Thousands of Dragon Clan warriors clashed, magic erupting in explosions, dragons roaring wildly. Amid such chaos, no one would bother to notice the movements of a small child.

Yet even so, crossing a battlefield required extraordinary courage and an intelligence beyond one's years.

The lightning from Chidori reflected off the tender face of a child. Barely two years old, her gaze carried resolve and decisiveness that could rival that of any adult.

Some called Noa·K·Melkevi nothing more than an "Involuted King" spouting unproven theories, or merely a schoolyard bully picking on her classmates.

But today, standing against an opponent as formidable as the Celestial Dragon King, her strikes showed no hesitation.

Like her father, she did not need to prove herself to others. She would do what she believed was right, no matter the cost.

Even if it meant danger, even if it meant wagering her life, even if it meant never coming back.

Lavy slowly turned his head, but before he could fully see who had launched the sneak attack, a sharp pain pierced his right shoulder.

His wrist trembled, momentarily unsteady. But he quickly regained his footing, turning around with a side kick that hammered the tiny figure away.

Lavy glared at Noa, his eyes full of unbridled viciousness and wrath. "So it's just... a child?"

Being caught off-guard by a child—this was the greatest humiliation for someone who bore the title of Dragon King.

But that child must be the daughter of the Silver Dragon King and Casmod. Lavy's narrowed gaze landed on Noa, who lay prone on the ground. She was undoubtedly stronger than the average young dragon.

Much stronger.

But still, at the end of the day, she was just a child. Even if her sneak attack succeeded, she could not possibly shake the Celestial Dragon King in the slightest.

"Don't worry, little brat. After I deal with your parents, you're next—"

"You dare... attack my daughter?"

At the sound of those words, time seemed to slow to a crawl.

Lavy's heart sank with foreboding. Instinctively, he shifted his focus away from Noa. But in the instant he turned, the barrier in front of him shattered like fragile glass.

And in the very next moment, a massive hand emerged from the shards and clamped tightly around Lavy's throat.

In that instant, Lavy felt as if his windpipe and throat bones were on the verge of being crushed.

He strained to maintain composure, attempting to raise his hand to conjure another barrier.

But it was too late.

Lavy's body, as if it were a mere ragdoll, was hoisted high into the air by Leon and then hammered down with terrifying force.

The impact was so powerful that the ground beneath Lavy cracked into a shallow crater, fractures radiating outward in all directions.

The Dragon King's spine absorbed the full brunt of the blow, leaving Lavy gasping and battered, his lungs nearly pulverized.

At that moment, the Celestial Dragon King was left utterly speechless, stunned by the man's overwhelming strength.

He was supposed to be... a Dragon King!

How could a Dragon King's body appear so fragile, like thin paper, in the hands of this man called Casmod?

His dragon eyes flared with uncontainable rage and disbelief. He gripped Leon's wrist tightly, desperately struggling to break free.

Steam poured from the edges of the silver armor as Leon incrementally increased the strength of his grip.

Lavy groaned in agony, his eyes bulging, bloodshot veins spreading across them in an instant.

Moments later, the man beneath the silver armor spoke in a low voice: "Don't move."

Two simple words, devoid of any emotion, carried the weight of an irrefutable command.

And those two words were not only directed at Lavy but also at the other two Dragon Kings present.

As Leon subdued Lavy, Roswitha immediately rushed to Noa's side.

"Noa! Noa, are you okay?"

The queen dropped to one knee, cradling her daughter in her arms.

Blood trickled from the corner of Noa's lips. Although her surprise attack had successfully distracted Lavy, giving Leon the chance to shatter his barrier, Noa was still just a two-year-old child. Taking a direct hit from a Dragon King’s kick—her undeveloped body couldn’t escape unscathed.

Roswitha quickly employed basic healing magic to ease Noa's injuries.

Noa soon regained consciousness.

Her first words after waking up were, "Did I help... Mommy?"

Tears welled in Roswitha's eyes as she gently wiped the dirt and blood from her daughter’s face. "Yes, Noa. You helped Mommy and Daddy a great deal."

The tight frown of pain on Noa's small face softened, and a faint smile appeared. “That’s good then.”

Roswitha held Noa tightly in her arms as she slowly stood, looking toward Leon in the distance.

Leon happened to cast his gaze toward her at the same time.

She gave him a slight nod, signaling that Noa was safe now.

Leon was about to respond when he suddenly noticed a slight change in Lavy’s breathing. Then—

Boom!

A ferocious punch landed square on Lavy's face at point-blank range, smashing his head into the ground.

Blood seeped into the cracks of the battlefield, and Lavy's limbs twitched feebly.

"I said... don't move."

The last dragon who claimed Leon's wife and daughter were his weaknesses had already been decapitated.

As for this Dragon King, who had truly harmed Noa... what fate awaited him?

Well, even breathing had become a mistake.

Leon hoisted Lavy’s limp form from the ground, the Dragon King dangling helplessly from his iron grip.

The remaining two Dragon Kings were dumbfounded, their eyes wide with disbelief.

This... this wasn’t what the Empire's intelligence had described, was it?

Wasn't Leon Casmod supposed to only be marginally stronger than Constantine?

What?

Did humans and the Dragon Clan have entirely different definitions of "marginal"?

Dispatching Lavy with one punch—this was "marginal"?!

Bly and Jargis instinctively began to back away, their spatial magic formations gradually dispersing.

However, the eerie, glowing-blue rift in the ground remained.

"What now? Star's dead. Lavy's about to follow."

Bly swallowed hard. "Is there even a point to continuing this fight against that... monster?"

But there was no response from Jargis.

“Jargis? Jargis? Hey?”

Bly turned his head, only to find the space next to him empty.

Bly: ?

Spatial magic sure was convenient—even your teammate couldn't detect it when you fled.

Realizing the situation, Bly activated his own spatial magic and vanished in the blink of an eye, escaping with all due haste.

After his two remaining allies fled, Lavy's fate was sealed.

Suspended in midair, hanging by his neck, he was on the brink of suffocation.

At this point... was there anything that could salvage the situation?

Could he follow in Star's footsteps and go down in a blaze of suicidal glory against Leon?

No, impossible.

God knows whether Leon had other hidden cards ready to play. Suicide tactics might work against other opponents, but definitely not against this armored monster.

Even the Dragon Clan's innate penchant for revenge faltered before the man.

Lavy, his mind clouded and foggy, struggled to think.

Then, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the spatial rift nearby.

"Ah… if that's the case…” he muttered quietly.

“What?”

“Leon Casmod, let’s make a wager. Let’s see if you’re truly willing to risk everything for the family you care about.”

“What are you planning—”

Lavy suddenly burst into motion, kicking Leon’s chest plate with a mighty push. A sickening sound of tearing flesh echoed as his throat spewed blood into the air.

Throwing himself against Leon with reckless abandon, Lavy managed to wrench free from his unyielding grip.

Even Leon, unfazed by much, was momentarily stunned by Lavy's self-destructive resolve.

When he snapped out of it, Lavy had already stumbled to the edge of the spatial rift.

Clutching his bleeding throat with one hand, Lavy placed the other over his heart.

“I admit, Leon Casmod, your sheer power makes Dragon Kings as countless as the stars seem insignificant in comparison.” Lavy’s voice was a hoarse whisper, his throat barely functioning.

“Your admission means nothing to me, Lavy.”

“Heh… too true. The strong have no need for validation from others.” He trembled, his eyes gleaming dangerously. “But… as I asked before, are you truly willing to sacrifice everything for those you love?”

“What are you trying to do?”

Without further response, Lavy’s heart emitted a gleaming light.

Moments later, he pressed his hand to his chest and forcefully tore out a shining scale.

Unlike the other dragon scales adorning his body, this one was more translucent—like a crystalline gemstone.

Roswitha’s eyes narrowed slightly. "Heart-Guarding Dragon Scale..."

Lavy wasn’t preparing for self-destruction used by the Dragon Clan to unleash life-ending bursts of energy—a deed that required the Heart-Guarding Dragon Scale to remain intact within the heart.

So then... what was he planning?

"Say goodbye to this world!"

Lifting the scale high, Lavy plunged it into the spatial rift beneath him.

The moment the scale vanished into the fissure, an ominous burst of energy erupted, consuming Lavy himself in an instant.

Leon reacted immediately, rushing to Roswitha and Noa. Activating the Fifth Gate of the Nine Infernos, he whisked mother and daughter to a safe distance in the blink of an eye.

Fortunately, the explosion was localized and short-lived.

When the energy dissipated, all that remained was Lavy’s charred corpse beside a gaping two-meter-long tear in space.

The fissure itself continued to expand outward, slowly but inexorably. The surrounding debris and dust were sucked into its depths.

Even Lavy's lifeless body was pulled into its void.

As for the fissure’s interior, only storms of roiling black clouds and ceaseless flashes of lightning could be seen.

Its dissonance with the surrounding environment was so stark, it was as if reality itself had been forcibly split open.

“He used his Heart-Guarding Dragon Scale to forcefully activate the teleportation magic from earlier,” Roswitha said. “But clearly, the magic backfired and went out of control. Unless we find a way to stop it, this growing rift will eventually consume everything in the vicinity. Worse, there’s no telling when—or if—it will cease.”

What an unending storm of crises.

After Ravi’s death, those Stardrift Dragon Clan members had all retreated.

The Silver Dragon Clan soldiers arrived soon after, and they too noticed the expanding rift that seemed to grow larger by the second.

Anna walked up to Roswitha. After inquiring about Noa’s injuries, she turned her attention to the fissure before them and proposed a plan:

“What if we use magic of equal force to strike it? Could we forcibly stop its expansion that way?”

Roswitha bit her lip in hesitation. At this point, there truly wasn't a better alternative. As someone who wasn’t well-versed in spatial magic, she could only give it a try.

After confirming the strategy with everyone, the Silver Dragon Clan simultaneously gathered their energy and unleashed a barrage of magic upon the fissure.

However, every single attack was swallowed up by the void within the rift, leaving not the slightest effect.

A bead of cold sweat slid down Anna’s forehead. "How could this…?"

As they spoke, the fissure had already expanded to nearly five meters across.

Its suction grew even more intense.

Roswitha’s gaze locked onto the rift. If it was Ravi’s Heart-Guarding Dragon Scale that had caused this spatial instability to spiral out of control, then conversely, perhaps another Dragon King’s Heart-Guarding Dragon Scale could resolve it.

And she was the only Dragon King present.

If it were within her power, Roswitha wouldn’t hesitate to sacrifice her own Heart-Guarding Dragon Scale to end this catastrophe.

But her scales—

"I have an idea," said Leon, his voice low and heavy.

Roswitha turned toward him. “What?”

“Before Ravi opened this rift, he asked me—would I give everything for you all? I think, perhaps, that question… was a hint.”

He lowered his head, mulling over his thoughts, then lifted his gaze to look at the woman beside him—his queen, his wife.

“Only I can close the rift,” he murmured.

Roswitha froze. Her silvery eyes trembled as the unspoken truth dawned on her.

“Leon… No. No! Absolutely not.”

The queen’s voice wavered, edged with panic.

She couldn’t accept that kind of ending. She could never accept it—no matter the cost.

Leon didn’t answer her. He simply raised his hands, attempting to take off the helmet of his Black Gold Chariot armor.

This time, it came off without a hitch.

Underneath the helmet was the resolute profile she had seen countless times before. She even recognized every scar etched onto his face.

Leon’s expression was unreadable. Silently, he handed the helmet to Roswitha.

Clatter—

The helmet fell to the ground.

She hadn’t dared to reach for it.

“No… Leon, no…”

With one arm holding Noa and the other reaching for Leon’s wrist, Roswitha nearly begged, her voice cracking with desperation.

“There has to be another way. We’ll think of something else. There *has* to be another way.”

Leon stayed silent for a moment, then gently broke free of her grip.

He turned slightly, his gaze falling on the daughter cradled in Roswitha’s arms.

The pain had caused Noa to slip into unconsciousness.

In a way… it was better this way.

Leon lifted a hand, softly pinching his daughter’s cheek.

After what felt like an eternity, that ever-steadfast face of his finally curled into a comforting, gentle smile.

“You’ll take good care of your mom and younger sisters, won’t you, Noa?”

He believed in his eldest daughter—just as she had believed, only moments ago, that her father could pull off a miracle as long as she could distract Ravi.

"Your Grace!"

“Your Grace, let me take your place and seal the rift! The Silver Dragon Clan cannot lose you!” said one of the Dragon Clan soldiers.

Hearing another dragon being willing to sacrifice themselves stirred something complex in Leon’s heart.

He looked at the soldier but ultimately shook his head.

"Closing the rift takes more than just courage and resolve," Leon said. “I won’t claim that I’m the only one who could do this, but unfortunately, that is the reality we’re facing.”

Ravi’s last words were both a curse and a challenge—forcing Leon to make this pivotal decision.

And as for any other solution? As Leon had just explained, no one else here possessed the capability.

Even Roswitha’s power likely wasn’t enough.

And even if it were—Leon would never let her go.

Roswitha had been entirely right about him:

Confident. Reckless. A heroically stubborn fool.

But then, what boy hadn’t daydreamed about being the lone savior in the face of the apocalypse?

What boy hadn’t imagined himself walking into danger alone, defying all odds, and saving the world while leaving an indelible mark on everyone watching?

Leon was simply turning that childish fantasy into reality.

He took a slow, deep breath, then exhaled. Purposefully, his footsteps carried him toward the abyssal void.

“Leon! Leon, no! You can’t go! You *can’t* go!”

Roswitha darted forward, gripping Leon’s hands with all her might. Her voice was pleading now, layered with anguish.

“If you go, I’ll hate you forever. I swear, I’ll hate you for the rest of my life. Don’t you dare go.”

Leon blinked, his expression wavering slightly, his voice now soft and low.

“Roswitha… you’re a Dragon King. Don’t show this kind of fragility in front of your people.”

“I-I’ll go with you—”

“Then who’ll look after our daughters?”

“……”

Leon gently pushed Roswitha’s hands aside.

She didn’t try to stop him this time.

Step by determined step, he walked toward the rift, his back facing Roswitha.

The suction from the rift intensified, whipping up a fierce wind.

Roswitha’s flowing silver hair danced in the storm, but she didn’t dare turn around to look at Leon.

“Roswitha Melkevi.”

He only ever said her full name when he had something important to say.

Roswitha hesitated for a few seconds before summoning her courage and looking up at him.

That towering figure stood resolutely before the abyss. He turned slightly, offering her a small, serene smile.

And then, he said three more words.

But his voice was lost beneath the roaring wind and the cries of the rift.

The next moment, Leon’s figure vanished, swallowed by the void.

Thunderous lightning surged within the fissure, a chaotic tempest of crackling energy.

The rift shook violently as flashes of lightning spilled out, forcing the watching crowd to retreat.

Gradually, the gaping tear in space began to shrink at a pace visible to the naked eye—until it finally disappeared altogether.

“Your Grace...”

“Your Majesty? Your Majesty...”

Roswitha, holding Noa tightly, walked blankly to the spot where Leon had disappeared.

She slowly knelt down, her movements hollow, and picked up the fallen helmet from the ground.

Then, clutching it to her chest as if it were Leon himself, she held it tightly.

It still carried the faint warmth of his touch.