The Great Sword is not the Main Body!
Chapter 186 – The Primordial Beast

Swaaah…

In the battlefield that had suddenly fallen silent, the impossible sound of gentle waves echoed.

Swaaah…

Every beast that had been attacking humans bent its knees.

Swaaah…

They lowered their bodies and bowed their heads.

Even as swords pierced their backs, flames engulfed their bodies, and countless weapons tore them apart—

The beasts did not rise.
They did not scream.
They did not struggle.

They merely held their breath, awaiting the arrival of their king.

“What… in the world is this…”

“Hey, flower girl. We don’t have time to be shocked. We have work to do.”

Crunch.

As they pressed northward through the center of the battlefield, they found the beasts’ sudden immobility strange, but didn’t stop their advance.

Hermilla likewise continued. Though visions of that apocalyptic future briefly flashed through her mind, she did not halt her hunt.

As she crushed countless beasts’ skulls—

–Hermilla.

Juur’s telepathic message echoed in her mind.

Crunch.

Hermilla froze as an eerie sensation crawled up her spine.

–An unidentified beast has appeared in the west. No… it’s far too massive to simply be called a beast. Moreover, all the creatures that invaded Cartia… are bowing their heads toward it.

The west.

Where Heinzel and Delia were positioned.
Where every beast had turned its head.

And then—

[AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA—!!]

A roar so immense it stirred primal fear in the very core of existence.

Hermilla, frozen in place, turned her gaze westward.
The other challengers, who had continued slaughtering beasts, followed her lead and looked in the same direction.

–Are Delia and Heinzel safe?

–…Our connection has been severed. And my Clairvoyant Eyes can’t see anything there. I have no way to assess the situation. I’m sorry.

Upon hearing their connection had been severed, Hermilla’s face hardened.

Typically, Juur’s link only broke when someone suffered a potentially fatal injury.
But if even her Clairvoyant Eyes couldn’t perceive anything, it meant some unknown force was blocking her unique ability entirely.

Hermilla wiped the brain matter from her hands and surveyed her surroundings.

Liberation Army warriors with grim expressions continued slaying beasts mechanically.
Civilians trembled in fear.
Children wailed for their lost families.
Parents driven mad after watching their children devoured before their eyes.
Elders, blinded by revenge, swinging weapons they could barely handle.

The horrific battlefield before her overlapped with the apocalyptic visions she had once foreseen.

A choice had to be made.

Save the civilians.
Or head west to check on Heinzel and Delia.

Logically, the correct choice was to go west.

Rather than struggling to protect terrified civilians amid unpredictable threats, it made sense to secure powerful allies who could fight for the future.

To move forward, to rise higher, to advance toward changing this world—sacrificing the few for the many was the choice she had always made.

That was what experience had taught her.

And yet…
Why was this decision so difficult now?

“Hermilla.”

“…Yes, Yuria?”

“I don’t know exactly what you’re struggling with right now… but whatever choice you make, I won’t question it. I will follow you.”

“Oh my, fufu. Thank you.”

“So do as you wish. We—the challengers and the entire Liberation Army—were all saved by you. No matter what happens, none of us will resent you.”

“Ahaha… Is that so…”

Hermilla let out a self-mocking laugh and gazed skyward.

Being resented had always been a constant in her life.
Even if people called her a monster, she had endured it for her convictions.

But had she now reached the end of that path?
Or was it because a girl who had walked the opposite path had achieved such brilliant results?

Perhaps it was something as trivial as not wanting to be resented by that girl.

“Hah…”

A sigh, laden with complex emotions, scattered into the dust-filled air.

“An unidentified beast has appeared in the west. The roar we just heard belonged to it. I suspect the wave sounds spreading across the battlefield are also its doing.”

“The west… meaning…”

“Yes. Where Heinzel and Delia are. So, we will…”

Hermilla re-tightened the bandages wrapped around her hands and fixed her gaze on her objective.

“…trust in Heinzel and Delia, and continue rescuing the civilians.”

Yuria and Mia’s eyes widened.

But only for a moment.

With resolute determination, Yuria summoned countless flower petals that began swirling around her.

“I will follow you.”

The petals, carried by wind and dust, gently settled on the shoulders of despairing civilians.

Creak.

Mia drew back her longbow, aiming toward their path.
Alex, who had been repairing his near-shattered hammer, rose to his feet.

“Killing beasts is secondary. Our top priority is saving the civilians. If you’re ready…”

The devastating energy surging within Hermilla burned so fiercely it seemed it might consume her entire being.

“…let’s go.”

BOOM!

The moment she spoke, her figure shot forward, leaving behind a streak of violet light.

Behind her, silver arrows rained down, piercing the heads of any beasts she had missed.

Alex, following a moment later, swung his hammer in the wake of Hermilla’s violet flames, smashing the still-writhing skulls of the beasts she had left behind.

Whistle!

Yuria, now alone at the rear, blew a sharp whistle, summoning her spirit beasts.

Over a hundred spectral creatures emerged, following the trail of her scattered petals as they continued rescuing civilians.

Seated atop a griffon, Yuria watched the deepening violet flames and thought of a small girl.

A girl who changed the world, who changed people.
And who, ultimately, even altered the fate of the challengers themselves.

With that thought, she soared skyward.

***

***

***

Drip. Drip.

Dark crimson droplets slid down the bowstring crafted of Mistilteinn.

Mia’s fingertips, worn raw, oozed thick blood.

“Huff… Huff… Yuria, is the… evacuation… complete?”

Yuria, who had momentarily closed her eyes to channel magic, nodded.

“Yes. Every survivor has been evacuated without exception.”

Alex, gulping down the juice from a water-berry that Yuria had handed him, gazed toward the clearing where civilians had gathered.

“Kuh… So now we just need to set up a barrier?”

“I plan to station my spirit beasts within the perimeter as well… but I doubt it will make much difference.”

What use was defense when these beasts could tear through Alex’s steel—far stronger than ordinary metal—as if it were paper?

Yet, Hermilla nodded in satisfaction.

“Even if it’s practically meaningless, it will reassure the civilians. That’s enough.”

Then, checking her creaking artificial limb and pouring a potion over her flayed hands, she sent a telepathic message through her connection with Juur.

–Juur.

–I still can’t see anything. I even sent scouts to investigate… but contact with them was severed as well.

From south to north through the center of Cartia, the beasts remained bowed and motionless.

And still—

Swaaah… Swaaah…

The eerie sound of waves continued to echo softly.

Hermilla looked down at the black blood splattered across her clothes.
She had slain countless beasts on her way here.

Of course, had they fought back as frantically as before, such a massacre wouldn’t have been possible. But now, with their heads bowed and bodies exposed, killing them was easier than slaying goblins.

Only about twenty percent of the beasts remained.
Moreover, the challengers and Liberation Army had grown accustomed to dealing with them.

Now… things would be fine.

–Understood. Please endure just a little longer.

Ending her conversation with Juur, Hermilla immediately turned westward.

“Yuria, Alex. I leave things to you.”

The civilians had been gathered in one place, and the scattered Liberation Army forces had been consolidated.

The beasts’ numbers had been reduced, and their combat patterns analyzed.

Now it was time to confirm the consequences of her decision.

“You’re going… to the west?”

“Yes.”

“Will you be alright?”

“I have to be.”

“Delia, Heinzel… worried…”

Hermilla gently stroked Mia’s hooded head and offered a small smile.

“The Heinzel we know now… he may be even stronger than us, whose powers are bound by the Heaven-Reversing ability.”

No—

“He certainly is stronger than us. Fufu.”

If the world weren’t so utterly mad, he would stand at humanity’s pinnacle.

So, he would be fine.

With that belief, Hermilla dragged her unbearably heavy body forward.

And then—

Swaaah…

The softly echoing waves came to an abrupt stop.

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