"We've won!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
The Pioneer's declaration of victory reverberated across every corner of the battlefield.
"As expected. I knew you would win, Akumo."
"I would have been furious if you'd lost."
"Obviously!"
His voice reached every adventurer facing the Evil Dragon Nidhogg, and it struck deep into the hearts of his comrades within that fray.
—Krrruuuu...!!!!
Even if it was a mere imitation, it was an unknown entity that defied the logic of a standard adventure.
"Brother...!"
'I... I will win too!'
Standing there were heroes who had kindled their own radiance, nurturing their light through the trials of this world.
"[Hell Finegas]!!!!"
BOOM—!!!!!!
The Pallum hero, placing his faith in everyone and the potential of his race, unleashed his absolute peak upon the Evil Dragon without reservation.
"[Rea Laevateinn]!!!!!"
WHOOSH—!!!!!!!!!!
A colossal inferno summoned by the High Elf coiled around the dragon's form, a conflagration striving to reach the intensity of the heat the Pioneer had displayed.
"[Arles Raid]!!!!!!"
CRACK—!!!!!!!
A heavy strike imbued with a Dwarf's full might slammed into the dragon's head, shattering its carapace and erupting in a devastating shockwave.
"[Hildis Vini]!!!"
SLASH—!!!!!!!!!
The Warlord's massive golden sword-light exploited the opening, cleaving through half of the dragon's torso in a single stroke.
'I won't be left behind, Akumo!'
Ottar's face was etched with a ferocious will to fight, his spirit set ablaze by the combat his friend had just demonstrated.
"[Varian Hild]!"
'So, it was that guy's doing after all.'
He wasn't the only warrior moved; a massive orb of lightning from the White Elf, the Magic Master, electrocuted the dragon.
"[Burn Dine]!"
'You certainly know how to surprise a person...!'
His partner, the Dark Elf, seized the moment with surgical precision, triggering a massive explosion directly before the dragon's eyes.
—KRAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Despite the onslaught, Nidhogg let out a violent roar, a scream of intent to slaughter everyone present.
As if to prove its threat, the creature remained unbroken despite the combined assault of numerous heroes—a monster far too formidable to be called a mere imitation.
"[Glarineze Fromel]"
However, the Evil Dragon did not understand.
K-K-K-BOOM—!!!!!!!!!!
—!!!??
It did not know how many monsters these people had slaughtered to reach this point.
"I was saving this for that obnoxious bastard!"
Allen smirked.
'But I suppose it doesn't matter now!'
It did not know how obsessively they had honed their ultimate techniques.
BOOM—!!!
STAB—!!!!
BANG-BANG-BANG—!!!!
Though the speed was so extreme that even Allen could barely control it, his opponent was a gargantuan, immobile beast.
The dragon's attacks might fail to touch Allen, but Allen's strikes would never miss.
CRACK—!
""""""!!"""""""
Finally, their fierce will to reach the pinnacle and their hunger for adventure bore fruit.
CR-CR-CRACK—!!!
"It's breached!!!!"
"Pour everything into it!!!!!!"
The dragon's thick carapace was finally obliterated.
"Let's go!!!!!!"
"Finally, I can cut loose!!!"
At that sight, the four Gulliver brothers and Tsubaki lunged forward, relentlessly carving into Nidhogg's exposed flesh.
—KWOOOO!!!!!!!!
SWISH—!!!!!!!!!
Just as the dragon's claws swung to tear them apart in a single sweep—
"[Bloom, Agaria]!!!!!"
FLARE—!!!!!!!!!!
—KAAAAAA!!!!!!!
The attack was intercepted and reduced to ash by Alise's flames.
"As if I'd be scared!"
'I won't just be the one being protected by you anymore!!'
The flames of the girl who had refused to break despite that day's tragedy—who had polished her heart of justice—reached the Evil Dragon with ease.
SHUUUU—!!!!!!!!!!!
Filled with even greater murderous intent, Nidhogg attempted to gather mana in its maw for a massive breath attack, but—
"[Futsu-no-Mitama]!"
RUMBLE—!!!!!!!!!!
"[Will-o'-Wisp]!"
BOOM—!!!!!!!!!!
It wasn't just the legendary heroes standing there.
""Keep the pressure on!!!!!""
It wasn't some cliché about everyone being a hero.
They were simply pouring everything they had into overcoming the wall before them—for survival, for victory, and to protect those they cherished.
They fought for what they desired.
"Hephaestus Familia, with Master Welf in the lead, maintain the bombardment with magic swords!!"
Snap!
"Dian Cecht Familia, maintain the front line alongside the Ganesha Familia!"
The once weak and cowardly Pallum was no longer ashamed of herself.
Because of that, she could issue precise and correct commands to everyone with confidence.
"Everyone else...!"
Unleash your full power. That was the best course of action right now.
CRASH—!!!!!!
"Excellent orders!!"
A barrage of attacks from the 'mediocre' talent carved through the dragon's skin.
SLICE—!!!!!
"Not bad!"
CRUNCH—!!!!!
"Right back at you, Tiona!"
The Amazon sisters laughed joyfully as their combined assault severed the dragon's arms.
"ORA!!!!!!"
CRACKLE—!!!!
"Oh! You're finally up, Bete?"
"I couldn't just keep sleeping forever!!!"
BOOM—!!!!!!!
Starting with the wolf's howl, the certainty of victory began to fill their minds.
DONG—!
DONG—!
DONG—!
The sound of the Grand Bell transformed that certainty into an absolute conviction.
"Why..."
Revis, now fused with the flesh-walls of the man-made labyrinth, could feel it.
"Why do you all... shine so brightly...!!!!"
She felt the approach of defeat—no, she felt its absolute certainty.
"What on earth is happening...!!!"
From the tremors shaking Knossos alone, Revis had to admit that her own victory or defeat could no longer overturn this battlefield.
"However..."
Of course, what she desired was not Enyo's victory.
Creak—!
"Aria... I will be the one to kill you."
Perhaps that mythic spectacle had become her own source of motivation; she was no longer controlled by her host.
She remained on this battlefield solely by her own will.
"...I agree."
Schwing—!
"I will be the one to kill you."
Aiz was the same. She drew Desperate and pointed it sharply at Revis.
"".....""
'Yes...'
Grip—!!!!
'The situation remains the same.'
Tighten—!!!!
The overall state of the battlefield didn't matter to either of them.
One side prepared an attack with the massive walls of flesh, while the other compressed a colossal black wind.
""I'll kill you...!""
Just as they were about to clash—
DONG—!
DONG—!
DONG—!
The incredibly clear sound of the Grand Bell, created by a single boy, rang out.
""!?""
Whoosh—!
'Bell...?'
That sound successfully captured the attention of both Revis and Aiz. They instinctively turned their heads toward the sky.
"".....""
And then, they saw it.
Flutter—!
Schwing—!
A colossal power.
A dragon with wings darker than darkness, and a goddess holding a sword brighter than light.
'A Spirit...? No, that's...'
Was it because they were both connected to Spirits that they could see the forms of those beings recorded within the Pioneer's soul?
That wasn't what mattered right now.
DONG—!
"....!"
'I have to overcome this.'
The influence of those overwhelming existences and the clear tolling of the bell reached them.
WHOOSH—!!!!
"[O White Wind, Tempest]!!!!!!!"
The path of potential given to the girl by a single boy granted her new power.
—This isn't darkness.
—Miss Aiz!
Aiz had spent so long killing her own innocence.
She had suppressed herself, labeling her own desires as evil and hiding her purity as something unnecessary.
SLICE—!!!!
"What...!?"
To the Aiz who had finally accepted it all, neither monsters nor vengeance mattered anymore.
"Because all of it is the wind."
Sometimes as fierce and sharp as a storm, sometimes as warm as an embrace.
Grit—!
"Ari—!!!"
"I'll say it again."
This was not her end, but her beginning. Her own adventure, her own pioneering.
"You are merely a stepping stone."
Just one of the many walls she would transcend.
DONG—!
The tolling of the bell finally ceased. It was the signal that the boy had completed his preparations.
"[Argonaut]"
SHUUUU—!!!!!!!
The dagger held by the boy turned pure white, ready to strike down everything in its path.
What was contained within that dagger?
'I wasn't the only one on an adventure.'
Grip—!!
'Everyone was fighting together!'
Everyone was a hero.
The Akumo he admired, Alfia, Zard, and Aiz.
Finn, Riveria, Gareth, Tiona, Tione, Bete, Lefiya—all of the Loki Familia.
The Freya Familia, the Hephaestus Familia, the Dian Cecht Familia, the Ganesha Familia—everyone participating in this battle was living their own adventure.
'What I admire is...'
He felt respect for all of them; he yearned for them all.
"[Fire Bolt]...!!"
FLARE—!!!!!
His ultimate attack.
Even if it might not reach the sheer scale of the other heroes who had left Nidhogg in tatters—
"Even so, I'll unleash it!!!"
For his adventure, for everyone's adventure, to defeat the enemy before him.
"[Argo Vesta]!!!!!"
Bell's flames burned more intensely than ever before. They were by no means inferior to the other heroes.
—Grrr...!!
Creak—!!!!
""!!""
"Watch out! Something's coming!!!!!!"
Feeling an instinctive threat from those flames, Nidhogg ignored its wounds and prepared a massive breath attack, pouring all its remaining mana into a strike intended to kill Bell.
"Master Bell!! Get away right n—"
"No, it's okay!!!!!"
"!!"
'Because I believe in them...!!!!'
Among the heroes he recalled were the Xenos, the unforgettable companions of his adventure.
Flutter—!!
"We're here too!!!" "Us as well!!!"
"You can't leave us out!!!"
Leaping into the battlefield were the Xenos, beings more than worthy of being called heroes.
SWISH—!!!!
"We're counting on you!!!"
The moment the breath was about to fire, Ray flew in at unprecedented speed, launching Lido toward Nidhogg.
"Gros! Asterius!!!"
"I know!!!!"
Following Lido's shout, Gros flew in with claws bared, preparing a strike.
BOOM—!!!!!!!!
"UWOOOOOO!!!!!!!"
Asterius, who had smashed through the walls of Knossos with his own strength, also cocked a fist.
"But..."
'That's too much...!'
"It's reckless, sir!!!!"
As Raul said, their strength alone wouldn't be enough to stop a breath attack that was already on the verge of firing.
WHIP—!!!!!
"Reckless, indeed!! If it were just them!!"
Viene's ability spread wide. A massive scale of threads bound Nidhogg's maw.
CREAK—!!!!
That alone couldn't cancel the breath, but even as the threads snapped one by one, they succeeded in forcing Nidhogg's head to turn slightly.
THWACK—!!!!!!!!!!!
Their combined blow slammed into the Evil Dragon, successfully dealing damage.
—KWAAAAA!!!!!!!!
"As I thought...!! We lack the power!!"
"It's coming!!!!!"
K-K-K-BOOM—!!!!!!!!!!
However, Nidhogg fired its breath anyway, intent on killing whoever was in front of it. The massive beam surged forward, melting everything in its path.
"Everyone, get back!!!!!"
'It's impossible to block...!!'
"[My name is Alv—"
SWISH—!!!!!!!
"!?"
Just as Riveria urgently tried to manifest a barrier to save the others, two attacks streaked past her toward Nidhogg.
"[Broken Curse]!!!!!!!!"
"[Fusillade Fallarica]!!!!!!!"
BOOM—!!!!!!!
With the final strikes of the two elves, fired while thinking of their most precious person, Nidhogg's breath was knocked off course and its entire body was shaken violently.
—!!!!!
Its final attack—an attack it had used even at the cost of fighting the hero before it just to kill the remaining pests—had been blocked.
In that moment, the imitation of the Evil Dragon remembered. It bore witness.
FLARE—!!!!!!
The hero's flame, burning like a sacred torch announcing its defeat.
—KWOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!
"HIYAAAAAAH!!!!!!!!!!!"
The moment Nidhogg's roar and Bell's determined shout crossed, Bell swung his dagger.
FLASH—!!!!!!!!!!!
In that instant, a light bright enough to illuminate all of Knossos enveloped everything.
"We've won!!!!!!!!!!!"
The heroes' victory was finally realized.