Ghislain watched the dragons with a curious gaze.
Until now, he had seen several battles from past wars in his dreams, but dragons had never been involved.
And now, of all times, when preparations to fight a dragon were underway, such a dream appeared.
"Is this trying to tell me something? Or is it simply the next in line to be shown?"
The sequence of his dreams was beyond his control, and he had no idea how they were determined. He could only be filled with curiosity.
Whatever the saintess's intentions might have been, this particular dream was undeniably intriguing. Ghislain had never before seen so many dragons—dozens of them.
He felt a slight chill. The Allied Forces were struggling just to figure out how to handle one dragon, yet here was an overwhelming number of them.
Had those dragons turned against humanity, the human race would have long since faced extinction.
Fortunately, their enemies were not humans.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Roooooar…!
From the opposite side came massive creatures.
A being with a hawk's head on its shoulders and wings sprouting from its back, a white giant wielding a massive hammer and bearing a bull's head, a giant with countless arms, another wielding an enormous spear while breathing fire from its mouth—ghastly and terrifying giants unlike anything from this world.
They all shared one common trait: their bodies were entirely white.
'Lords of the rifts.'
In his past life, those entities were called the Lords of the rifts. Others simply referred to them as colossal beasts.
Back then, they were an enigma. Many of them wielded weapons, wore armor, or adorned themselves with accessories and garments, indicating they either possessed or had once possessed a form of civilization.
Naturally, this left everyone wondering what they were and where they came from.
'Lesser gods of another realm.'
In the myths shared by Erenes, these beings were called lesser gods from another world.
Though Ghislain wasn't one to blindly believe myths, from what he had seen of the giants firsthand, it was a plausible explanation.
These beings were powerful enough to warrant the title of lesser gods. In his past life, the human alliance had no time to focus on anything else because just one appearance of these creatures required every strong individual on the continent to converge and fight them.
'So, they moved in groups like this back then.'
Had they appeared in such numbers during his past life, humanity would have been wiped out in an instant.
The only reason they had been able to deal with them was that only a few appeared sporadically.
In the dream, dozens of dragons and colossal beasts began clashing.
Kwoooooosh!
From the skies, the dragons unleashed torrents of breath attacks, their most powerful forms of offense, indicating the tension of the battle.
Rooooooar!
The colossal beasts didn't remain passive. They hurled their spears into the air or leaped upward to seize the dragons.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The battle was so fierce that no other beings could hope to intervene.
Known as masters of magic, the dragons cast transcendent spells of the ninth circle across the battlefield.
The colossal beasts, living up to their reputation as lesser gods, exuded auras powerful enough to deflect the magic. Not content with mere defense, they dragged dragons down from the skies.
Screeee!
A dragon sank its fangs into the neck of a colossal beast. In return, the beast tore the dragon's wings apart with its hands.
One beast had its belly pierced by a dragon's attack, while another dragon was devoured headfirst by a beast.
It was a brutal, savage fight, the likes of which only beings of transcendent power could engage in.
Dragons and colossal beasts mercilessly tore each other apart.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The earth trembled, and everything nearby was obliterated. Massive boulders were torn apart and hurled like paper.
The shockwaves from the collisions between the dragons and beasts split the ground, creating deep chasms. Thunderstorms raged incessantly overhead, forming the backdrop to the colossal battle.
Amidst the destruction of everything around them, the dragons and beasts tenaciously continued their struggle at the center.
Among the dragons, one stood out in particular—the Dragon Lord, Artherion.
Kwoooooooosh!
Artherion's radiant white breath slowed the movements of a colossal beast. He effectively restrained and attacked the beasts using various spells.
His immense power left no doubt as to why he was called the Dragon Lord. Thanks to Artherion, the tide of the battle began to turn in favor of the dragons.
Ghislain observed the fight with a grim expression.
'This is different from what I know.'
Both the dragons and the colossal beasts appeared far stronger than he had seen in his past life.
'Erenes has grown more powerful since she left Lutania.'
If her words were true, it meant that as restrictions lifted over time, she was regaining her original strength.
In his past life, Artherion might not have been able to use his full power either. The version of him in this dream could only be described as godlike.
'Perhaps this is fortunate.'
Both in his past life and now, Artherion seemed to be in a rush. It was fortunate to face him before he regained his full strength.
The reason for the greater power of the colossal beasts also became clear.
According to Erenes, during that era, the Adversary was active, and the demon god's energy that spread across the world was far stronger than it was now.
That energy must have empowered the colossal beasts to achieve greater strength.
Watching the battle, Ghislain felt a weight settle on his heart.
'Demon God's energy…'
As time passed, the colossal beasts would continue to grow stronger. If the rifts weren't contained and closed, those creatures would eventually emerge.
Erenes had said that as the Adversary revived and grew stronger, the demon god influencing the world would also intensify.
Whether or not her words could be trusted wasn't the issue. The undeniable reality was that some unknown force was impacting the world.
'The Adversary…'
Whether the Adversary had truly been resurrected, and who or what they were, remained unclear.
The only certainty was that as time passed, the world would grow more dangerous. A solution had to be found before the rifts opened, releasing their lords.
Ghislain glanced around again.
The battle between the dragons and the colossal beasts was nearing its end. Both sides had sustained injuries so severe they could barely move.
Pwoooooosh!
A figure shrouded entirely in black energy appeared—the Adversary. He led countless priests and beings from the rifts.
From the human alliance's side, the hero was the first to move, followed by many companions and soldiers.
Soon, the hero and the Adversary clashed once more.
Kwoooom!
Watching the fight, Ghislain's eyes darkened.
***
The Allied Forces were bustling with preparations for the dragon hunt.
Ghislain, too, was busy inspecting the troops and ensuring the necessary supplies were arriving daily.
It was during this hectic period that Erenes came to him.
"I'm sorry, but I can't participate in this battle. No matter how much I think about it, I just can't do it."
"Mm… must it be this way?"
"Yes. Just delivering the news was enough to unsettle me."
"…I see."
Ghislain clicked his tongue lightly and nodded.
He couldn't entirely fault her reasoning. For Erenes, Artherion was a companion and friend from battles long ago.
Fighting against Artherion was an impossible request for her. Even providing the critical information she had shared was already a monumental decision on her part.
"Alright, I understand. So, what will you do now?"
Erenes paused, lost in thought.
Her goal was to locate and eliminate the Adversary. That was the reason she had emerged into the world as soon as her restraints were lifted.
After a moment of contemplation, she spoke.
"Since it's come to this, I'll try to find Gartros."
"Gartros?"
"Yes, he's dangerous. I must find and kill him somehow. After that, I'll… look for the Adversary."
Erenes trailed off, her tone faltering. It seemed she was still suspicious of Yulian.
Ghislain partly agreed with her reasoning.
He, too, intended to verify whether the Adversary had truly been resurrected. And Gartros was indeed someone who had to be dealt with.
But there was no pressing need to do it immediately.
"I was planning to organize a pursuit team for Gartros anyway. We can search together later. Instead, let's handle something more urgent first."
"What are you suggesting?"
"The remnants. Originally, I was going to assign Tenant to Claude. He needs at least one superhuman with him. Why not go yourself instead?"
"…Go with Claude?"
"Yes."
"…"
"You going along with Claude means we can reassign Tenant to help with monster and dragon hunting. We need every capable person we can get, don't we?"
"…Hmmm."
Erenes frowned slightly. Of all people, Claude!
Dealing with Claude meant inevitably being drawn into his antics. Just thinking about it was exhausting.
After much deliberation, Erenes eventually gave a small nod.
"…Alright. For now, I'll assist with suppressing the remnants."
Even she admitted that this was the better course of action. Searching for Gartros would be far more effective with more people involved.
Besides, the suppression of the remnants would primarily be led by Amelia. Erenes had seen Amelia's capabilities firsthand and trusted her.
And she felt Claude wouldn't dare act out in front of Amelia.
When Erenes agreed, Ghislain beamed.
"Great, that will be a huge help. I'm counting on you."
"Fine, I'll handle it as quickly as possible."
Ghislain felt relieved as well. Though dealing with the monster wave and dragon took precedence, suppressing the remnants was still a critical task.
If Erenes fought earnestly, there would be no need to worry. Though travel would take time, once battle began, no one would be able to stand against her.
As their conversation ended and Erenes turned to leave, she stopped momentarily and stood still.
Curious, Ghislain asked, "What is it? Do you have something else to say?"
"…Do you still have the holy relic with you?"
"Yes, I'm wearing it now."
Ghislain pulled the necklace from around his neck and showed it to her.
Erenes gazed at it briefly before asking, "Has the holy relic ever reacted to Yulian?"
"…"
Ghislain didn't answer immediately.
It was widely known that Gartros sought the holy relic to find the Adversary.
This unsettled Ghislain. The holy relic had indeed reacted to Yulian.
After some hesitation, Ghislain nodded honestly. There were too many witnesses for him to lie, and any falsehood would quickly be exposed.
"Yes, when I met Yulian, it emitted light."
"…"
Erenes's eyebrow twitched.
Artherion had also sought the holy relic, knowing it was crucial to locating the Adversary.
The fact that the relic had reacted to Yulian only deepened her suspicions.
Ghislain shook his head and added, "Don't jump to conclusions. Yulian isn't the only one the holy relic has reacted to."
In fact, the holy relic had saved Gartros when he was on the brink of death. It had also shown momentary signs of intent toward Jerome. Ghislain himself had experienced a similar reaction when he met Yulian.
He shared these details with Erenes but chose to withhold certain facts—like the dreams he occasionally saw or how holy power had been absorbed into him.
Erenes seemed to be hiding too many secrets of her own for Ghislain to trust her completely with such information.
"…Hah."
Erenes exhaled deeply, closing her eyes. Learning that the holy relic had saved Gartros only added to her confusion.
And now, hearing that it had also reacted to Jerome and Ghislain, she couldn't be sure of anything anymore.
Shaking her head, she finally said, "Alright. I'll reserve judgment until we capture Gartros."
With those words, Erenes left the room, clearly not wanting to dwell on the matter any longer.
Ghislain stared after her for a while before lowering his head and returning to his work.
As he reviewed the piles of documents and finalized troop organization and strategies, he muttered to himself in a barely audible voice.
"We'll know soon enough."
He had formed a few hypotheses already. Now, all that remained was to wait and see if they proved correct.
Yet, deep down, Ghislain hoped his assumptions would be wrong.
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