All along… Thank you..

Hearing that Alice and Black were likely still alive,Irena and the others let out a collective sigh of relief,their faces softening slightly.

Elizabeth paused, her expression grim, and continued:

“The soul-space cannot hold for long—it will shatter soon.

Once it does, I’ll sense them—and rescue them.”

“But until then…

they must face Jörmungandr alone inside that realm.

Their chance of survival…”

She hesitated.

“…is vanishingly small.”

The fragile hope in their hearts plummeted again.

Facing Jörmungandr?

Not even Dragon-tier experts could survive that.

It was no different from a death sentence.

Elizabeth stared at the sea, her brow furrowed.

She didn’t understand—why had Jörmungandr fixated on Black?

What secret did this seemingly ordinary pirate hold?

A Dragon King only opened its soul-space for three reasons:

to heal, to hide, or to consume something vital.

Given that Jörmungandr had dragged them in,it was almost certainly the third.

But why consume a mere pirate?

Unless… he carried something that drew the Dragon King’s hunger?

And worse—Alice was caught in it too.

At the thought of her daughter’s uncertain fate,

Elizabeth’s sharp, sword-like eyes flickered with rare vulnerability.

Alice wasn’t her favorite child—but her quiet diligence, her stubborn earnestness—had carved a deep place in her heart.

Inside the Soul-Space

Consciousness returned to Black with a bone-deep chill.

He jolted upright—and found himself not on the deck,but in a world that defied reality.

An endless sky-mirror stretched in all directions.

Beneath him, the “sea” was perfectly still,a glassy expanse glowing faint blue,mirroring the azure sky above—not a ripple in sight.

At the horizon’s edge, shimmering blue motes floated,and the air thickened with raw water-element energy.

“This is…”

Black froze—then understood.

In the game’s lore,each of the Twelve Dragon Kings possessed a soul-space.

And Jörmungandr’s?

Described as “an ocean with no land, a sky with no stars.”

So this is the Dragon Pearl’s inner realm…

But why bring him here?

He echoed Elizabeth’s very question.

“Chirp! Chirp!”

A frantic cry snapped him back.

Little Jinzi was here too—clamped onto his sleeve,flapping wildly toward a spot behind him.

Before Black could react,a weak groan made his heart lurch.

He turned—and shattered.

Alice lay on the mirrored surface,her silver light armor drenched in blood,a jagged fragment of Crimson Soul impaled in her chest.

The fabric around the wound was soaked crimson.

Her face was pale as parchment,her breaths shallow, pained whimpers.

She was dying.

“Alice!”

Black scrambled to her,cradling her gently, terrified to jostle the wound.

He reached for the shard—then froze, afraid of making it worse.

His voice trembled, raw with guilt:

“Why… why did you do it…?

Why take the hit for me…?”

Alice’s eyes fluttered open—weak, but fixed on him.

A faint, bloodstained smile touched her lips.

“You… saved me once…

Now… it’s my turn to protect you…

…only fair…”

She coughed—blood dripping onto his hand.

“All this time…

…thank you…”

No pride. No tsundere defiance.

Just pure, unguarded tenderness.

Black’s heart wrenched violently.

Now he understood.

This was why her predicted death was within a day.

Not Black Dragon.

Jörmungandr.

And the reason?

She’d chosen to shield him.

His eyes burned red, jaw clenched tight.

“Don’t talk…”

He cut her off, wiping her bloodied lips.

“Your wound’s just from blood loss.

As soon as I get you out—

Her Majesty will save you!”

Alice shook her head, eyes clouded with regret.

She raised a trembling hand,brushing his cheek—her touch feather-light.

“Pity…

I won’t get to make you…my Royal Knight……or my Jerys…”

At those words, Black stiffened.

Jerys.

Decades ago, Jerys was the Royal Knight of an imperial princess.

They fell in love—a forbidden bond crushed by noble opposition.

Stripped of rank, Jerys was exiled to a desolate border.

But he refused to yield.

He ventured into dragon territory,lost an arm,slayed a terrorizing elite dragon,earned legendary glory—and won the king’s blessing to marry his princess.

Royal Knight wasn’t just a title—

it meant noble blood, unbreakable loyalty,and the right to stand beside a princess forever.

Jerys… meant “the one who loves the princess.”

Now he finally understood—in that dark safe room,when Alice had looked at him, tongue-tied,her eyes had held everything she couldn’t say.

Before he could speak—Alice’s hand jerked violently.

She pointed behind him, voice choked with terror:

“Run…!

It’s here…!”

Black turned.

A mountain-sized head loomed—

Jörmungandr,its crimson slit-pupils gazing down like a god upon ants.

Yet Black felt no fear.

“There’s nothing to pity.”

His voice was steel and fire.

“When we get out—

I’ll be your Royal Knight.

I’ll be your Jerys!”

“Don’t you dare sleep.

Hold on—I’m taking you home!”

He gripped her hand, knuckles white,his tone unyielding.

“Don’t go…

You can’t beat a Dragon King…”

Tears streamed down Alice’s face.

Her vision blurred,the last thing she saw—

Black rising,grabbing the Overlord Spear,his back resolute against the storm.

Then—darkness.