In the eyes of Melina, Asimi, and Fia, the Ancient Dragon Fortissax kept hurling itself at Nolan in a frenzy, only to be knocked violently away every time.
The brutal collisions and the sight of Fortissax being sent flying repeated again and again. Perhaps because she understood just how vicious Nolan could be, even Asimi could not help worrying for Fortissax.
In the end, the Death Dragon Fortissax collapsed before Nolan and never rose again.
"You really don't want to come with me?"
A low voice, without the slightest edge to it, suddenly reached Fortissax's ears, pulling a trace of clarity back from its haze.
When it came to, it finally felt the agony coursing through every part of its body.
Several huge holes had been torn through it, each wound more than enough to be fatal.
Fortissax did not cry out. Lying in the muddy water, it struggled to open its eyes.
Reflected in its gaze was the Lord who had defeated it.
By now, Nolan had already withdrawn his Scale Armor and dragon wings, revealing his human form.
He seemed as tall as that Golden Prince. He had no golden radiance, but his long silver-white hair was just as striking.
"I'm not Lansseax."
Fortissax stared at Nolan, unexpectedly calm inside, with no final attempt to strike back before death.
It had lost completely and accepted it. Even if Godwyn truly returned, he might not be able to defeat the powerful Lord before it.
After a long silence, Fortissax spoke with difficulty.
"You have won, unknown and mighty Lord."
There was a trace of ease and acceptance in its voice.
"My name is Nolan."
Nolan slowly shook his head, as if the whole situation left him deeply helpless.
He dropped down into the muddy pool, splashing water everywhere. Mud soaked his clothes, but he did not seem to care at all.
"Don't die without even knowing who your enemy is," Nolan said quietly.
Fortissax breathed hard, its chest heaving violently. It looked at Nolan, a flicker of confusion passing through its eyes.
"Enemy? There is no grudge between us. Only a victor and the defeated."
Every word seemed to take all the strength it had left.
If they were speaking of enemies, should the grudge between it and Godwyn not have been even greater? During the Ancient Dragon War, Godwyn had killed many of its kin. That was a blood debt.
"That's the best way to think of it." Nolan scratched his head. "Saves me the trouble of explaining."
Fortissax froze for a moment, then its gaze suddenly turned serious.
"Are you making excuses for that fool Lansseax?"
There likely were not many younger brothers who could accept their own sister sending someone to kill them.
Nolan fell silent for a moment, then gave a soft sigh.
"I understand what you mean," Fortissax said, slowly shaking its head. "She may be an unreliable sister, but I know why she sent you."
"Actually, I mostly came because I wanted to." Nolan smiled.
"That idiot Lansseax really did meet someone decent."
Fortissax did not linger on the matter of its sister. Instead, it changed the subject and asked directly,
"So what exactly are you trying to do?"
"Storm the Altus Plateau, break Leyndell, and seize Marika's damned throne, of course." Nolan slapped his thigh. "Your sister even said she wants me to ascend the throne of Divine King."
"Your ambition is truly something. Godwyn can't compare to that at all," Fortissax said, sounding weary.
Fortissax had never heard the title Divine King before, but it could more or less understand the meaning from the words alone.
That was something not even the Ancient Kings or the gods had ever imagined.
Looking across more than four thousand years of history in the Lands Between, only that greedy woman Marika could barely be said to have possessed such power, though she had never held such a title.
Was that also why Godwyn had been killed by the Black Knife Assassins?
After all, if Godwyn inherited the throne, he would seemingly threaten the Queen's position as well.
The more the Ancient Dragon thought about it, the more it felt that something was wrong. But with its mind reduced to a muddled mess, it could not make sense of it.
In any case, it was about to die. There was no point dwelling on such things, so it simply stopped thinking about them.
"Then go drag that woman Marika down. Just as well. I never liked her much either."
The two of them had exchanged very little, and could hardly be said to truly know each other.
Yet Fortissax treated the man before it almost like family, speaking to him in an extraordinarily gentle tone.
Their conversation had gone on for a while now, and they had spoken of quite a few things.
Even so, Fortissax's body was still bleeding without end, yet it held no hatred and showed not the slightest regret.
It only listened quietly to the other's words, its eyelids growing heavier and heavier, as though they might close at any moment.
Even so, Fortissax still forced itself to glance at the towering Death Son not far away.
"That fellow Godwyn. What do you plan to do with him?" Fortissax suddenly asked. Its voice was faint, but still clear.
"For now, death should be the best ending for him."
Nolan slowly raised his hand, and a mass of black aura appeared in his palm.
In Fortissax's eyes, that aura looked exceptionally dense. It was the power of death.
It was death all the same, yet this time, Fortissax felt no cold, decaying threat from it.
"Believing he would return was only our wishful thinking from the start. This ending is fine too."
Its tone was calm and open, as though it had already accepted the truth.
Nolan had meant to say a few words of comfort, but when he looked at Fortissax, his mouth only opened slightly before closing again.
He seemed to realize that, in this moment, any words would be unnecessary.
Fortissax slowly closed its eyes. Nolan could no longer feel any life from it, as though it had simply fallen asleep.
Feeling the increase in his power, Nolan knew it was dead.
"Time for the real work."
With a wave of his hand, everyone woke from the illusory world.
The Ancient Dragon's corpse vanished. Nolan turned his head toward the twisted tree roots.
That ugly, enormous face seemed to have come alive as well, staring at him as if meeting his gaze.
Nolan went up to Godwyn's living corpse, placed his hand on it, and watched it slowly scatter into ash.
He paid no attention to Fia's hesitant expression behind him. Godwyn had to die completely.
If he were merely undead, Nolan could accept that. But the existence of Those Who Live in Death was a threat to the Civilized Dynasty.
They did not even possess the most basic self-will. They were nothing but mad monsters born purely from death.
"Do you have something to say? Or do you want to speak on behalf of His Highness the Prince?" Nolan turned to look at Fia.
If, just like in the game, she still wanted to create an age that belonged to Those Who Live in Death, then even if she bore some resemblance to Melina, Nolan would send her to join Godwyn.
"I did not know His Highness Godwyn," Fia said. "I came only to see the legendary first of Those Who Live in Death for myself and to better understand death. Since he is now completely dead, then so be it."
"If you want to understand death, you can just join the Fire-Passing Church. You can register with me. If you're good enough, Priestess Lansseax might even let you become a Priestess," Asimi said, returning to Nolan's shoulder and raising a hand.
This little thing had probably gotten addicted to recruiting people back in Nokron. Now it was turning into an occupational hazard.
Nolan glanced at Asimi and raised an eyebrow.
For a mere summoned beast to dare speak over its master, it seemed he would have to properly educate it once they got back.