They had defeated all of the Northern God’s new Three Brothers, with Grayson’s role being particularly crucial. As the ’Third’, she had squeezed out her final ounce of strength to break the chains on the flying undead, shattering their master’s control. All of the Northern God’s avian undead on the battlefield were liberated, and now its army could no longer stop Akemus and the Skullwing unit. The perfect stage had been set for them to shine. With the combined all-out assault of the Northern Army, the 2nd Legion, and the 7th Legion, the enemy forces dwindled.

"They’re running away!"

"What are you doing, you bastards! Chase them down and slaughter every last one!"

The Northern Army, having seized victory, ran wild with glee. Simon left the cleanup to his subordinate commanders and walked forward.

He let out a breath.

At the forefront of the now-ending battle, Simon took off Pier’s skull helmet and gazed beyond the mountain range. A pitch-black hole pierced the center of the reddish land. That was the infamous Abyss, the home of the Northern God.

[So you fought wearing Pier.]

He heard the clanking of armor joints as the Grand Duke approached from the side. She, too, removed her helmet. Her beautiful face was revealed along with her long, flowing hair. As she looked down at the Abyss with eyes that held a mix of emotions, she was like a masterpiece captured by a master artist.

"You didn’t overdo it, did you? I told you to conserve your strength for the battle with the Northern God."

"I have plenty of strength left," Simon said with a bright smile, raising his arm to show her.

She let out a small laugh. "That’s a relief, then."

"You’re not avoiding my eyes anymore?"

"Don’t tease an adult, kid."

The two of them chuckled softly and looked down at the Abyss together.

"We’ve seized victory," she said. "The Northern God lost a significant number of troops in that last battle and must have exhausted its strength creating the new Three Brothers. Look." She traced the landscape of the Abyss with the tip of her index finger. "The number of undead stationed there has decreased significantly. The liberation of all the flying undead when the Third fell was a major blow."

"Yes, you’re right." Simon nodded and added, "Will Chronos be okay?"

She let out a small, amused huff. "I couldn’t finish him off completely because I was helping the Great General, but I did manage to damage his core. He won’t be showing up again in this war, at least."

"That’s a relief."

"Indeed."

"WOOOW!"

The sound of cheering carried on the wind. In the distance, the forces of the Northern Army and the 2nd Legion that had descended the mountain range were entering the outskirts of the Abyss. She picked up the helmet clipped to her waist and put it back on.

[Let’s go. This is the final war of the North. All the soldiers and the dead will open a path for us.]

Simon, with a resolute heart, also pressed the skull helmet onto his head.

"Let’s go."

The two Legion Commanders bumped their fists. The final battle was at hand.

---

At the same time, in Vilkenos.

Godric, the butler in charge of Vilkenos’s defense who had not joined the expeditionary force, tapped the armrest of his chair with his hooked hand.

’I’m so anxious I could go mad.’

With a look of burning impatience, he stared at the ceiling, then pointlessly stuffed a handful of the table’s decorative fringe into his mouth and chewed on it. His mind would have been more at ease if he had gone to battle with his one remaining arm.

’Are we winning? We’re not being pushed back, are we? What happened to the Kingdom Army? Is Her Excellency safe? What are Romario and Chronos plotting?’

Worrying only made his head throb and his mouth go dry. Godric slammed his forehead on the corner of the table.

’Calm down. Calm down! I must defend Vilkenos flawlessly from any of the Northern God’s potential schemes. That is the role Her Excellency entrusted to me!’

Godric shot up from his seat. "Is anyone out there!"

"What is it now, old butler," a flagbearer in charge of Vilkenos’s defense said, walking in with an indifferent expression.

Godric flared up. "You young whelp, so arrogant just because you became a flagbearer. Until Her Excellency returns, you will address me as the Supreme Commander of Vilkenos!"

"Yeah, yeah."

Godric clicked his tongue and sat back down. "It seems the war really is coming to an end, for the strict discipline of the North to be in such a mess."

"So why did you call me?"

"Because I don’t think the Northern God will fall this easily," Godric said, extending his arm. "By order of the Grand Duke, all residents of the North have evacuated here to Vilkenos! There must not be the slightest gap in the city’s defenses! Order the standard-bearers to patrol once more and ensure our guard is flawless."

The standard-bearer chuckled dryly. "You know this is the third time you’ve given that order today, right?"

"I mean you need to dig into the finer, more trivial details! Like if Mrs. Roxa isn’t drinking today! Or if the reindeer took a bigger dump than usual! Report anything out of the ordinary—"

"Sir."

While the two were talking, a warrior entered the office with quick steps.

"An outsider has entered Vilkenos."

Godric’s face turned beet red. "An. Out. Si. Der?"

After the incident with the Kingdom’s army, the people of the North had grown to despise outsiders. Of course, there was the exception of Simon, who had come as the Grand Duke’s disciple, but people like Chronos, Romario, and Count Voldmont always brought disaster and chaos. An outsider at such a critical time? It was far too suspicious.

"Easy there, steward. You’ll give yourself a stroke. Calm down," the standard-bearer said with a chuckle. "What’s the big deal about an outsider showing up? It’s probably just another merchant or adventurer. What did they say their identity was?"

"W-Well..." the warrior stammered, sweating nervously. "They say... they’re a necromancer."

Veins bulged on Godric’s forehead.

’A... Nec... ro... man... cer?’

The face of Chronos flickered in his mind.

"Summon all the warriors of the castle at once! I will go myself!"

---

Godric moved faster than ever before, racing through the streets of Vilkenos with every soldier from the castle at his back.

"You’ve made sure that necromancer from the outside can’t go anywhere, right?" Godric demanded. "What are they like?"

"Ah, well..." The soldier sent to deliver the news scratched his head. "I haven’t seen them with my own eyes, but from what I’ve heard, even our warriors are having a hard time. They must be an incredibly powerful necromancer."

"A hard time?" The people of the North, having been burned by outsiders more times than they could count, were notorious for provoking any newcomer. That tendency had only sharpened after the recent incident with the kingdom’s army. But for his warriors to be ’struggling’... The men of the North weren’t the type to be intimidated by appearances alone. The soldier had to be right: this was a formidable powerhouse.

’They must possess transcendent physical abilities!’ Godric’s mind conjured an image of a hulking brute, his body so packed with muscle it strained the limits of his armor.

"More! Tell me more!"

"Ah! They say... they have wings."

"Wings?"

Godric’s imagination immediately supplied the monster with giant, demonic wings unfurling from its massive back. Horns sprouted from its head, and its hands ended in long, hawk-like talons. This had to be a creature sent by the Northern God to claim Vilkenos.

"Damn it! Faster!" he roared.

"Yes, sir!"

Godric and his warriors tore through the streets. The moment they arrived, however, he stopped short.

They found the outsider immediately, and Godric felt his grand, terrifying vision shatter into a million pieces. Before him stood a girl with light purple hair tied in two braids. She had a small frame, a round, adorable face, and was dressed in a black school uniform top and a gray skirt.

"Oh," she chirped.

The girl, who had been sitting on a wooden crate and swinging her legs, hopped down. Spotting Godric’s party, she trotted over.

"Hello!" she said, bowing politely before flashing a brilliant smile. Like a puppy overjoyed to see people, the adorable bat wings on her back fluttered enthusiastically. "Those men over there told me to wait here, so I have been!"

Godric glanced over and saw several of his hardened warriors scratching their heads awkwardly, clutching snacks in their hands.

"What in the world is this," he muttered, the tension draining out of him in a rush. He shot a glare at the soldier who had brought him the news.

The man let out a strained laugh. "Th-They do have wings, sir. See?"

"We’ll talk later," Godric grumbled. The girl simply blinked, tilting her head in confusion. He cleared his throat with a loud ’hem’. "State your identity."

"Ah, yes! I am Kamibarez Ursula, from Kizen."

"Kizen?" Godric’s eyes widened. This tiny girl was a necromancer from the infamous Kizen?

"Yes! I finished my mission and came to see Simon," she explained, her wings fluttering with excitement. "I’m going to head back to school with him."

Godric felt the last of his tension melt away, his shoulders slumping. ’Simon... she must mean the Grand Duke’s disciple.’

"Where is Simon? Is he still in class?"

A dry laugh escaped Godric’s lips. "Class? Well, I suppose you’re not wrong."

---

The Abyss.

"HRAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!"

Clad in Pier’s bone armor, Simon swung the Greatsword of Ruin with a mad frenzy, carving through the elite undead. His entire body was stained black and red with their blood. This was the Abyss, a bottomless maw from which an endless tide of undead poured forth.

[Legion Commander! I’ve cleared a path! Go, now!]

’Thanks, Erze!’ Simon thought, his gratitude a silent flash. Every soldier of the Northern Army was holding their ground. While the Ancient Undead engaged the North’s most infamous enemies, Simon and the Grand Duke descended straight into the heart of the Abyss.

He had initially thought they would reach the bottom quickly by simply falling, but he was gravely mistaken. The gravity within the Abyss was warped, different from the outside world. The descent took far longer than expected, and enemy attacks rained down on them relentlessly. It was actually faster to run along the chasm’s vertical walls.

"Ugh!" Simon panted as his arms trembled, his muscles screaming in protest, and his mouth was as dry as dust. But he couldn’t stop.

’I can’t stop, even if it kills me!’

The Northern God was below. While his soldiers and the undead legions bought them time, he and the Grand Duke had to end this. Simon gritted his teeth and swung his greatsword at the swarming, pitch-black horde. With a deafening ’swoosh’, the undead were split in half, and the Grand Duke plunged through the opening.

[Hmph.]

From just behind him, the Grand Duke unleashed a continuous stream of arrows. Black trajectories streaked through the air, piercing the heads of colossal undead one after another. With a sharp ’kiiing’, she conjured another arrow and fired it straight up. It didn’t fly far before it disintegrated, transforming into a shower of black steel that rained down upon the undead pouring from the chasm.

’Her control is incredible.’

The dense storm of arrows didn’t strike Simon, the Grand Duke, or any of the Legion’s undead by so much as a single shaft. As Simon marveled, his eyes widened in alarm. Elite undead, the personal guard of the Northern God, were swarming toward the Grand Duke.

"Grand Duke! Your flank—!"

[This is the final lesson, insolent one!] She swung her arm, and the Phantom Dullahans, who had been riding their spectral steeds along the cliff face, descended like comets to intercept the threat. [Do not think of combat and command as separate! Perform them as one fluid motion!]

"Yes, ma’am!" Simon roared, swinging his own arm down. Skullwings grabbed a black, worm-like undead and slammed it against the wall, and Simon finished it with a final, cleaving blow from his Greatsword of Ruin.

[Can you keep up until the end!] she shouted, her voice ringing out as she poured countless more arrows into the Abyss.

"I will follow you to the end!" Simon bellowed back, swinging the Greatsword of Ruin with every last ounce of his strength.

Together, they had finally reached the deepest part of the Abyss.