It's late at night...
The noisy nights were familiar to Gregor, but when the neon lights faded, all was quiet.
The city roared headlong into the unknown, yet his heart strangely calmed down.
The repaired broadcast tower has been restored to operation, and amidst repeated warnings, most people have entered shelters.
Thanks to this, the crowded city suddenly became spacious.
Gregor is taking a walk.
Traverse the shadows of the steel jungle, cross the cracked and twisted platforms.
He returned to Sector Zero.
The Infected did not greet them, and Sona and the others must have sensed something was wrong; they have probably disappeared somewhere by now.
But one person is still waiting there.
Gregor came to her side and together they examined the abyss created by the partition.
I thought you were already asleep.
"A qualified martial artist must ensure that he can wake up at any time."
"Can martial artists also predict the future?"
Gregor looked at Jian. He had just made an appointment with Russell and the others, so how did Jian know he would come here?
"Intuition."
The mace gave its answer, and the answer left everyone helpless.
"Of course, that's only part of the reason."
"... What about the other part?"
"I think you most likely can't let go of the Infected here."
"Can you let it go?"
Jian did not answer. Her reason for being there was clearly not just to wait, as evidenced by the corpse of Armorless Union standing nearby.
In the silence, a muffled clap of thunder sounded in the sky.
Immediately afterwards, the city beneath their feet began to tremble.
Gregor knew this was proof that the Grand Knight Territory had deviated from their course.
Time is running out...
"You should leave."
"Leave? You expect me to hide in a shelter like them?"
"If you'd like."
"And what about you? The Infected have already left, what are you still doing here?"
"Do what I should do."
Gregor disappeared briefly, and when he reappeared, he was surrounded by many more things.
"Roar~"
The young dragon nuzzled Gregor's palm affectionately, inhaling the heat emanating from it.
Jian glanced at it briefly, but did not exclaim in surprise at the young dragon that could make Tara rejoice.
(Tara: Once the kingdom of the Red Dragon, it weakened after merging with Victoria and the Red Dragon disappeared, becoming a target of suppression.)
But Gregor wouldn't ignore her presence just because she was silenced.
You can't stay here any longer.
"Reason."
I'm afraid of hurting you.
"..."
Jian stared silently at Gregor, his feelings quite complex.
The Wine Report says that being curious about someone is the beginning of falling in love.
Jian believes this is biased.
There are many things that pique her curiosity, but nothing has ever truly captivated her.
Wanting to witness Gregor's story, he chose to stand before the person he wanted to protect, just as he always had.
If it were a normal procedure, the book should have been made available for her to read.
But Gregor didn't seem to want others to expose him.
This time, the book that piqued her curiosity didn't need her protection.
The mace left, but not too far.
Watching the figure leaping between the tall buildings, Gregor thought of the Golden Lion once again.
[Vane: Stop looking, they're all gone.]
[Gregor:... Shut up.]
Gregor's hard-won calm was stirred up again; he felt a pang of regret that someone wasn't home.
[Vera: Did you bring everything?]
[Gorth: That's all the stock left...]
Once again, the four Catastrophe focused their attention on the same land.
[Vera: Are you sure everything is foolproof?]
[Gorth: Probably...]
[Vane: There's no such thing as absolute certainty. The only way to avoid mistakes is not to do anything at all.]
[Gregor: It will succeed.]
[Vane:... Boss, you're way too confident. Even I, the one who proposed this plan, wasn't sure.]
[Vera: Regardless of success or failure, my safety comes first.]
[Gregor: Trust me, everything will be alright.]
[Gorth: So... do we really have to use that?]
[Gregor:...]
Looking down, Gregor looked at the container wrapped in vines in his hand.
Cytoplasm.
This is the worst possible contingency plan: become Beheaded to avoid losing yourself in the endless rampage of power.
[Vane: Boss, are you really going to gamble? The Paladin's power is far greater than that of the Beheaded.]
[Gregor: This is just a backup plan.]
[Vane: That's why it's a gamble. Even though it's only a possibility, you might never be able to turn back.]
[Vane: Is it really worth it? Put yourself in their shoes, do you think the animals would do that for you?]
[Gregor: The fourth one.]
[Vane: Hmm?]
[Gregor: We are not them.]
[...]x3
[Vera: Well then, it's passed unanimously.]
[Gorth: I'll wait for you to come back.]
[Vane:... If you get weaker, boss, don't blame me for starting a positional swap.]
[Gregor: Then just wait at home.]
Boom--!
Another clap of thunder followed, and then the rain enveloped the city like an iron curtain.
The flames burning in the ruins were extinguished, and the city, now devoid of lights, grew even darker.
Rain soaked their scales, and the young dragons growled restlessly, gazing at the rain clouds above, eager to try their luck.
"Not yet."
Suppressing the urge of the young dragon to soar, Gregor glanced back and saw Mace's figure standing atop a distant skyscraper.
Nodding, Gregor leaped down.
Why is he there!?
In another tall building, Czarny stared at the terminal, gritting his teeth.
The Black Knight has left, but Gregor remains on Block 0.
Czarny felt uneasy.
He had warned Russell, but people still showed up at Block 0.
However, the underground bombs were enough to destroy the site, and the enemy could not remove them; even if they were left there, they would only become casualties.
Despite it being an undeniable fact, Czarny still couldn't find peace of mind.
Intuition.
In the competition within the Business Federation, he relied on his intuition to anticipate his opponents' moves, and although there was an element of luck involved, he earned Czarny's considerable trust.
But now, his intuition is frantically warning him.
Gritting his teeth, even knowing that it might reveal his location, Czarny still made the call.
"Russell! You haven't kept our agreement!"
[... A promise? Czarny, do you really intend to keep it?]
"Of course! As long as you do as I say..."
[Then why did the Grand Knight Territory the ship off course!]
"... You went to the control room! I told you! I clearly warned you! You were the ones who breached the contract first!"
[Breach of contract? You damned traitor! You and your credit are utterly worthless!]
"Traitor... why do you think this is!?"
No longer caring about his image, Czarny had been packaged as a perfect smile, was now contorted into a hideous demon.
"You are the traitors! I am the one who truly gave everything for this city!"
"You guys have no idea what we've done for this city! Everything here was built by our own hands!"
Stop with your self-pity! You don't love this city at all! You only love yourself!
"..."
After a brief silence, a chilling voice came through the communication device to Russell's ears.
Even if it means ruining her, you won't take her away from us!!!
[Etc!]
"It's too late, Russell!"
Czarny took out the remote control and slammed it down, along with the glass cover above it.
"I'm going to press it now! Let's say goodbye to this city!"
The world seemed to fall silent for a moment, and everything slowed down.
The city did indeed tremble, but the sound was not even as loud as the previous rumbling thunder.
But the disaster had already begun.
Ugh--
The distorted sound of metal cracking and splintering echoed from the Iron Wall, causing the four Core City to tremble.
The bomb did indeed explode; the connection to Block 0 was damaged, and the Great Partition was slowly being removed.
Everything went as planned, except... it was a little slow.
Czarny breathed a sigh of relief.
At this rate, he could leave by aircraft before the city completely collapses.
But what good would leaving do?
Neither the Business Federation nor Kazimierz would let him go, and he would have to spend the rest of his life on the run.
The thought of that future made Czarny feel a surge of heat throughout his body.
"..."
Heat?
Despite it being the dead of winter, Czarny felt as if it were Sargon.
The untimely temperature caused it to turn sharply, and along with countless others who noticed the anomaly, it looked toward the center of the heat source.
Sun.
Unlike Cyril and Margaret, it was a crimson sun.
In that collapsed Block 0, amidst the city's gaping wounds.
The blazing sun rises from the abyss.
The darkness was torn apart like paper, and a hand climbed up the cliff of the abyss.
The steel bridges connecting the city have become climbing toys in this palm of your hand.
Even just the exposed part is enough to suggest the enormous size of its owner.
As if the owner of that giant hand thought the abyss was too small, another hand followed, reaching out to grab the city.
The Giant stretched, and the remains of Block 0 split in two.
Explode.
An astonishing amount of heat surged from the hole into the sky, and the torrential rain turned into gas before it even hit the ground.
The owner of the giant hand has not yet appeared, but the heat it brings has already enveloped the entire city.
Boom--!!!
A muffled thunderclap resounded, and lightning flashed wildly.
The surging black clouds pressed down like mountains, determined to crush any offenders into dust.
[Gregor: The first step, how do we dissipate the energy from the explosion?]
[Vera: Make input proportional to consumption, spread it with fire, and turn it into a cloud of Catastrophe.]
The next moment--
A pillar of fire shot straight up, reaching the sky, making the dark rain clouds appear to be ablaze.
Flames tore at the clouds, and the top pillars of fire spiraled outwards, transforming into a spiral of fiery clouds that filled the entire sky.
Flame Cloud slaughtered the remaining soldiers and ruthlessly claimed the entire sky as its own.
Expand, expand, expand!
The jubilant flames filled the sky, illuminating the entire city as if it were daytime.
The astonishing heat compressed the air, and the flames roared as if to welcome the king's arrival.
The light shone even brighter, Czarny, tears welling up in his eyes.
The pain in his eyes served as a warning to him.
To merely gaze upon someone is to overstep one's bounds.
Rumble--
As if in fear of this terrifying power, the four cities slowly separated amidst the mournful cries of steel.
"Roar--!!!"
The glass near the center shattered instantly, and the owner of the voice appeared with a roar, only to see the four cities fleeing.
Seeing that the four cities were about to collapse, the pillars of fire surged even more fiercely, and the boiling flames cheered with joy!
The city suddenly came to a stop; they could no longer escape.
[Great Partition]
The massive Iron Wall separating the four cities was now firmly grasped in the palms of four hands.
The ground at the junction twisted and bulged, and the city became the king's mount.
The collapse of steel became the city's lament, dragged towards its center like prey.
[Gregor: How can we ensure the four cities don't separate?]
[Vane: Of course, we'll pull them back!]
Rumble--!!!
The engine and the giant continued their struggle, and the city merged again amidst the roar.
"What exactly is that thing!?"
In the city, the Silverlance, who was treating the residents, screamed incoherently.
No one criticized his loss of composure; those even more distraught had already fainted.
No one answered his question, and the entire city fell into a deathly silence.
"Thump--"
Someone collapsed to the ground.
Justin Fitzroy's legs had completely given out.
His suit was soaked through; it was impossible to tell whether it was water or sweat.
Justin's lips trembled, his pupils unfocused as they reflected the overly bright pillar of fire in the sky.
"The Flame Demon is coming..."
Justin grabbed his head and curled up in fear.
"Another city is about to fall..."
At the same moment, in every corner of the city, countless people collapsed, stood frozen, and were speechless.
[Gregor: What happens after the merger? I can't keep holding onto it forever.]
[Gorth: Using the Cliff Sword, he welded the four cities together.]
"Roar----!!!"
The Giant's roar tore through the sky once more, and the silhouette shrouded in flames began to distort.
And at the bottom of the city, beneath those massive Iron Wall that separate the four cities—
A crimson glow gradually appeared.
The red light spread out, rapidly extending along the base of the Iron Wall.
Steel melted, and everything succumbed to that terrifying heat.
Immediately afterwards, massive rock pillars pierced diagonally through the city walls, firmly locking the two cities together.
[Gregor: And the energy that drives the city? That's no small amount.]
[Gorth: 2420 cores, that's all the stock.]
"What... what is that!?"
Amidst terrified screams, the people of Kazimierz witnessed a scene they would never forget.
On the towering lava giant, countless faces kept appearing.
With twisted horns and ferocious faces, grotesque and terrifying Flame Demon swam continuously across the demon god's body.
They are like evil spirits imprisoned in a cage.
The demons struggled to break through the blockade, their grotesque half-bodies surging forward only to be pulled back by the boiling lava.
Before everyone could process the hellish scene...
A roar, completely different from that of the giant god, resounded across the sky.
Beside the spiraling pillar of fire that stretched from heaven to earth, two tiny figures hovered continuously with the flames.
[Gregor: What if that's still not enough?]
[Vera: Let the Daichi come, its flames can absorb your energy, and let the Daikū take the attack.]
"Hold head high--!!!"
With a roar of fury, the black dragon spewed forth blood-red breath, turning the flames into firewood.
"Roar--!!!"
The demon swung its arms, and the white dragon endured the onslaught of its power.
With its old scales shed, the mighty dragon breaks through the baptism of flames.
With four legs and two wings, a powerful body, the Lord of Ashes soars through the skies.
At this moment, the raging flame demons still wanted to break through their bodies.
Then, Meteorite began to fall from the sky.
Roaring demons fell into a desolate land, while towering dragons rode forth amidst raging flames.
Demons march forth, dragons enter.
Catastrophe--
It has arrived here.