That day, Eternal Constellation ∞ Song Qian headed toward the floating island high above the sky. It was to meet with Competitive Constellation ↑.

Just before the moment when the monster would be unleashed upon humanity sealed within the seven isolation walls—

Eternal Constellation ∞, who held a deep affection for mortals, could only give in to her unease, hoping as many of them would survive as possible.

“How does it look?”

“......”

The one second only to the System Constellation ⧉ in reading information from observation—Competitive Constellation ↑—finally opened his mouth.

“The Empire’s side is fine.”

“Fine?”

“One of the isolation walls trapped Freezing Constellation 氷, and there are four [Challengers] inside with him. That monster will be subdued quickly.”

He clicked his tongue as he spoke. Combat would weaken a constellation, and Freezing Constellation 氷's ranking was bound to plummet.

“...What about the others?”

Competitive Constellation ↑ looked farther out. He read the sensation of the isolation walls stretching all the way to the heavens on the distant flat ground.

The Kreutz Kingdom was fine. They were lucky. Crucifix Constellation † was there too. That man who always dressed like a woman.

The Khan Federation had a [Constellation] as well. Both Hitahita and Sombania would be alright—they had key military bases inside the walls.

“The truly dangerous places are two.”

The Duchy of Horanche, and...

...the Kingdom of Hiaka.

“......”

Eternal Constellation ∞’s expression stiffened.

Inside those two isolation walls, there wasn’t a single Constellation. Not even one [Challenger]. The Duchy of Horanche had never had a constellation to begin with, being a minor nation—but Hiaka was simply unlucky.

“......”

Eternal Constellation ∞ fidgeted with her fingers in worry.

Perhaps...

The mortals trapped inside those two walls would be wiped out today.

“...It’s beginning.”

Across the seven stages the entire world was watching—

The taxidermied thing pinned in midair began to move.

At the same time, the eyes of the two Constellations turned toward the sky.

“This is...”

Even the stars...

...had begun to watch.

The seven stages.

[Corruption] One-Horned Demon Bomiteka (1)

As the clouds cleared, Bomiteka's form was revealed. A jet-black head the size of a skyscraper, with a single horn at its center. It looked eerily similar to the illusion Professor Dante had once shown them all.

The creature had lodged itself between the gaps of the [Rift], floating motionless in the sky. It was taking advantage of the [Projectile-type] elevation. From higher ground, it could strike a wider area.

A commander clenched his jaw.

The thing was a massive monster—and yet it had intelligence.

“Shit...”

That was when a message came from Professor Dante.

Dante: All units, ready.

Bomiteka’s attack began as its mouth opened. It split from cheek to jaw, tearing open beneath the ears, and from within, jet-black spheres poured out.

The commander recalled the sight of insects mass-hatching their eggs. The feeling was similar—except these were thousands of times larger.

Hundreds of massive spheres, each the size of a carriage, rained down.

Screeeeeeeee!!

The spheres dropped from the sky and flew straight toward the outer gates of the Count’s estate. They were eggs. When they burst on impact, hornless demons spilled out. Classified as [Siege Units], these giants stood between 3 and 5 meters tall.

Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud!

The monstrous creatures charged the gates, intending to crash into them like living shells and smash them apart.

The commander inhaled sharply and roared.

“Intercept—!!”

They had to kill as many as possible before they reached the gates. The cannons mounted on the outer wall activated.

BOOM—BOOM—BOOM—!!

At last, mankind clashed with the demons.

Warriors capable of [Enlargement] grew to three meters tall and stood in front, shields raised to block them. But the siege beasts were even bigger. The frontline knights were knocked away like ragdolls struck by boars.

Heavy firepower rained down on top of them.

“Intercept!! Intercept—!!”

The battle continued.

For nearly thirty minutes.

⋮

Comrades died. Enemies were dying. As they killed and were killed, one soldier’s mind began to blur.

Then, an explosion erupted atop the outer wall. A metallic shell cut through the air, crossed the battlefield, and blasted apart the head of one of the hornless siege beasts. But even without its head, the creature moved. Its jagged spine—broken at the neck—stabbed a giant warrior in the nape.

“Guh—!!”

“Andrei!!”

A comrade sliced off the creature’s leg in desperation. It collapsed face-first into the ground but still twisted its limbs, trying to continue the attack.

BOOM!!

A cannon shell hit its back and finally put it down. “Yes!!” the soldier cheered, pumping his fist—until the light around him disappeared. “What the...” he looked up.

The maw of a siege beast had engulfed his head.

He saw its hideous teeth. The black veins lining its mouth.

Ah.

I'm...

being eaten.

The teeth were closing.

CRUNCH.

And then, suddenly, the closing jaws flew away—decapitated in an instant.

Did I... survive?

Just as his knees were giving out, someone grabbed him by the collar and hoisted him up.

Black hair. Pink eyes. Blood trickling down the forehead.

The man he’d only seen from afar—the commander of this war.

Professor Dante Hiakapo.

“Get it together.”

“......”

“If you don’t snap out of it, you’ll die. Focus.”

Dante growled in a low voice and gave his cheek a light slap. That tap jolted his dazed mind awake.

“Ah... aah...”

He forced strength into his trembling legs and held firm. Dante, clad in covert ops attire, turned and moved on—sword drawn, leaping high toward another battlefield.

He was a commander. He could’ve stayed seated and issued orders.

And yet he fought on the front lines.

“......”

I have to stand too. I have to fight.

***

This was nothing like the Jinksythe battle. Now, I had combat power equal to the others. I could lead and operate as a high-grade assassin in the field.

Dante: Balmung. 325.

Balmung: Yes, sir!!

I continued calculating countless metrics. My mana. The mana of my assassins. Bomiteka’s mana. The state of allied forces. The overall flow of battle.

All combat is a clash of intent.

No one throws a punch just to punch. To win this war, I had to read Bomiteka’s intent.

To frame it another way: Eymon, the elite AI, was commanding our army—while I faced off against Bomiteka in a 1:1 strategy duel.

It was currently probing with basic, predictable offenses.

Bomiteka’s two eyes rotated independently. It didn’t stop moving. It was searching. Analyzing me. Looking for weaknesses.

But it wouldn’t find any. I kept my cards hidden. On the other hand, I had already seen through its hand.

These repetitive assaults were overwhelming due to the sheer scale—but predictable nonetheless.

To me, at least.

Elize: Professor! Is it my turn yet?

Elize: They’re watching me.

Dante: Hold.

Dante: Gray, advance the illusion battalion slightly.

Gray: Got it.

Dante: Kendreik, you’re too close. Fall back.

Kendreik: Aahh!

A giant boss monster is terrifying only at first. From my standpoint—someone who’s broken down dozens, hundreds of bosses—this was just another chess match.

Beneath the monstrous mask is a mind like mine.

Right now, it was confused in my swamp.

But...

Something kept tugging at me. This feeling was personal. As a veteran. As ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) Dante. As someone too familiar with this world—someone with an unshakable mind.

Even this predictable onslaught would feel like unbearable pressure to the troops. From here on, this was a matter of people.

Whether I was a veteran or Dante, there was nothing more I could do.

I could only believe in them.

***

Elsewhere, someone was buckling under mental pressure.

Professor Gula, who had taken command of the first-tier artillery and mage corps.

“Intercept! Intercept!!”

Gula screamed himself hoarse, directing counterfire. As they pounded the siege beasts, one of the monsters picked up a dud shell—and hurled it back.

BOOM!

The explosion sent Gula flying.

“Fuck!!”

Am I dead?

He touched his body. Blood was trickling from his forehead, but he was intact.

“C-Commander!!”

The fortress officers rushed toward him, panicking.

“Don’t fucking look at me—keep commanding!”

He scrambled upright and scanned the battlefield. But his legs were shaking—there was no helping that.

And suddenly, he wondered why the hell he was here.

...Can we even win this?

He remembered what Professor Dante had said.

—I’ll say this now. This battle is severely disadvantaged. The enemy is roughly three times stronger.

You're not supposed to fight a battle unless your win rate is above 80%. That’s Tactical Theory 101. But Professor Dante had calmly said their win rate was about 25%.

—Each side has a win condition.

—Ours is to destroy Bomiteka’s jaw.

The logic was simple. Bomiteka is a monster that grows stronger by devouring. If it loses its jaw, it loses most of its chewing power and becomes dramatically weaker.

—Conversely, Bomiteka’s win conditions are twofold.

—First, it destroys the outer and inner gates. Once it enters the city, we won’t be able to stop it.

Gula imagined it.

That massive head—twice the size of the 5-story Assassin Wing—rolling through the city like a wrecking ball.

Who could stop that?

If the gates fell, it would be a buffet for Bomiteka. The outer gate had to hold.

That was his duty. He, Professor Gula of the Department of Assassination.

“But fucking hell...”

He hated everything from the start. Fighting a battle with a 25% win rate? Ridiculous.

Now that he was here, everything Dante said rang painfully true. He had command experience and could read the tide of battle. But this felt like getting chewed apart in a war of attrition.

And then, as the fight dragged on, Gula suddenly felt a chill crawl down his spine. The siege beasts were getting fiercer.

This wasn’t a battle between humans. These things didn’t fear death. Even as their comrades fell, they didn’t hesitate. Even with cannon muzzles pointed straight at them, they charged.

Was this how it was supposed to be?

Just then, one of the hornless siege beasts locked eyes with him.

“Ugh!!”

His blood ran cold. That thing was staring right at him. Among a dozen fortress officers—it picked him!

The creature crouched—then leapt into the sky.

Something the size of a house flew overhead—growing larger and larger.

“Oh no...!”

Gula instinctively stumbled back and fell—and just then—

BOOM!!

A black flash flew in and crushed the demon’s neck.

That strike... was Balmung!

The problem was—the severed head landed next to him!

“Shit!”

“Wh-whaaa!”

Gula and the fortress officers screamed. The massive head, nearly a meter wide, rolled around and crushed one soldier. Then it stared at them—with disturbingly human-like eyes.

“AAAAAACK!!”

The crushed soldier thrashed like a dying fish and then went limp. Something oozed out.

Terror took hold. The officers froze. Seconds passed.

The battlefield churned on.

C-Commander!!

W-What do we do?!

Panic filled the comms—but Gula couldn’t move.

His head went blank. Everything turned white. Voices became distant.

The shell—shells aren’t reaching!!

...What the hell am I doing here? Why the fuck am I on a battlefield?

Commander! Squad 4 has been wiped out!!

...How did this even start? Why am I the one commanding?

Why me?

Commander Gula!

...Who the fuck are you? Why are you calling me commander?

Gula—!!

Then, he heard it. The voice from the war room. Professor Dante’s voice.

—Do not be afraid.

Dante, who was directing this entire battle, had looked each commander in the eye and said—

Everyone here has a role.

—Commanders, I ask only that you focus on the task I’ve given you. Stay focused on your local front.

You do your part—

—I’ll lead this war to victory.

It felt like ice water splashing his face. His senses snapped back.

Gula jumped to his feet, looked over the battlefield, and shouted into the comms:

“Squad 3, rotate 15 degrees left!! Squad 2, lock their legs with [Ice Bombs]! Squad 1, abandon that section of the wall and fall back to Sector 17!!”

“C-Commander Gula...!”

“Get up, you bastards!! MOVE!!”

He shouted at the fortress officers, then continued issuing commands into the comms.

His heart shook. His jaw shook. Even his fingertips trembled.

But his voice—his voice never shook. And if it did, he hid it under sheer fury.

“Don’t freeze! Don’t fucking panic! The advantage is ours! KEEP FIRING! KEEP CASTING—!!”

In that moment, Gula understood exactly what he had to do.

“For Hiaka’s... eternity—”

With everything he had, he screamed—

“To victory—!!”