The Great Sword is not the Main Body!
Chapter 184 – The End of the World (6)

“Kartia… but…”

[But what? Hey, Rubia. If Laila doesn’t die and the gate to Paradise opens, your role ends. Do you understand what that means?]

Shhk.

In an instant, Frey slashed through Yggdrasil’s branch, cutting it cleanly.

She picked up the severed branch and thrust it deep into the ground.

[It means you’re no longer puppets. You’ll be free of predetermined fate and rules that bind you—you’ll become complete beings. Perhaps even something greater.]

Rubia frowned as she stared at the Yggdrasil branch embedded in the ground.

[Why so serious? I’m a ghost, remember? You always knew I couldn’t stay with you forever.]

Kartia’s hand, which had been gently ruffling my hair, slowly withdrew.

[Besides, watching you two lovebirds was getting tiresome.]

With her usual mischievous laugh, Kartia turned to face Laila.

[So when the gate to the False Paradise opens, I’m counting on you, you cunning snake. Time to show off that golden brilliance you’ve been so desperate for.]

[…You’ve truly changed.]

[I told you. Over a thousand years—]

[No.]

Laila cut her off with a shake of her head, then turned to me.

[I mean the future has changed from one filled with despair. You, the Challenger, the Priestess, even my descendant—all have become something entirely different. I thought it was an impossible plan… yet we’ve actually made it this far.]

[Here we go again. Can you explain it so people can actually understand?]

[Fufu… Yes. I apologize.]

Laila sat up and gazed at the Yggdrasil branch impaled in the ground before speaking.

[The first to notice the distortion in causality was this world’s Observer. No… rather than noticing it, the entity who twisted causality sought out the Observer.]

[And who the hell is this ‘Observer’ now?]

Muttering that this was news to her as well, Kartia adjusted her posture and listened attentively to Laila.

[You’ve met them once before. Before the End fully awakened, when it descended upon the world—]

“Wait…?”

For a moment, I sensed an inexplicable unease from a distant land where my soul was connected, where my presence was engraved.

From Kartia.

“Noah…?”

[Oh come on, I was listening just fine. Why did you interrupt—what the hell?]

At that moment—

!

A horn’s blast echoed, as if tearing open the sky.
A sound heralding the end of the world.

Unfamiliar, yet somehow familiar.

The earth screamed.
The peaceful flower fields trembled.
Yggdrasil shuddered.

The bloodlust coiling around my body surged violently.

[…No way.]

Laila’s face contorted as she leapt to her feet. Kartia, gripping Frey tightly, fixed her gaze on the endless horizon.

[They actually… went through with it.]

“…What’s happening?”

“This sound…”

The sound that once led Hablon to destruction.
That brought catastrophe to Roholon.

“The Horn of Rampage…?” [Originally called “Frenzy Horn” in earlier chapters]

The nightmarish sound blared endlessly.

[What could they possibly be thinking…?]

Laila turned toward Yggdrasil and traced a pattern in the air.

Crack.

The trunk of Yggdrasil split open, revealing a raging, shimmering galaxy within.

[The Apostles of the ‘Nameless One’ have summoned the ‘Primordial Beasts.’]

[Those goddamn bastards…]

“P-Primordial Beasts…? What… what are those?”

[Calamities that flowed from the False Paradise. Beasts that slew gods. Apostles of the Outer Gods. Led by Behemoth, Leviathan, and Ziz. They exist on an entirely different level from ordinary monsters.]

Laila’s hand moved through the air once more.
The raging galaxy parted, forming a massive rift.

[I wish I could explain in more detail, but we’re out of time. If this continues, the world will be destroyed before we even reach the False Paradise. So—]

Thud. Thud.

Amidst the deafening horn blasts came the sound of footsteps.

Clank.

Not one, but two sets.

The light tapping of leather shoes.
And the heavy clatter of plate armor.

“It has been a long time, Lady Laila.”

Rustle. The lightly dressed man, Aaron, bowed deeply.

And then—

Clank. A figure clad in golden armor halted, voice trembling.

“…Kar…tia?”

He spoke her name.

***

***

***

Shapeless Primordial Beasts swarmed over Kartia.
Grotesque amalgamations of every beast imaginable.

At first glance, they resembled monkeys, but their power existed on an entirely different dimension.

Each of the countless creatures engulfing Kartia possessed strength comparable to the mightiest of monsters.

“Alex!!”

Crunch.

Massive steel spikes erupted from the ground, halting the beasts’ advance.
But mere steel wasn’t enough to fully stop the Primordial Beasts.

Crash!

With a casual flick of their claws, the steel shattered into countless fragments.

[WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAKKKKK-!!]

Enraged at having their movement impeded, the Primordial Beasts unleashed an earsplitting roar toward Alex and Yuria.

A roar that felt as if it could shred your very body just by hearing it.

Through that agonizing cacophony, Yuria’s summoned beasts tore through space and lunged at the creatures.

Following close behind came giant arrows and reinforced steel spikes, all aimed at a single beast among the endless horde.

Crunch.

The summoned beasts’ fangs tore through the creature’s hide.
Through the ripped flesh, massive arrows and countless steel spikes pierced deep.

[GIIIIIIIIIIIIAAAAA-!]

But the beast’s ferocity remained unbroken. It simply tore away the wounded parts of its body where the spikes and arrows had immobilized it, and pushed off with its remaining leg.

Its target—

“Ugh!”

Yuria.

Closing the distance in an instant, the beast swung its claws at her. Talons sharp enough to slice through steel like paper shredded into her flesh.

At that moment—

Crunch.

A fist smashed through the beast’s skull from behind Yuria’s shoulder, as an aura of destruction blazed fiercely.

“Haa… hic, phew… H-Hermilla.”

With a strained smile, Hermilla pulled an elixir from her pocket and handed it to Yuria while surveying their surroundings.

“Aim for the head. They don’t seem to feel pain.”

Downing the elixir in one gulp, Yuria nodded in agreement.

“Phew… That does seem to be the case.”

“What… is all this…?”

As beasts tore apart villagers and Liberation Army soldiers alive, Mia loosed arrows with terror-stricken eyes, then turned to Hermilla.

“I don’t know either. But… these aren’t like any monsters we’ve encountered before.”

Hermilla stared at the ashes swirling across the ground before unwrapping the blood-soaked bandages from her hands.

“We can’t fight separately. Stay together.”

The bloodied bandages fell to the ground.
Thick droplets of blood splattered onto the dirt.

“Hermilla, your hands…”

How many beasts had she slain? Hermilla’s hands were in ruins—the skin barely held together as if hastily stitched, and the muscles beneath had been shredded beyond recognition, rendering them nearly useless.

“It’s fine.”

But Hermilla revealed her arm forged of Mistilteinn and offered a faint smile.

“Ugh… Hey, Hermilla. At least use a high-grade potion. Can you even fight in that condition?”

“I can still fight. We should prioritize helping the others first. Starting with you, Alex.”

“I can tough it out with—”

“If you’re in pain and hesitate, you’ll be a hindrance. Just drink it.”

Mia’s awkwardly pronounced words were punctuated by a sharp slap of her bow against Alex’s back.

Normally a minor sting, exhaustion from endless battles transformed that small pain into agony.

“Ugh… crazy woman…”

“No time for pride. Drink it now.”

Pop.

Smirking at the scene, Yuria uncorked an elixir from her subspace and handed it to Alex.

Grimacing, Alex had no choice but to down it. After confirming the bottle was empty, Yuria turned to Hermilla.

“Hermilla. Your orders?”

“Our priority is evacuating the villagers and Liberation Army soldiers.”

“Wouldn’t killing them all be an option too?”

Alex steadied his stance, running a hand through his short-cropped hair.

“Alex. Don’t even think about using that ability.”

As if to say the time wasn’t right, Hermilla firmly cut off Alex’s suggestion, then lifted her gaze to the sky.

A black sun hung ominously in the blood-red heavens.

Darker than before, its rippling shadows seemed to mock those standing below on the battlefield, making Hermilla clench her teeth.

“We start from the east and push south.”

Wrapping fresh bandages from Rubia around her mangled hands, Hermilla turned her attention to Kartia, now transformed once more into a battlefield.

“We can’t slaughter them all. But every beast that blocks our path—we’ll tear them to shreds.”

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