The frozen forest glittered like a sea of stardust.
The trees covering the castle town had turned into icy sculptures, standing silently beneath the moonlight.
Caught off guard by the sudden chill, Moene screamed.
"What the hell is this!?"
"What's going on…?" muttered Nova, his eyes fixed on the forest in confusion.
Even the ever-expressionless Rabesta stood frozen, eyes wide.
Jessica and Lamia were struck speechless, breath taken by the sudden birth of a silver world before their eyes.
"That bastard Moschino really went overboard this time…!"
Rose gave a strained laugh, cold sweat running down despite the plunging temperature.
Deep in the frozen woods, Guild crawled.
Barely surviving the crash of the Indra, his body was charred, both legs broken, dragging himself forward on the ground.
"Damn it! What is this ice… I won't die in a place like this! I'll live and crush Nakatam… I won't give up…!"
His voice trembled with wounded pride and burning hatred.
But then, a cold voice echoed behind him.
"Karma."
Startled, Guild twisted around. Advancing slowly with a drawn blade was Esta.
"Who the hell are you!?"
"Good or evil… one's deeds always circle back.
A man as arrogant and devious as you never meets a decent end."
"Wait! No—don't do this!"
Guild screamed for his life, but Esta's eyes were colder than stone, like staring down an insect.
"The fate of a dictator is always a pitiful one."
Her blade flashed—Guild's head was severed in an instant.
At that moment, the frozen forest shattered like glass.
Shards of ice glittered as they scattered into the night sky, and the castle town lay in ruins.
Its bustle had vanished without a trace.
"Amazing!! But the town is gone…"
Endi looked torn—awed by Moschino's power yet grieving the lost town.
"Well, nothing we can do! Guess we'll just have to work on rebuilding!
Good thing we evacuated the townsfolk first!"
Moschino laughed lightly, making Endi chuckle in spite of himself.
Meanwhile, Azbal stood, frostbitten and barely breathing, glaring at Moschino.
He could hardly keep himself upright.
"Don't glare at me like that. But hey—this makes it the second time you've been humiliated by our Marshals, doesn't it?
No wonder your pride hurts. That scar on your neck… tingling again?"
Azbal forced a bitter laugh.
"Keh keh keh… cocky brat… you've got a mouth on you."
Then Ponaparto and Valentino arrived.
"Oi, Moschino! Who said you could act on your own!?"
"Heh… looks like my turn wasn't needed."
Soon after, Nova, Rabesta, Rose, Jessica, Moene, Lamia, and the soldiers of Nakatam all converged.
Azbal was fully surrounded.
"Give it up, Azbal. You've nowhere left to run.
Before you die, tell me about Margiela. After he cut you down, where did he go?"
Moschino's face twisted into something monstrous, the innocent smile gone, replaced by murderous intent.
The transformation was so terrifying that even the soldiers who had long followed him shivered every time.
Even Valentino and Ponaparto, fellow Marshals, broke a nervous sweat.
Yet Azbal, born without fear, remained unfazed.
"Keh keh keh… I don't know."
"Is that so? Then die, you trash."
Moschino stepped forward to kill him, but Endi cried out.
"Wait!!"
"What?"
Moschino's eyes glared like a demon, freezing Endi's spine.
Still, he gathered his courage and shouted to Azbal.
"Azbal, what was your real goal? Revenge against Nakatam for destroying Doal four years ago—was that really it?
Why are you so obsessed with Lamia?"
All fell silent, waiting for Azbal's reply.
"Revenge? Don't make me laugh. I couldn't care less if the Doal Kingdom fell.
What drives me is power. Crushing anyone I hate, destroying everything, seizing supremacy… ruling a world of blood and violence.
That's the only reason I live."
"Why would you want that?"
At Endi's pure question, Azbal sneered.
"In this world, there are only those who wield power and those who are ruled by it.
I'll always be the one wielding it.
To do that, I'll slaughter every obstacle. And with that girl beside me, who can heal any wound, I'd be invincible."
His glare shot at Lamia, making her flinch.
"I will stand at the peak of this world. Even the Yudra will kneel.
I'll seize even the realm of the gods.
I will turn the gears of this world with my own hands!"
At the word "Yudra," Rose stiffened.
"Gods…? What's he babbling about?" muttered Endi, confused.
"Hah! Yudra? Just a fairy tale. They don't exist," Nova sneered.
"No. The Yudra exist."
Rose's quiet words set the soldiers murmuring. Nova widened his eyes.
"What are the Yudra?"
Endi turned to Moschino.
"There's a myth, passed down since ancient times.
The World Mythology.
The Yudra are its so-called 'descendants of the gods.'
To think they're real…"
Cold sweat dripped down Moschino's face.
"Five hundred years ago… Uranos the Fateshaper, progenitor of the Reincarnation Warriors and almighty god, died with his ten priests in battle against the Sorcerian.
The world was swallowed by darkness.
It was the Yudra—his descendants—who slew the Sorcerian, banished the dark, and restored peace.
And the ones who have led the Yudra ever since… the Remsophia family, a clan that has ruled from the shadows for five centuries."
Rose steadied his breath, speaking calmly.
"Yudra… Reincarnation Warriors… Remsophia family…"
At that moment, a flash seared through Endi's mind.
Bloodied men and women sprawled lifeless on the ground.
Agony pierced his chest as memories resurfaced.
His heart pounded violently, sweat drenched him, breath failing—he collapsed unconscious.
"Endi!?"
Lamia rushed to him.
"Endi! What's wrong!?" cried Rose.
Panic spread through the ranks.
"Keh keh keh… this isn't over.
I'll kill you all. Sleep in fear."
With a cruel grin, Azbal's body warped into wood, sinking into the ground.
"Get back here!"
Ponaparto slammed his fist down, the earth splitting like an earthquake.
"Pointless. Once underground, there's no catching him," laughed Valentino.
"That body won't let him do much anyway. If he dares to return, I'll kill him myself," boasted Moschino.
"You sound awfully confident, Moschino," growled Ponaparto.
"Well, I am super strong."
His smug grin made Ponaparto sigh in exasperation, while Valentino chuckled darkly.
"The enemy general's gone, but… this battle's ours, right?"
Rose looked around with a triumphant smile.
The tension melted, soldiers sighing in relief.
Nova, Rabesta, Jessica, and Moene gathered around the unconscious Endi.
The three Marshals exchanged unreadable looks, each lost in thought.
"Troops, withdraw! The battle is over!"
Rose's voice rang out.
The war between Nakatam and the Old Doal Army had ended in Nakatam's victory.
The bond of comrades and the beat of their souls carried a song of triumph into the night sky.