Silence still blanketed the gardens of the Nacht Family Mansion. Moonlight reflected across the gently swaying leaves, while the cold night air carried the scent of earth freshly touched by dew. After the discussion about the Three Eyes of the Nacht Family had come to an end, the atmosphere returned to its quiet stillness.
Valt Nacht stood without moving.
His Victorian black suit remained immaculate. The half-black, half-white mask still bore the same unwavering smile, while a single black card continued to spin effortlessly between his fingers as though it had never stopped.
Behind him, the servants of the Nacht Family stood in flawless discipline. None dared disturb the silence until an elderly servant finally stepped forward. His hair had long since turned white, yet his posture remained perfectly straight. He bowed respectfully before raising his head.
"Excuse me, Lord Valt," he said calmly. "There is something that has been troubling my mind."
Valt did not turn around.
"Speak."
The old servant drew a slow breath.
"By the way... why did you provoke the wrath of the entire Dragon Race?"
Silence descended once more.
Several servants exchanged uneasy glances.
It was a question they had wanted to ask for a long time.
Valt continued gazing at the night sky. The black card spun lazily between his fingers before he finally answered in a flat voice.
"I don't have a clear reason."
The answer caught several servants off guard.
"There was no grudge."
"No hatred."
"No grand purpose."
Valt finally turned his head slightly.
"They attacked me."
"I killed them."
"That's all."
His voice remained so calm that it sounded as though he were describing the most ordinary event imaginable.
The elderly servant forced a bitter smile.
"A very... fitting answer, coming from you."
Valt resumed spinning the card.
"Isn't it that simple?"
"Not every conflict requires a grand reason."
"Sometimes, someone dies simply because they chose to stand in the wrong place."
There was no arrogance in his words.
He merely stated what he believed to be fact.
A young maid standing nearby stepped forward, her expression far more serious than before.
"In that case..." she said quietly, "...there is something you should know."
Valt slightly raised his chin.
"The Dragon Race does not truly dwell upon the surface of the world."
"They disappeared from human history long ago."
"They chose to hide."
Every servant's expression became solemn.
"Beyond the Mariana Trench."
"Deep beneath the Earth's crust."
"In a realm beyond the reach of even the most advanced detection magic."
"That... is where the Dragon Kingdom stands."
Vandal, who was still standing in the mansion courtyard, frowned slightly.
"Inside the Earth?"
The maid nodded.
"Yes."
"They have secluded themselves for thousands of years."
"Not because they feared humanity."
"But because they no longer considered the surface world worthy of their attention."
Valt's expression remained unchanged.
"I suspected as much."
The maid continued.
"But the death of the Abyssal Dragon Kaiser changed everything."
"The entire Dragon Race has taken it as an unforgivable humiliation."
"And..."
She paused briefly.
"...the Dragon Elders have awakened."
For the first time—
the black card between Valt's fingers stopped spinning.
The silence hanging over the garden suddenly became much heavier.
"There are Four Dragon Elders."
"Each one ruled over a different generation."
"They cannot leave the deepest reaches of the Dragon Kingdom with their true bodies."
"So..."
"They have manifested incarnations within the mortal world."
The moment those words were spoken—
Clap.
The sound of hands clapping echoed through the garden.
One of the younger servants smiled faintly.
"In that case..."
"...there is no need to wait for them to come here."
He clapped once more.
The space behind Valt suddenly rippled.
Layer upon layer of transparent magic circles unfolded until they covered the entire sky above the garden.
The air distorted.
Moonlight folded upon itself.
Even gravity briefly lost its direction.
Valt made no attempt to resist.
He simply slipped the black card into the pocket of his suit.
"Teleportation?"
The young servant bowed respectfully.
"We have prepared a battlefield far more suitable."
In an instant—
the entire landscape vanished.
...
When Valt opened his eyes once again, the Nacht Mansion was gone.
Before him stretched nothing but an endless desert.
An ocean of golden sand reached all the way to the horizon.
The sky glowed with a crimson-gold hue.
The heat was so intense that distant space shimmered in constant waves.
There was no life.
No vegetation.
No sound except the endless whisper of the wind sweeping across the dunes.
Valt stood alone at the center of the boundless wasteland.
He slowly looked toward the four directions.
Then...
the sky began to change.
Dark clouds gathered in the north.
Golden lightning descended from the south.
A colossal sandstorm rose in the west.
While in the east...
space itself slowly began to fracture.
Four entirely different pressures filled the desert.
Each one alone possessed enough presence to erase an entire nation.
Valt slowly lifted his head.
His crimson eyes emitted a faint glow behind the ever-smiling mask.
"So..."
"You've finally arrived."
The sound of footsteps echoed across the desert.
Not one.
Not two.
But four.
From the four corners of the wasteland, four figures clad in long robes slowly approached.
Behind them, the silhouettes of colossal dragons gradually materialized, towering high enough to blot out the heavens.
Even though they were merely incarnations...
The aura they released was enough to make the surrounding space crack apart and regenerate without end.
Their leader came to a halt.
His golden eyes locked onto Valt.
"Human..."
His voice thundered across the endless desert.
"You have slain one of our children."
He slowly raised his hand.
The sky instantly darkened.
"We have come..."
"...to pass judgment upon you."
Valt quietly drew a single black card from inside his suit.
A faint grin spread beneath the smiling mask.
"I hope..."
"...you prove far more entertaining than the last dragon."
The desert wind ceased.
Then—
the entire world trembled.