The moment the ‘door’ opened, a flash of light erupted. Dustin raised his arm to shield his eyes, but the intense light pierced through and blinded him. It took several seconds for the light to dim. The problem was that the light didn’t completely disappear.

As Dustin regained his vision, he noticed a beam of light. The light connected the sky and the spot where Andra had opened the door.

So Dustin could see that Andra had opened the door leading to the end of the world. In fact, among the words she had said before parting ways, she had mentioned that strange phenomena would occur.

‘If I succeeded in opening the path to the end of the world through Dean, abnormal signs will definitely appear. Then….’

Yes, it wasn’t the time to linger. He needed to act quickly. He swiftly moved toward the source of the light. He had completed preparations as instructed by her. Now, all he could hope for was luck.

Dustin wanted to return to Andra’s side as soon as possible. However, before he could even take a step, the attack tragically began.

An unknown force surged with murderous intent, pouring out like arrows. Dustin rolled his body towards a nearby tree for cover. It was a close call. If he had been a little later, his neck might have been severed.

Dustin wiped his stinging cheek with his thumb. Blood seeped out from the light graze. The red color was vivid. Without hesitation, he drew his sword.

Who was it? Who on earth launched such an attack? Dustin quickly scanned his surroundings, trying to locate the one who had attacked him.

Swish, swish! The sound of the enemy brushing past grass could be heard. Dustin swung his sword at something that appeared right beside him. Kyaak! A large ant screeched, losing half of its jaw.

‘Monster?’

With that, ants emerged from all over. Snap, snap, clicking sounds resonated as their jaws clashed. Dustin knew full well how strong and sturdy the ant’s jaw could be. Especially when enlarged like this, it posed a threat to him.

Dustin slashed, pushed, and stomped on the ants that were rushing at him, but the swarm seemed endless.

‘Someone is controlling the monsters.’

Even though the ants could have run out of fear, the ants swarmed as if possessed. Despite the fact that piles of their comrades’ corpses lay under Dustin’s feet.

Dustin immediately realized that there must be a separate entity controlling the monsters. But who… that thought didn’t linger for long. One name popped into his head.

‘Dean…’

The ancestor of humans mentioned in mythology, the one who first stole fire from the gods.

In truth, when Andra first brought up the story of Anat and Dean, Dustin didn’t really care about them. They were merely figures from mythology, after all. He had never believed they would still be alive and breathing.

But now, he had to admit the absurdity of what was happening.

‘They said in ancient times, gods and humans lived together.’

Andra hadn’t been stubbornly digging into their traces for no reason. Through this incident, Dustin began to believe what Andra had suggested – that Anat might still be alive at the end of the world. And Dean, the man obsessed with her, might be alive as well, even if he hadn’t revealed himself yet.

Dustin was not fond of the idea of Dean. Up until now, all the beings from mythology, including dragons, were all too eager to dismiss Andra as Anat. Andra Aveline was just Andra Aveline. She was not Anat. But why did they insist on calling Andra Anat? Even the cursed dragon had mistaken Dustin himself as Dean.

‘What on earth is going on? Damn it.’

Dustin cleanly cut off the jaw of an ant attacking him, wiping the splattered fluid from his face with his sleeve. He had no time to waste dealing with the swarming ants in this place. He had to quickly return to Andra’s side. For that, he needed to pull out the source controlling these ants.

The tug-of-war-like battle continued. Even Dustin, confident in his stamina and endurance, was starting to tire. The ants seemed endless. Only now did their numbers appear to be thinning slightly. It was the result of tirelessly cutting down ants as if in a frenzy for a long time.

“Come out already instead of hiding like a coward.”

Dustin declared, but there was no response.

Once again, he severed the legs of the ants pouncing on him and split the body open. In addition to the gaping wounds, a disgusting stench filled the air. He wasn’t sure whether to be relieved or not that his nose was still not numb.

After a while, Dustin effortlessly parried the incoming attacks with his sword. Even if he was worn out from the continuous battle with the ants, he could easily handle such attacks even with his eyes closed now. Moreover, there were only a few ants left. Dustin quickly leaped and slaughtered the remaining ants.

“What a tenacious life.”

A while later, a dry voice came from behind Dustin. When he swiftly turned his head, he found a man with a similar appearance to his standing there. It was only for a moment, but he couldn’t help but think why the dragon could easily mistake him for Dean. There were indeed quite a few subtle similarities between the two.

“So, you’re that Dean?”

“…it tastes unpleasant.”

Dean muttered something indistinct. Even though he had revealed himself in front of Dustin, he didn’t seem to pay much attention to him. It was a kind of disregard to Dustin, an attitude brimming with confidence. It was as if he didn’t even need to bother paying attention to Dustin.

Of course, this angered Dustin. He immediately charged at Dean. He felt an urge to just grab Dean’s neck and tear it off.

Dean, who didn’t seem to be holding any weapons, blocked Dustin’s attacks with something invisible to the eye. He looked at Dustin, who resembled him, with a clearly disdainful expression and leisurely parted his lips. The question he threw was unexpectedly off the mark.

“Do you love her?”

Of course, Dustin knew exactly who he was referring to. Andra Aveline.

Did he love her? Of course he did. Andra was the woman Dustin was willing to give his life for, to dedicate his love to, even at the cost of his own life. It had been that way before, and it would continue to be that way in the future.

But to ask whether he loved her in this situation was just too strange and out of place. Dustin swallowed his curses and distanced himself from Dean for a moment. What kind of lunatic is he.

“Does she love you?”

Ignoring Dustin’s silence without answering the question, Dean threw a slightly different question this time. He asked if Andra loved him? It was a question that couldn’t be easily answered.

Dustin loves Andra, but he doesn’t know if Andra loves him back. She has never once uttered the word ‘love’ or said that she likes him. Even in response to his confession, she just smiled at him.

Of course, he understands that it’s for the best. Because of the emotions they have built up and the time they have spent together, Andra hesitated to say those words.

But it’s okay. Andra promised him. To trust each other and rely on each other. That was a good sign. It means that Andra was coming closer step by step. He just had to wait for her to come fully to him.

However, as if mocking Dustin’s thoughts, Dean speaks coldly.

“Don’t be so sure. She will leave you, just like I was abandoned. Abandoning is something familiar to her.”

“…Shut up.”

Dustin straightened his sword and swung it at Dean. It didn’t feel good. Since meeting Dean and even following him since Morgennis, the ominous feeling seemed to be swelling like a snowball. Chang! The two men’s swords clashed. As their swords meet, Dean asked once again.

“Do you really think she could love you?”

“I had told you to shut up.”

“What are you going to do if she says she doesn’t love you?”

“I told you to shut up!”

Even in the face of Dustin’s harsh words, Dean just sneered.

“She left you and went out alone. It’s as if you were never important to her from the beginning. She couldn’t have loved you in the first place.”

Dean kept scratching at Dustin’s insides. She couldn’t have loved you. With that one statement, Dustin’s insides began to twist. He knew he shouldn’t let it get to him, but at the same time, the thought that maybe Andra could truly be like that crossed his mind.

To be honest, it hadn’t been long since Andra started accepting him. For her, the time she spent pushing Dustin away was much longer than the time she spent accepting him. She could change her mind any time.

“Has she ever said she loves you even once?”

“…”

“Seems like she hasn’t.”

Dean clicked his tongue seeing the tiny cracks on Dustin’s face.

“Why do you trust and talk about her love when you have nothing to hold onto?”

Dustin momentarily parried the sword that clashed and stepped back. Yet, Dean continued to taunt him without a care in the world. Each of his cruel words poked at the depths of Dustin’s heart.

“After all this is over, do you think she’ll treat you the same way as she does now? Don’t be delusional. It’s not funny.”

Dean was right. It’s not funny. From the beginning, Andra had been someone who dreaded and worried about the surrounding gazes and her reputation. Whether she would look at Dustin the same way and love him after all this was over, no one knew.

Andra was a quick-witted woman. By choosing to love her family’s enemy, she must have known what she would have to give up. Would Andra simply give it up? Just for Dustin Airak?

Dismissing Dustin’s emotions as a result of magic might have been because Andra didn’t want to take responsibility for his feelings. She might not want to leave a stain like Dustin Airak in her life.

Even now, accepting Dustin’s feelings so easily might have been for the sake of resolving the situation. After this is all over and everything returns to normal, the link between them would disappear.

“What do you want from me?”

Dustin muttered, chewing on the words. The face that resembled his own spoke with a hardened face.

“Well…”

“This bastard…”

“I just wanted to wake you up from your naive belief that you won’t be abandoned.”

Dustin quickly swung his sword. Dean stepped back skillfully, evading the blade. He added with a sneer.

“As soon as this is resolved, you’ll be abandoned. You should know the reason better than anyone.”

He couldn’t stand it any longer, Dustin’s hand tightened around the hilt. He aimed solely for the man’s neck. He would pierce him and tear him apart in one fell swoop.

It was in that moment of determination. A black shadow loomed over them, followed by sharp claws that tore through them.

__