Chapter 35: The Fall of the False God

The sky above Nevantrax burned crimson.
Flames fell like rain, and thunder split the clouds apart as the colossal form of Uroboros, the Black Dragon of Ruin, spread his wings over the capital.
Each beat of those wings tore through the heavens, shaking the earth to its core.

He was no longer Solomon Caine.
He was the embodiment of chaos itself — a fusion of the dragons long thought dead, their hatred and mana bound into one unholy creature.

Kanata stood among the ruins, the wind howling through his torn cloak. Jeanne, Schwartz, Erika, Aine, and Nagisa stood at his side, their eyes fixed on the monster above.

“Caine… this isn’t power anymore,” Kanata muttered, his golden eyes narrowing. “It’s madness.”

Uroboros raised his head to the sky and roared.
The shockwave that followed shattered glass and leveled towers. The entire capital trembled beneath his fury. Flames spread across the marble streets as terrified citizens fled, screaming prayers that no god could hear.

“Evacuate the civilians!” Jeanne shouted, her silver armor gleaming through the haze. “Protect the capital at all costs!”

“Forget the capital!” Erika snapped. “If that thing gets any closer, there won’t be a capital left to protect!”

Kanata’s bandaged hand pulsed beneath the wrappings. He could feel the dragon’s hatred surging through the air — familiar, heavy, and suffocating.

“It’s the same as Obsidian…” he whispered. “But stronger… corrupted.”

Uroboros’s jaws opened, and a torrent of black flame descended upon them. The ground disintegrated under its heat.
Kanata dashed forward, his right hand glowing as he absorbed the flames, his boots grinding into the scorched earth.

“Right Hand of Oblivion—Devour!”

The inferno collapsed inward, swallowed whole by the invisible force around his arm. Jeanne’s eyes widened.
“He absorbed a dragon’s breath…?”

Kanata exhaled slowly. “Don’t just stand there! Attack before he breathes again!”

Schwartz raised his blade toward the sky, chanting. “<Azure Dragon’s Severing Gale>!”
A torrent of blue wind sliced across the battlefield, colliding with Uroboros’s scales and drawing a guttural growl.

Erika followed up with a blast of silver magic. “<Draconic Lance>!”
The spear of light struck the dragon’s wing, piercing through—but it wasn’t enough.

Uroboros slammed his tail into the ground, creating an explosion that sent everyone flying. Kanata rolled, coughing blood, his vision spinning.

“Damn it… he’s still holding back.”

Then, in a flash, Uroboros’s wings flared open, summoning a storm of meteors.
Each one blazed crimson as it fell toward Nevantrax. Jeanne thrust her spear into the ground, conjuring a radiant barrier that covered the city.

“I’ll hold the shield!” she cried. “Kanata, finish this!”

Kanata looked up at the descending fire and clenched his teeth.
“Fine. If this is what it takes…”

The bandages on his right arm tore apart completely. Black and red sigils lit up, and the air vibrated with raw mana.

“<Abyssal Overdrive>!”

He punched upward — the air shattered like glass.
The meteors halted midair before exploding into a wave of light.
Uroboros staggered, his massive body thrown off balance.

Kanata sprinted forward, leaping high into the storm. Lightning wrapped around him like a cloak.
His right hand burned brighter than ever, drawing the last of his magic.

“You wanted to be a god, Caine…” he shouted, voice echoing through the roaring winds. “…then fall before something greater than you—human will!”

He slammed his fist straight into Uroboros’s chest.

The impact tore through the heavens.
A blinding pillar of energy erupted, swallowing both of them whole.
For an instant, the world went silent. Then came the crash — the force so great it hurled Uroboros out of the capital, across mountains and valleys.

The dragon crashed into the wastelands beyond Nevantrax.
Kanata followed, falling from the sky like a comet. The earth erupted when he struck, leaving behind a vast crater that soon began to flood with rising water — the birth of a new lake.

Kanata struggled to breathe.
His mana was gone, his limbs heavy as stone.
Uroboros, barely clinging to consciousness, loomed before him, his once-mighty wings broken.

“It’s… over,” Kanata muttered weakly. “Stay down, Caine.”

But Uroboros roared one last time, lunging forward.

Kanata raised his arm again. His hand flickered, glowing faintly blue—an unfamiliar warmth coursing through it.
The dragons’ residual mana. Obsidian’s gift.

“…Just a little more.”

He launched forward and struck one final blow.

The explosion lit up the world.
When the smoke cleared, the dragon had fallen—its form fading back into that of a man. Caine lay motionless on the charred ground, his eyes blank, his power gone.

Kanata staggered toward him, rain beginning to fall from the ashen sky.
He lifted his arm, ready to end it for good—

—but a portal of black flame opened behind Caine.

From it stepped a dark elf woman and a tall, cloaked man.
Without a word, they grabbed Caine’s limp body and dragged him into the swirling void.

Kanata’s voice was barely a whisper.
“Wait… stop…!”

The portal sealed shut.
Kanata’s knees buckled. Exhausted, he fell face-first into the mud as rain poured down, washing away the blood and ash.

Moments later, Schwartz and Erika arrived, rushing through the storm.
“Kanata!” Schwartz shouted. “He’s bleeding out—help me get him up!”

Erika knelt beside them, eyes trembling. “He’s alive… thank god…”

They lifted Kanata between them as lightning flashed one last time over the battlefield.

Days passed.
The fires across Nevantrax died out, and the city began to heal.
The Council of Elders convened, announcing the end of Caine’s rule. In his place, Jeanne was crowned ruler.

As she stood before the people, sunlight breaking through the clouds, she spoke clearly and proudly:
“From this day forward, I will not carry the name Solomon. I shall take the name written in prophecy—‘Augusmesta.’ Let this kingdom be reborn under truth, not lies.”

The crowd erupted in tears and cheers. The curse of Caine was finally broken.

In the quiet infirmary of the royal citadel, Kanata opened his eyes.
The ceiling above him was white, unfamiliar. Rio sat at his bedside, smiling faintly.

“Welcome back, hero.”

Kanata blinked slowly. “You’re… here?”

“Of course,” Rio said. “Someone had to make sure you didn’t blow up another continent.”

Kanata chuckled weakly. “I almost did.”

Rio leaned back in his chair. “Rest easy. Jeanne’s queen now. Your name’s been cleared. You’re no longer a fugitive.”

Kanata stared out the window at the dawn sky.
“So… it’s finally over.”

“For now,” Rio replied softly. “But I have a feeling your story’s far from done.”

Kanata smiled faintly. “Figures.”

Meanwhile, in the other world — Earth — Celestine and Itsuha awoke in confusion.
They looked around the familiar academy dorm, uncertain how they’d returned.
“Did we… dream all that?” Itsuha whispered.
Celestine shook her head. “No. It was real. I can feel his mana still lingering.”

Elsewhere, Naomi Tendou Kaname stood before the Council of Elders.
With Nagisa, Haqua, and Aine beside her, she placed her hand on the table and declared coldly:

“From this moment, you will never interfere with Tendou Kanata again. I am withdrawing from the Elite Magic Corps.”

The chamber fell silent. No one dared oppose her.

When Kanata and his friends finally returned to Earth, the sky was clear and bright.
Celestine and Itsuha waited for them outside the academy gates.
Their eyes widened the moment they saw him.

“Kanata!” Itsuha shouted, running toward him.
Celestine folded her arms, blushing slightly. “You took your time coming back.”

Kanata scratched his head, smiling tiredly. “Yeah… sorry about that.”

Schwartz chuckled behind him, muttering, “Some reunion, huh?”
Erika sighed but smiled softly. “At least it’s peaceful again.”

Kanata glanced at them all—the friends who had fought beside him, the ones who’d survived through every storm.
For the first time in what felt like forever, the air around him was calm.

He looked up at the sky—vast and blue—and thought quietly to himself.
Even if Caine still lived somewhere out there, for now, he could rest.

Because this chapter of his journey…
had finally come to an end.

To Be Continued…