Leviathan incident cut across the skies above Orario.
With so many potions, supplies, and support staff, the distance to Melhen wasn't exactly close. At a time when every second mattered, it would have been impossible to spend all that time traveling normally.
But if only the core personnel went, it was obvious they'd be outmatched. Hringhorni was the key to overcoming that obstacle.
Originally, Hringhorni had been built for naval warfare, valuing durability over speed, but now that it had been fitted with the [Leviathan Fin] dropped by the Leviathan and become swift, it could drastically cut down travel time.
"Even if I have to kill a few people, I'll be back before the birth, so wait quietly, Meteria."
"You can be as late as you want. Just don't get hurt..."
"..."
Arphia smiled warmly at Meteria's small complaint and turned away without looking back.
"...I'm counting on you."
Who had she said that to? What exactly was she asking for? With those mysterious words, Arphia disappeared into the flying ship.
Before long, the ship rose into the sky, carrying countless heroes.
Toward the monster that had defeated every hero.
"...The connection is live!"
At that shout, everyone's attention turned to one place.
The current location was the Guild. The number of people gathered here looked like every resident of Orario had come—no, that wasn't just an exaggeration. It was truly most of Orario's residents.
The battle with the Black Dragon. The other two great monsters were terrifying enough, but the name of the Black Dragon stood several steps above them. If the expedition lost... I didn't want to think about it, but I couldn't avoid the thought.
The city could be rebuilt, but the dead would never return. The Guild had prepared for the worst, telling the residents to get ready to evacuate and leave Orario if necessary.
Then how would they know when that worst moment came?
[This is exhausting. Uranos really works people too hard.]
Well, as always, it had to be Fels to step up.
"Why not use [God's Mirror]..."
I already knew Fels's magical tools were impressive, but I wasn't sure why they had chosen this method instead.
They could just use Arcanum and...
"Ah."
[Did you catch on? Since the Black Dragon possesses god-slaying power, they're avoiding the use of Arcanum.]
That made sense. They had never tried it, but there was no reason to take the risk. Maybe they decided it was better to overwork a capable sage than to gamble on something dangerous.
The scene of Melhen projected high above the Guild. Fels's magical tool was broadcasting the situation in real time.
'If I think about it this way, Fels is really insane, too.'
They lacked flexibility, but they had reproduced, at least in part, something that should have been possible only through Arcanum. Knowing how great an achievement that was, I couldn't help but shiver inwardly.
'If Fels had a healthy body...'
Then maybe the highest-level being in the world would not be the Empress, but the sage.
I raised my head and looked at the screen. Melhen seemed to be in the middle of restoration, and the adventurers were lined up in formation. The Black Dragon had not arrived yet.
[...Do you think we can win?]
Fels asked, their voice trembling slightly with unease.
For Fels, who had never doubted victory when fighting the Leviathan, to sound like this...
[I know I look ridiculous. But... the Black Dragon really is on a different level, isn't it?]
"Fels... have you seen the Black Dragon before?"
[Not directly. But if you live long enough, you see a lot and hear a lot.]
There was a faint, distant feeling in Fels's voice. But that wistfulness soon turned to anxiety and fear.
[I saw the Black Dragon's scales just once.]
"Could that be..."
What flashed through my mind was the small village hidden beneath the valley.
I remembered the place that had worshiped the monster that shook the world as if it were a god.
[In that moment, I realized something. The Black Dragon is a being on a completely different level from the monsters we've seen until now.]
"..."
[Just a scale? Just one scale was enough to make a monster afraid.]
A monster like that. Just how strong was the body itself?
[Can it be defeated?]
"..."
I didn't know how much Fels knew when asking that question.
But... if they were saying this much, then they must have some kind of conviction.
"I honestly don't know."
There is no one in this world who truly thinks Fels is foolish, even if they are called a fool.
The reason they lost the Philosopher's Stone so carelessly was not because of stupidity, but simply because they trusted their god.
Fels's worries are usually right. An overly brilliant mind sometimes ends up learning what it should never have known.
They are one of Uranos's closest aides. Most of the information Uranos hears, Fels hears as well.
Then Fels probably knew, too. So there was no need to choose my words carefully.
"The Black Dragon is strong. Horrifyingly so."
Memories surfaced. A nightmare I never wanted to remember.
■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■!!!
Just recalling it made the very foundation that supported my existence feel as if it were shaking.
The greatest, strongest, final enemy of humanity.
That thing should have been dead, and yet it still remained inside me, tormenting me.
"I don't want to make a careless promise that we'll definitely win."
I wasn't saying that to Fels.
This was for the heroes on the other side of the screen, in Melhen.
I didn't want to make them a careless promise that they could win.
There was no way this could be won easily. Even if they did win, most of them would probably die.
"But we have to believe."
Even if I thought that, I couldn't think they would lose.
To watch a hero is to wish for their victory.
To doubt that victory is something that must never happen.
[...Is that so.]
"That's right."
Suddenly, I wondered if this was how the people who had watched me felt, too.
Was this how those who had watched me repeat nothing but reckless acts must have felt?
My chest grew heavy. I had always been on the other side of that screen, but now I was the one watching them from outside it.
It was frustrating. That there was nothing I could do in that place.
If it were Welf, he would have made a magic sword.
If it were Haruhime, she would have sung there.
If it were Lilly, she would have come up with all kinds of plans with her clever mind.
But I was not them. Even if they had low levels, they each had their own strengths, but I had nothing like that.
All I could do was fight.
And even though fighting was the only thing I knew how to do... I couldn't even fight anymore.
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