A high-pitched neigh and a man’s startled cry rang out across the battlefield.
"Gwah!? What the—!?"
Shepherd and Gomez looked up at the sound, only to see a black shadow soaring overhead. Before they could blink, a massive stallion, darker than the deepest shadow, touched down right beside them.
"Wh-what is this horse? Where on earth did it come from...?" Shepherd stammered.
"Ugh... what just happened? Where am I...?"
While Shepherd stood frozen in shock at the black horse’s sudden arrival, the man who had appeared with it—Jinba—looked equally bewildered. He sat sprawled on the ground, struggling to make sense of his surroundings.
Realizing a battle was raging around him and that a titanic Magic Armor Beast loomed nearby, he let out a frantic yelp.
"Gah!? Seriously, what the hell is going on!? I was just looking after this guy because Yugo asked me to!"
"Yugo...?" Elena perked up at the name. "Old man, do you know Yugo!?"
"Huh? Wh-who...? Who are you supposed to be, little lady?"
Jinba’s confusion only deepened as Elena pressed him for answers.
Amidst the chaos, Carlos was the first to grasp the truth. "I see. That black horse shares a profound bond with Yugo. The call for help—the desire to fight for Yugo’s sake—must have reached him across the vast distance. He responded to the summons."
"I knew it!" Elena’s eyes sparkled. "Then you're Yugo's friend!"
"Snort...!"
Skull, the horse she had summoned, let out a sharp breath as if in confirmation. He stepped toward Gomez, tossing his head toward his back in a silent invitation.
"Are you telling me to get on?" Gomez asked.
"Neigh!!"
"Much obliged. I was just starting to miss having a pair of working legs."
Gomez mounted Skull, gripping his harpoon tight. As the man and the beast leveled their gaze at their foe, Shepherd spoke up.
"Gomez-san, we’ll open the way. Focus everything on the single strike that will bring that Kraken down."
"Yeah... I’m counting on you."
"And you, sir," Shepherd turned to Jinba. "I’m sorry for dragging you into this so suddenly. You’re free to evacuate—"
"Don't sweat it. I'm Security Force as well. Besides, any friend of Yugo’s is a friend of mine. I’m sure that kid is out there fighting somewhere right now, too. Call it fate, but I’m lending a hand."
The Security Force members rallied around Gomez and Skull. As the Kraken lunged once more, they launched a coordinated assault to pin the monstrosity down.
"Uoooooooooooh!!"
Ten massive tentacles thrashed with destructive fury, but the Security Force and the island residents stood their ground. They fought with desperate resolve to halt the beast's momentum.
Shepherd severed a tentacle at its root. Jinba used a sword extended by magic power to skewer another directly into the earth. In that split second of vulnerability, Skull broke into a gallop and leaped high into the heavens.
"Gomez-san! Please!!"
"Now’s your chance! Gomez-saaan!!"
"Good grief... everyone expects the world from a washed-up old man," Gomez muttered with a dry, ironic smile.
High above the Kraken, he looked down. The beast was gathering magic power, preparing to spray its Interception Ink to blow them out of the sky.
"To think you’d put your faith in a geezer like me—a criminal, no less. But when people cheer for you like that, you’ve got no choice but to answer. Isn’t that right, Yugo?"
Retired, aged, or branded a criminal—none of it mattered. The way the people of the island looked at him had never changed. They saw a hero who could overcome any disaster and forge a path toward the future. Their gaze was fixed on him with a depth of trust that no Clear Plate could ever match.
That trust, those collective hopes, surged through Gomez with a power far greater than any artificial item could provide.
Burning with the resolve to answer the people’s call—the duty of any true hero—Gomez leveled his harpoon. He spoke to Yugo, the boy who had surpassed him, even as he prepared his final move.
"Hey, you’ve been in the way long enough. That path you’re blocking... that’s the way to the future for my granddaughter, for the children, and for everyone on this island. So—"
The ink fired at them was meaningless.
Harpoon poised, Gomez plummeted toward the earth alongside the flame-shrouded Skull. He let out a thunderous roar at the Kraken.
"Get the hell out of the way! Don’t you dare stand in our path!!"
"!?!??!"
Becoming a single spear of living flame, Gomez and Skull tore through the torrent of ink, vaporizing it instantly. Carried by the hopes of those they protected and propelled by their cheers, they were unstoppable. They smashed through the Kraken’s hide, leaving a gaping, scorched hole in its wake. The beast was engulfed in an inferno and blew apart in a spectacular explosion.
Gomez drove his harpoon into the magic item hidden within the Kraken’s remains and hurled it high into the sky.
Seconds later, the device reached the apex of its arc and detonated in a massive magical overload. A powerful shockwave rippled through the air.
"There... maybe that makes up for my sins just a little. I wonder if I finally repaid my debt to those kids."
Confirming the destruction of the barrier-generating magic item, Gomez slid off Skull’s back. His strength was entirely spent, and he collapsed onto the ground.
Shepherd and Elena rushed to his side, catching him before he hit the dirt.
"You did it, Gomez-san! I knew it—you really are our hero!"
"Thank you so much, Gomez-san!"
"Hmph... stop talking nonsense. I didn't do anything special," Gomez said, a faint smile touching his lips.
He looked at the people supporting him, then at the crowd gathering to cheer and applaud. He let his gaze drift slowly over every face in the area before he spoke again.
"I’m not the only one who’s special. Every single person standing here is a true hero."