In an ocean that seemed endlessly shrouded in blue light, a person and a dragon gazed at each other.
"I'm sorry… for keeping you waiting so long…"
Novia lowered his head, meeting Melusine's golden eyes.
"So… let's never be apart again, okay? Stay by my side, always. Don't leave me again, Novia."
The silver-haired girl gently cupped his face and finally did something she had dreamed of—something she had yearned to do for thousands of years.
And so, under Sion's calm gaze, and in Miss Manaka's dumbfounded line of sight—
The lips that had once, time and again, torn into Novia's flesh in his memories, now flowed like water toward his lips, as if trying to melt into them.
That unrelenting kiss from the dragon would have continued—if not for the sudden panicked voice of the arrogant Dead Apostle who sought monstrous power: Wolfgang Faust.
"Impossible! How could the Sun Magic Circle's seal have been broken? There've been so many rounds and never an accident! How could this be…"
"All the Spirit Cores lost their power in an instant…"
"What the hell are you…?"
Wolfgang's face turned pale as death. He clutched his spasming, aching chest, all pride gone, now overtaken by sheer terror.
He didn't understand. Nothing should've been able to stop him anymore. His existential tier was about to ascend. Within this revised Sun Magic Circle he had obtained by sheer luck, he would become the Touch of the Stars—an incarnation of ancient divine nature, capable of manifesting fantasy into the world.
That was why, for so many years, he had relentlessly orchestrated the Subspecies Holy Grail Wars—luring in outsiders, conducting blood rituals.
So many Heroic Spirits—beings Wolfgang could only look up to in life—had all been hunted down. From Daedalus's Labyrinth Lord Minotaur to King Darius III of Persia, he had seized their Spirit Cores and forced them into servitude.
Everything should have been flawless. This labyrinth had been cultivated by his own hand over years. Every corner was engraved with magic-gathering arrays. And with the aid of the modified Sun Magic Circle, no one should've had a higher priority than him in drawing mana from the surroundings.
Yet now, the very magic of this space instinctively responded to someone else—as if by nature.
And now, when he was just one step away from success, the Spirit Cores suddenly lost all power, and the summoned Servants dissolved into nothing but rapidly dispersing mana.
A complete collapse. How could the self-proclaimed King of Fantasies not fall apart?
The radiant ocean-like light began to shimmer. A torrent of magical energy passed from Melusine into Novia.
Once again, he raised the spear in his hand.
But the next second, Melusine extended her pale wrist and gently pressed down on his arm.
"Someone like him… isn't worth Novia's effort."
She turned her gaze to the Dead Apostle who had interrupted her moment with Novia.
She turned away, masked her face once more, and looked coldly at Wolfgang.
This thing—his existence, his world—just needed to be erased.
In that instant, the strongest dragon of the Age of Gods revealed her power.
Within the sealed space devoid of color, only the faint wind brushing against one's cheeks stirred.
In this labyrinth sealed like a locked room, the birth of wind could only mean one thing: the dragon's strike ended everything in a single moment.
"Don't kill me… please don't kill me… I can serve you! I can collect Spirit Cores for you… please, I beg you…"
With a speed even Mystic Eyes couldn't track, Melusine's sword pierced Wolfgang's heart in under a second. The blow shattered his heart and bound his body within the space itself, preventing any further regeneration.
"AAAAAHHHHH—!!"
A Dead Apostle lineage surviving since the Age of Gods screamed for the first and last time—a gut-wrenching wail torn from blood and flesh.
His hideous, unresigned pupils shriveled like a deflated balloon. The crimson magic swirling around him withered instantly into black ash.
With purely physical force, she utterly annihilated a vampire who sought to become a King of Fantasies.
Even Sion, herself a Dead Apostle, raised an eyebrow.
For in this world, vampires were known for their near-indestructible vitality—and this one had been wiped out in a single blow.
It must have been a strike that cut the soul directly.
"Oh, there's another one like him. Should I kill that one too, Novia?"
Having slain Wolfgang without hesitation, Melusine sensed a similar presence by the exit of the floor. She turned to the silver-haired boy behind her.
"You need not trouble yourself. I am indeed a Dead Apostle, but I came merely to witness whether Wolfgang Faust's scheme would succeed—not as a co-conspirator. I purchase blood legally from hospitals… so though my life is now in your hands, please, I beg you—show mercy."
Realizing he couldn't run, Vlad had no choice but to cancel the concealment spell and step forward, bowing deeply in earnest.
But when he got a good look at the silver-haired boy in the distance, he paused for just a second—then returned to normal.
Though Novia didn't recognize this golden-haired vampire, he did sense no fading Spirit Core from behind him. The man's aura was weak—indicating he wasn't lying.
So, Novia gave a small nod.
"My deepest thanks."
Vlad respectfully stepped out of that floor and quickly fled the now-unsealed labyrinth.
With everything resolved, Novia turned to check on Sion and Manaka—
Only for Melusine to slide her hand into his robes and press her warmth against his body, making Novia instinctively lower his head.
"Being together like this… makes me very happy… Also, Novia, you know—I am a dragon… so at night, I get very attached to body heat… Oh, and by the way, when I came in, I noticed one floor had a hot spring. Novia, why don't the two of us go have a soak together…? You know… to help keep warm."