Dark was a being composed entirely of pure energy. No matter how strong his willpower or determination, once his energy was depleted, he couldn’t maintain his form.

He hadn’t tried to escape—he had thrown himself into the attack to protect Kyle no matter what.

“Dark...”

Kyle stared blankly at the space where Dark had just been.

A presence that had been right by his side only moments ago...

They had run together, fought together, moved as one in the chaos of battle—partners in perfect harmony.

But now, not even a trace of that blue aura remained in the spot he looked upon.

...You did well.

Dark wasn’t truly dead. As long as Ghislain remained, he would eventually return. There was no need to worry about true annihilation.

But... being left alone on this [N O V E L I G H T] battlefield brought with it an overwhelming sense of isolation.

...Is this the end?

Kyle had made it this far thanks to Dark. Without his help, Kyle would’ve had to burn through much more mana to keep going.

Now that Dark was gone, and Kyle was already drained, escaping would be nearly impossible.

GRAAAAAH!

The monsters once again began swarming around Kyle.

And finally, two black mages clad in dark robes revealed themselves.

“So, the spirit's been extinguished. That damn thing made us waste mana for nothing.”

“Doesn’t matter. That bastard’s spent anyway. Let’s finish this.”

The two black mages looked irritated. They had spent considerable mana on their ambush, only for Dark to ruin their plan.

Dark energy began condensing once again at their fingertips.

Kyle watched with tired eyes and tightened his grip on his sword.

It’s better this way.

He couldn’t afford to retreat with these two still alive. If he killed them, there would be no one left to control the horde.

That would give the slow-moving children time to escape safely.

Even if he couldn’t kill them, just delaying them would be enough.

Even if the cost was his life. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

“Huff...”

Kyle raised his sword, face taut with tension.

His arms were heavy. His breath came fast and ragged.

But the fire in his eyes still burned.

BOOOOOOM!

A burst of mana from one black mage shot toward him.

Kyle clenched his jaw and swung his sword.

BOOOOM!

The explosion blew away all the monsters in the vicinity.

Yet Kyle didn’t stop moving. Watching the mages’ actions carefully, he pushed forward even more aggressively.

CRACK!

Kyle’s blade shattered the mage’s shield and sliced into his torso.

“Urgh!”

The black mage staggered back, startled by the wound to his chest. Kyle raised his sword to follow through—but the other black mage didn’t miss the opening.

FWOOOSH!

A wave of writhing black flames surged toward Kyle.

He rolled to the ground, dodging the attack by a hair—but as he did, bone shards erupted from below and slashed into his side.

SPLATTER!

Flesh tore, and blood sprayed. But Kyle had no time to tend to his wounds.

He spun instinctively and swung.

SPLIT!

A chimera that had rushed him from behind had its face cleaved in half.

At the same time, the black mage who had regained his footing blasted mana at Kyle’s back.

BOOM!

“Gah!”

The shock wracked Kyle’s entire body. He spat blood, but still—he didn’t black out. He rolled again, narrowly avoiding the next strike.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Spells from the black mages shattered everything nearby.

Kyle barely dodged their magic while cutting down monsters as they charged.

Even as he staggered, he kept searching for an opening.

About 5th Circle, huh.

In a one-on-one fight, he could win.

But things were bad. His body was worn down, and his mana was almost gone.

And he was surrounded by monsters. Fending off two 5th-Circle mages in such a situation wouldn’t be easy.

BOOM!

Another spell landed. Kyle’s body crashed to the ground.

This time, the impact was severe—his left arm fell limp.

His breastplate had shattered, his skin burned, and his mana was nearly gone.

THUD. THUD.

A giant chimera approached. Its face was crushed, arms twisted, body rotting—an undead-fused abomination.

Kyle clenched his teeth and forced his collapsing legs to stand.

Then he charged in and slashed the monster’s neck.

SLICED!

The head dropped to the ground.

But then, another monster leaped in and bit into his shoulder.

CRACK!

He yanked himself free, tearing off chunks of flesh and spraying blood.

As he rammed his sword into the creature’s skull, another spell from the black mages crashed into him.

BOOOOOM!

“Gahhh!”

Kyle was flung again, coughing up blood. The blast was so powerful that even the monsters near him were blown apart.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Every time Kyle tried to stand, the black mages unleashed more spells. Even nearby monsters were caught in the explosions.

But Kyle didn’t die.

He kept rising.

Even while staggering, he continued slicing down the monsters that came at him.

The black mages' expressions darkened.

“What is he...?”

“Why won’t he die?”

No matter how strong someone was, he should’ve been dead by now. He’d been hit multiple times in a fatigued state.

And yet, he stood. Sword still in hand.

They couldn’t understand it.

And what can’t be understood becomes fear. The only way to escape fear is to destroy its source.

A murderous gleam filled their eyes—more intense than ever.

“This time, he has to die.”

“Yeah. We’ll use everything we’ve got...”

WHOOOOOOOOOM...

Two enormous black spears rose from the fingertips of the black mages.

Their energy spread, darkening the air around them. Cursed whispers rode the wind.

Kyle, barely conscious, lifted his sword and tried to draw forth the last of his mana.

The black spears pierced the sky and hurtled toward him.

BOOOOOOOOOOM!

A massive explosion erupted in a cloud of black smoke.

It was a full-power spell from two 5th-Circle black mages. They were certain—this time, the human was dead.

But—

“Cough!”

Kyle was still alive.

Kneeling, blood pouring from every inch of his body—but alive.

Drip... drip...

Black blood fell from his clenched fist.

The cloth binding his hand to his sword had long since burned away, but he still hadn’t let go.

His consciousness now hung by the thinnest of threads... but it remained.

The shape before his eyes blurred, and the sounds around him rang like muffled noise heard underwater. He could no longer feel his legs.

The black mages panted heavily, still unable to believe the man before them was alive.

“He’s almost dead. One more hit and it’s over.”

They gathered mana once more.

They’d nearly exhausted their reserves just controlling this massive horde, but killing one half-dead man wouldn’t take much.

Rrrrrrrr...

Dark energy began coalescing again in front of them.

This time, it would end Kyle’s life for good.

Kyle slowly lifted his head. But his gaze wasn’t on the black mages.

It stretched farther.

Toward the direction the children had fled.

...They should be safe now, right?

If his body were intact, he could’ve seen far into the distance—but now, everything was a blur. He couldn’t even spot the children.

Still, he had bought time. Even the slowest of them must’ve gotten far enough by now.

Yeah. It’s okay now.

...It’ll be okay.

Even as his consciousness faded, Kyle kept repeating those words to himself.

Beeeep...

Darkness crept into his vision. His ears rang.

Thunk.

Suddenly, a stillness swept through his mind.

The pain faded. The sensation disappeared.

Just as he thought it was over—a small voice whispered to him.

—Why did you fight?

Kyle paused to think.

Why... was I fighting?

To survive?

For someone’s praise?

Because it was necessary to save the world?

No...

It wasn’t for any of that.

...It was just because no one else would. Someone had to do it.

That was the only reason.

Not because fate demanded it of him. Not because of some grand destiny to save the world.

He simply stepped forward because the moment required someone to act.

If not me, then who?

That simple thought.

That heavy feeling.

Had pushed him to move, even at the cost of death.

In it was the resolve to bear all the weight—and the will to protect, no matter what.

And paradoxically, it was that very choice that made him free.

The Julien Mercenary Corps’ missions. The duty to save the world. His fear of death, his desire to run.

He threw all of it away and chose what he truly wanted to do. And he gave it his all.

Realizing that, Kyle smiled faintly.

...This is enough. I’ve done my part.

At the same time, a quiet voice spoke from somewhere.

—It’s okay now.

Those short words carried immense weight.

The battles, the pain, the blood, the cries—it meant all of that had now come to an end.

Beeeep...

The ringing in his ears continued endlessly. Kyle slowly began to let go of the thread of life.

But then—someone asked again.

—Why aren’t you moving anymore?

...I have no strength left.

—Then is it over?

...I guess so?

—No. You can still move.

...How?

—Open your eyes.

Kyle forced his heavy lids upward.

Everything was still blurry. He couldn’t hold them open.

But the voice urged him on.

—Get up. Open your eyes and stand.

Kyle trembled as he tried to rise. There was no strength in his legs, but still, he struggled to get up.

His body felt impossibly heavy. Standing up felt beyond reach.

I can’t... I think I’m out of strength. My body’s too heavy.

—It’s not that you’ve run out of strength.

Then what?

—You’re trapped behind a wall.

...Trapped?

—But that wall is already gone. You just don’t realize it.

The wall... is gone?

—Yes. You already let go of everything for what you wanted to protect. That wall disappeared then. You just didn’t know.

Kyle felt like the voice echoing in his head... was his own.

It continued, firm and unwavering.

—So open your eyes. Look at the world again.

The world...

—Because this is your world.

Kyle slowly opened his eyes.

The voice no longer spoke.

But he could feel it—the world had changed.

BOOOOOOOOOOM!

The massive dark mana hurled by the black mages surged toward him.

And yet—it felt... slow.

My world...

Kyle realized everything around him had changed.

He pressed his feet to the ground.

He raised his sword upright again.

Then slowly brought it down toward the incoming magic.

KRK-KRKRK-KK-KRBOOOOOM!

In an instant, the world seemed to flip upside down—heaven and earth tore apart in a colossal explosion that swallowed Kyle whole.

The black mages flinched and stepped back.

“Wh-what the hell?!”

“Were we always this powerful?”

Sure, they’d used a decent chunk of mana to make sure it ended him... But this level of destruction?

It didn’t make sense.

The last they saw of him, he had been kneeling, barely clinging to life.

What could’ve caused such a massive blast?

“...Still, he must be dead now, right?”

“He had no strength left. That blast had to kill him.”

Convinced, the black mages relaxed. No one could survive an explosion like that in his condition.

But then—

BOOM!

Before the smoke had even cleared—Kyle emerged.

Drenched in blood, he stormed out and swung his sword with a glare that could kill.

SLASH!

One black mage didn’t even have time to react—his body fell, bisected on the diagonal.

The other black mage flinched and raised his hand—

But fwip!

Kyle vanished from his view.

Before he could turn around, Kyle’s sword had already pierced through his chest.

SHLUNK!

“Guh...”

The black mage collapsed, his heart run through.

Kyle briefly looked back.

The escape path he’d carved was still open. As long as it stayed that way, the children would be safe.

At the monsters’ current pace, they’d never catch up.

But someone could.

Suddenly—

WHOOOOOOOSH!

A vortex of black energy erupted from the center of the horde.

It tore the surrounding monsters to shreds as it expanded outward.

Kyle saw it and summoned the last of his strength.

“...One more time.”

THUD.

He stepped toward the vortex.

That single step—could protect someone’s life.

Kyle lowered his stance and raised his sword once more.

In this battlefield filled with darkness—only his sword shone with a brilliance so blinding it seemed divine.