Dust rolled across the shattered crater like a dying storm.
Slowly—
It began to clear.
Through the fading haze, a single silhouette became visible.
Small.
Unsteady.
It was Reina.
"Koff! Koff—!"
She bent forward, coughing hard as dust scraped against her throat. One hand pressed against the ground to steady herself, the other shielding her eyes from the lingering debris.
Her armor was cracked. Dirt stained her clothes. Strands of hair clung messily to her face.
She blinked.
Once.
Twice.
"…What happened?" she muttered weakly.
Her fingers dug into the soil beneath her, feeling solid ground.
"…Am I alive?!"
Her voice rose suddenly, panic slipping through.
"Where is everyone?! Are you okay, guys?!"
For a terrifying second—
There was no answer.
The crater around her was enormous. Trees flattened. Earth split open in jagged lines stretching outward like scars carved into the land.
Then—
A faint groan came from her left.
Hayami sat up slowly from a pile of rubble, one knee raised, rubbing the back of her head.
"…I think I'm alive," she said dryly, wincing. Dust slid off her black armor as she shook herself slightly.
She glanced sideways.
"What about you, Leonhart?" she called lazily. "Are you dead?"
A pause.
Then, from the opposite side of the crater, a golden figure pushed aside a slab of broken earth.
Leonhart stood up.
His armor was cracked in several places. One shoulder plate hung loose. A thin line of blood traced down from his forehead—but his posture remained straight.
He brushed dust off his gauntlet with mild irritation.
"Don't get your hopes up," he replied flatly. "I'm not dying before you."
Hayami snorted faintly.
Reina let out a breath,
They were alive.
All three of them.
But— still trying to process,
"By the way… how did we survive this?!" she asked, looking between the two of them.
She turned her head upward—
And froze.
"…Look."
Her voice dropped.
"The dragon's palm… it's still there."
Above the crater, the massive skeletal hand loomed like a second sky. Its mountain-sized palm hadn't crushed them into paste.
It had stopped.
Midway.
Hanging above them as if the world itself had paused.
No—
Not paused.
Blocked.
The bones trembled slightly, black flames flickering wildly around its joints. The force behind that strike hadn't disappeared.
It had been resisted.
Hayami followed Reina's gaze, squinting up at the unnatural sight.
"…Huh."
She tilted her head slightly.
"I think it's a lucky day," she muttered casually, brushing dust off her shoulder. "If I survive this, I'm going straight to the casino."
Normally—
Leonhart would have snapped at her instantly.
Called her an idiot.
Told her to focus.
But this time—
He said nothing.
Hayami noticed it first.
Her eyes shifted toward him.
Leonhart wasn't looking at the palm.
He wasn't even looking at the dragon.
His sharp dark-blue eyes were locked on something ahead of them—
---
Hayami and Reina slowly turned their heads in the same direction Leonhart was staring.
And then—
Their eyes widened.
There, at the very center of the shattered crater…
Stood a boy.
His long silver hair flowed gently despite the violent winds swirling around them, like a quiet river under moonlight. His cyan-blue eyes glowed faintly—calm, clear, almost indifferent.
And above him—
The dragon's mountain-sized skeletal palm.
Stopped.
Not by magic.
Not by a barrier.
But by his bare hand.
One arm raised casually overhead, fingers pressed against bone the size of buildings.
Effortlessly holding it in place.
The black flames around the dragon's palm flared violently, trying to force it downward—but it wouldn't move an inch.
The earth beneath the boy's feet had cracked in a perfect circle, yet his posture remained relaxed.
As if he were simply… stretching.
Hayami was the first to break.
Her expression twisted with disbelief.
"How…?" she whispered.
Then louder—
"When?! Why didn't I sense him?!"
Her breathing grew uneven as her instincts screamed danger.
She stared at him, trying to feel it.
Mana.
Aura.
Killing intent.
Anything.
But there was nothing.
Looking toward Leonhart in horror, she shouted—
"I CAN'T SENSE ANY MANA FROM HIM! HOW?! How can someone's mere physical strength be that much?!"
The dragon roared, pushing harder.
The boy didn't even look up.
He shifted his wrist slightly.
The dragon's entire arm trembled.
Leonhart's eyes narrowed sharply.
Unlike Hayami, he wasn't panicking.
He was recognizing.
"…Is that you?" he muttered.
His voice carried something unfamiliar.
Uncertainty.
"…Solaris Void?"
At the sound of that name—
The silver-haired boy's glowing eyes shifted slightly.
But toward Leonhart.
---
Reina and Hayami's expressions shifted the moment Leonhart spoke that name.
Reina blinked, her lips parting.
"You mean the… Solaris Voi—"
Her words were cut off.
Because the silver-haired boy finally spoke.
His voice wasn't loud.
It wasn't dramatic.
It wasn't filled with power.
It was calm.
Flat.
Almost… sincere.
"Normal people always help others."
Silence.
The wind howled through the shattered forest.
The dragon's palm still trembled in his grip.
And below it—
Three elite adventurers stared at him like their brains had just stopped functioning.
Leonhart: "Huh?"
Reina: "…Huh?"
Hayami's eye twitched.
"Normal…?"