Several expressions immediately took offense at her taunt, but then the Meteor Dragon spoke. "You should worry less about our pride and more about your situation, Irlen."

She slowly took a step forward. "What I truly don’t understand is what exactly makes you so special."

She looked Irene up and down with open contempt. "What does the Emperor see in you that it refuses to see in me? Personally, I would kill you right here, but the Emperor’s orders are the only reason you’re still breathing."

Irene sighed. "I’ve grown tired of listening to you."

Her crimson eyes narrowed. "So... are you all just going to stand there, or what?"

Yvnil laughed. "You may be a Balerion, but even one such as you isn’t defeating all of us."

The instant the last word left her mouth, Irene exploded forward with terrifying speed, lunging directly toward the Meteor Dragon.

The Meteor Dragon’s smile widened. She extended both hands to the side as molten chunks of rock instantly materialized above her palms.

"Come!"

⸻

Back at the cottage...

Nathan crashed into the cottage through a distortion of space.

He stumbled forward the moment he appeared. "Irene!"

Pan, who had been quietly arranging herbs on a nearby table, looked up in surprise at Nathan’s sudden appearance.

But Nathanhad barely noticed him. He immediately bolted toward the front door.

"I have to go to Irene!"

He had only just crossed the doorway when he came to an abrupt stop.

A translucent blue dome surrounded the entire cottage, extending roughly two hundred meters in every direction.

Nathan stared at it in utter disbelief before spinning back toward the panda-folk. "Pan!"

His voice was filled with desperation.

"Please, open this! I have to go, Irene is in danger!"

Pan had walked out of the cottage by then and now stood a few paces from Nathan.

With a heavy expression on his face, he said, "No."

Nathan surprise deepened only further. "What?"

"I cannot do that," Pan answered.

Nathan stared at him in utter disbelief. "Did you hear what I just said?"

He pointed beyond the barrier with a trembling hand. "I said my wife is in danger! I have to go!"

Pan slowly lowered his gaze. "I know. But I still cannot open it... because Irene was the one who asked me to keep you here."

Nathan’s eyes widened. "What are you talking about?"

Pan let out a weary sigh. "Before the two of you departed... she came to me."

"She told me she had already sensed dragons nearby and knew there was a very high chance neither of you would ever make it to the Southern Continent."

Nathan could only stare at him in stunned silence.

Pan continued. "She said she was tired of everyone she loved being placed in danger because of her."

"If the dragons ever caught up to the two of you... she would willingly surrender herself."

Nathan’s fingers slowly curled into fists.

"And if that moment came... she intended to send you back here."

Pan paused briefly before continuing. "She then made me promise that, should she succeed, I was never to let you leave."

"I gave her my word, and I intend to honor it."

Nathan remained motionless for a long moment before slowly turning back toward the barrier.

For several seconds, he simply stared at it. Then his expression gradually hardened.

"If you think telling me all of that is enough for me to simply sit here and watch..."

He slowly raised one hand toward the barrier.

"...then you have another thing coming."

A large magic circle appeared before his outstretched palm.

Pan sighed. He extended his right hand, and a wooden staff materialized within his grip. "Your wife prepared me for this as well. If stopping you requires force, then I shall do use that to fulfill my promise."

...

Time passed as the sounds of clashing magic spells echoed continuously outside the cottage.

...

Much later, silence returned.

Nathan lay flat on his back, his chest rising and falling heavily as he struggled to catch his breath.

Several scorch marks and fading traces of magical residue littered the ground around them.

Pan remained standing several paces away, leaning slightly on his staff as he too tried to steady his breathing.

No matter how desperately Nathan had fought, Pan had been able to keep him at bay the entire time. The magic of the Druids was exceptionally powerful, and Pan himself was one of the stronger Druids.

Nathan stared upward at nothing in particular. It was as though his gaze had become lost somewhere beyond the sky itself.

Then, slowly, he raised an arm over his eyes.

After a second, a stream of tears rolled down beneath his forearm.

His breathing became uneven as he gritted his teeth.

"Damn it..."

His voice broke.

"Damn it..."

His fingers curled into tight fists as frustration, helplessness, grief, and self-loathing all crashed into him at once.

He had sworn to protect her.

Yet when she had needed him most, he couldn’t even break through a single barrier.

The tears continued falling as Nathan finally broke down, feeling powerless to do anything except relive the last words his wife had spoken to him.

’I love you.’

——

A few more days passed.

Only after Pan had become certain that the dragons had departed did he finally lower the barrier surrounding the cottage.

The very moment the barrier disappeared, Nathan’s first destination was the place where he and Irene had been separated.

Or rather...

Where everything had begun.

He searched the area for hours until he reached a part of the forest that had become almost completely unrecognizable.

Gigantic craters scarred the landscape.

Everywhere he looked were dragon footprints of varying sizes, shattered rocks, dried blood, and the remains of small creatures unfortunate enough to have been caught in the battle.

Nathan walked through the devastation in silence.

Eventually, his steps came to a stop as he saw something that caught his eye.

A strand of red hair.

He slowly bent down and picked it up with trembling fingers.

For several long moments, he simply stared at it. But there were no tears, nor were there any words.

After that, he turned around and left.

There was no reason to continue toward the Southern Continent anymore.

The only reason he had ever wished to go there...was no longer with him.

So, he did what any reasonable person would have done.

He went home. But not to the Western Continent. Instead, he returned to the place of his origin.

The Demon Continent.

⸻

Nathan finally arrived after several days of travel...

Now, he stood before the King of Demons.

Before him stretched an immense hall whose towering pillars disappeared into the darkness far above.

An oppressive aura saturated every corner of the throne room.

Nathan lowered himself onto both knees and bowed his head toward the floor.

He remained like that for quite a while, neither moving nor speaking.

At the far end of the throne room, seated upon an enormous throne, rested a figure concealed entirely within shadow.

Only its overwhelming presence could truly be felt.

A deep, ancient voice drifted across the hall as the Demon King spoke. "So... You have finally returned."

The ruler let out an amused chuckle. "Tell me, Izgur... Why shouldn’t I have you executed where you kneel?"

"Why shouldn’t I have your corpse flayed and displayed before the entirety of demonkind as a reminder of what becomes of those who abandon their King?"

Nathan remained silent for several seconds before finally speaking. "Because for the foreseeable future... I shall devote every waking breath of my existence toward one purpose."

His voice was cold, steady and unwavering.

"I will discover a way... to kill your greatest enemy. The only being capable of standing in your path."

"...The Dragon Emperor."

Silence followed.

Then...From within the darkness, a quiet laugh escaped the throne.

"Oh?"