A Tremendous Distortion

When people think of a final boss in a game, most would likely desire a level of power and gravitas befitting that position. After all, it’s literally the ultimate boss of the game.

Unless it was a boss designed as a comedic concept from the very beginning, or if the story consistently and faithfully built up its insignificance, a weak final boss battle was bound to receive negative feedback.

In that regard, the final boss of Brightest Darkness 4, ‘The World Eater,’ was a boss that perfectly satisfied the players’ desires.

Among all the bosses in Brightest Darkness 4, it was the only one with a ‘perfect’ 4th phase, and each phase had distinctly different concepts, with every single phase being insanely difficult even in vanilla (unmodded) gameplay.

The background lore was also flawless, and its strength was actually demonstrated in the game. Even the changing concepts for each phase were more than enough to satisfy people’s romantic ideals.

Therefore, it was not at all awkward that modders who created enemy enhancement mods put even more effort into The World Eater.

The number of mods that ‘only’ enhanced The World Eater exceeded ten, which says it all. The Dark Light mod, in particular, even combined all those more than ten variations into one.

But.

No enemy enhancement mod ever had The World Eater intrude in the early part of the main story.

-!!!!!!

A roar-no, a formless mass too immense to be simply called a roar-was spewed forth from its head.

Beyond the corridor windows, buildings could be seen cracking or even collapsing, swept away by the aftermath. It had shattered buildings just by letting out a monstrous scream.

I stared blankly at the crumbling buildings, raising dust clouds, then suddenly snapped out of it and moved my legs. For now, getting out of the Imperial Palace, as Kaikilia had said, was the top priority.

I hurried back to my room, grabbed my blood-stained sword, and then, just in case, checked Rije’s room. The spot where her twin daggers should have been was empty. Fortunately, it seemed she had taken them and left in time.

As I headed out of the Imperial Palace, I sighed inwardly.

‘Please, I hope I don’t have to fight that guy here.’

Fighting The World Eater itself wasn’t the problem. I already had the strategy in my head, and it was someone I’d have to defeat eventually anyway.

‘No one can win now.’

However, fighting it here and now was a problem.

The World Eater was in an invincible state until a specific quest was completed, so no damage would register at all. That specific quest only appeared in the final part of the main story.

The final part of Brightest Darkness 4’s main story could well be called the process of the protagonist realizing the truth about The World Eater and then uncovering its secrets.

Conversely, it meant that unless those secrets were uncovered, that guy couldn’t be killed.

Even the protagonist is overwhelmingly defeated in their first encounter with The World Eater, unable to inflict any damage. There’s even a special gimmick just for that first boss battle, which says it all.

‘Still, it’s okay for now.’

Anyway, The World Eater does not antagonize humans until the player seriously begins to tamper with its secrets.

The reason the first boss battle even occurred was closer to a misunderstanding. The protagonist had received a request to investigate suspicious fluctuations, and near the location they headed to, a secret related to that guy coincidentally existed.

The World Eater read the memories of the defeated protagonist after the battle, realized that their purpose for being there was unrelated to uncovering its secrets, and simply left, which is how they survived.

‘Fighting that guy now is absolutely not an option.’

I just needed to be careful about my memories being read, and about a situation where we initiated a preemptive attack before even attempting dialogue. If I was careful about just those two things, it might end without a battle.

Because confronting The World Eater right now was tantamount to suicide.

“Delta! Are you okay!”

As I exited through the Imperial Palace’s main gate, the Knight Commanders, preparing for battle with clear signs of tension, greeted me. I had left all my armor at the mansion, so I was unavoidably in my formal attire.

Beside them, the Golden Twilight Knights, heavily armed in golden armor, stood in formation. Their weapons were varied: swords, greatswords, spears and shields, axes. All were variations I had seen at least once before.

Next to the Golden Twilight Knights were knights heavily armed in silver armor, and next to them, robed mages stood by with solemn expressions, gripping their magic staffs.

These forces were probably all they deemed useful for a battle against a dragon.

“Of course I’m fine. What’s the situation?”

“It’s not very good, but seeing as you’re asking about the situation rather than what happened, it seems you’ve heard the news, Delta. In that case, I won’t bother explaining.”

I forced a bitter smile. Iris also furrowed her brow as much as possible. I felt like doing the same. If it were an ordinary dragon, there would be no need for such worry at all.

With the Emperor herself wielding the Holy Sword, an Archmage who had lived for hundreds of years, her disciples, and even the Empire’s finest knights, why would we worry about an ordinary dragon?

No matter how much a dragon was akin to a natural disaster, in my estimation, this level of force was more than enough to challenge it. If it really came down to it, I could even face it alone.

The only problem was that if a battle broke out here, the Empire would bear the full brunt of the aftermath, but The World Eater was different.

Even if they summoned ten or a hundred times the forces currently preparing for battle, it would be impossible to even scratch it, let alone win, unless its invincible state was dispelled.

Therefore, a battle must absolutely not occur.

“For now, the other knights, excluding the forces gathered here, are evacuating the citizens. We’ll have to be prepared for some damage depending on when that guy arrives, though.”

Ordinary knights couldn’t even serve as meat shields to buy time against a dragon. Dozens, or even hundreds, would be swept away at once with a single breath attack. Being here would just be a meaningless death.

So, what else was there to do? Naturally, evacuate the general citizens.

“Your Majesty is coming. Follow me, Delta.”

A blue magic circle appeared directly in front of us. Seeing it, Iris returned to her spot. I followed behind Iris and stood where the Knight Commanders had positioned themselves. The other three also had extremely tense expressions.

A pillar of light soared, and within it, Kaikilia and Minerva appeared. Everyone gathered there knelt on one knee, bowed their heads, and paid their respects.

“Raise your heads. It is an unnecessary action that shows weakness.”

I straightened my posture. Minerva was still in her usual bathrobe-like attire, while Kaikilia was perfectly dressed in the formal attire she had worn when she called me to her bedroom.

Seeing her like that, I could roughly guess what that formal attire originally was.

‘It’s combat ceremonial attire.’

It seemed that the combat ceremonial attire the Emperor would wear when entering phase 2 in boss battles had been changed to formal attire. After all, there were only two types of clothes the Emperor wore.

‘…Wait. Then what was she doing wearing that before calling me?’

If the Emperor’s combat ceremonial attire I knew had been changed to formal attire, I wondered what she had been doing before calling me that made her wear it.

Had she been fighting someone?

“Everyone, prepare.”

Kaikilia drew her Holy Sword and muttered briefly. It was a short command, but it was enough. The mages, led by Minerva, infused mana into their staffs, and the Knight Commanders aimed their weapons.

I had to stop them.

I had to tell them that they wouldn’t be able to inflict any damage on that guy right now, that even if they attacked, we would only be harmed. I had to tell them to stop for a moment, as it might be possible to avoid a battle.

‘But…’

I wasn’t sure if I could stop this situation. The Knight Commanders would likely listen to me, even if they were unsure, but what about Kaikilia and Minerva?

They did show great interest in me, but I wasn’t sure if they would simply agree and follow my words that they should lower their weapons and resolve it through dialogue in this situation.

Moreover, if things got even worse, The World Eater might hear my words, get curious, and try to read my memories.

Then it would be the end for all of us.

‘…Let’s just watch for now.’

Kaikilia and Minerva would also want to avoid a battle with a dragon as much as possible. Surely, they wouldn’t attempt a preemptive attack on it for emotional reasons alone.

From the other side, an eerily massive shadow began to approach. Just by flying through the sky, an enormous wind swept across the ground.

It was similar to what I had seen in the game. A massive head shaped like what one would imagine a dragon to be, with two towering horns above it. Two colors of scales densely covered its entire body.

Four pairs of large wings. Arms and legs that were pure bulging muscle. A tail stretching far behind its body.

‘…What, it’s that big?’

Aside from being several times larger than what I had seen in the game, its appearance itself hadn’t changed.

I was inwardly astonished. In the game, it was a size where weapons could more or less reach only when it lowered its head, but now, it was a size where I couldn’t even be sure if I could reach it no matter how hard I stretched my arm.

Murmurs spread among the Golden Twilight Knights. Among them, some knights were already trembling and dropping their weapons. The other Knight Commanders didn’t seem to be in a very good state either.

Kaikilia and Minerva seemed to be holding up relatively well, but their hands gripping the Holy Sword and magic staff were full of tension.

‘So this is how it was implemented.’

I had once seen a document stating that living beings would fall into terror just by The World Eater revealing its presence. Only the protagonist was almost uniquely free from that effect.

I wasn’t sure if the fact that I was fine now was because it had no effect on the game’s protagonist, or because of the black magic placed on my head.

-KWAANG!

The World Eater spread its massive body and descended before us. The impact of its landing shattered the surrounding buildings like straw.

It was already clear how enormous it was when it flew from afar, but now that it had landed right before my eyes, its perceived height was even greater.

It seemed comparable to, or even larger than, a Rock Centipede, which was the size of a high-rise apartment. Even the simple act of looking at it required me to crane my neck far upwards.

-!!!!!!

A roar, impeccable enough to be called sound itself, burst from its mouth. This time, I reflexively covered my ears. Not out of fear, but simply because it was loud.

Thump, nearby knights began to collapse one by one. Iris, Claudia, Erica, Rije, and the Golden Twilight Knights. Everyone present was no exception.

The mages, physically inferior to the knights, fainted first, followed by the regular knights, and then the Vice Knight Commanders and Knight Commanders lost consciousness.

Finally, the Archmage who had lived for hundreds of years and the Emperor of the Empire, chosen by the Holy Sword, could no longer endure and collapsed.

“……”

A single roar.

It was merely an action no more than a single roar that had swept through, yet only I remained standing in this place.

Its utterly ominous red pupils fixed on me.