The Great Sword is not the Main Body!
Chapter 193 – The Primordial Beast

What Charlotte saw upon arriving at the battlefield where Heinzel and Delia were supposed to be was the shattered corpse of Leviathan—broken into pieces like a porcelain vase—and standing proudly atop it, a bald man.

And Delia, sitting blankly on the ground, staring into empty space with a dazed expression.

Charlotte couldn’t comprehend the scene before her.

Until she had left the spire, blinding light had raged across the landscape. She had witnessed a massive hand that appeared to have been plucked from a god. Unrelenting lightning had struck down repeatedly.

She had felt Delia’s determination to sacrifice everything to annihilate her enemy.

She had seen the beast that emerged onto the earth, one that felt impossible to defeat.

Beyond the horizon, a hellscape had unfolded, as if catastrophe itself had been transplanted there.

Clearly, that had been the case.

But at some point, the light began to fade, and the beast’s screams started to echo. A thunderous roar spread out, loud enough to rupture eardrums.

A torrent of alien power could be felt—neither human nor beast.

It was similar to the Beast of the End, yet different.

And now, before her stood Delia, far too lively to have used such power, and Heinzel, showing no signs of life’s flame, but undeniably still alive.

“…Thank goodness… I suppose.”

Clink— Despite her confident strides moments ago, Charlotte’s footsteps faltered in confusion.

“Delia.”

She approached the blankly sitting Delia and called out to her, but received no response. Delia simply continued staring at where Heinzel stood.

Even as Charlotte grabbed her shoulders, touched her head, and tried lifting her by the arm, Delia’s focus remained fixed on Heinzel.

“You empty-headed girl.”

“Huh…? Your Highness?”

“Yes. What on earth happened here?”

“…Ah.”

Delia seemed to regain her senses momentarily, but quickly slipped back into her daze.

Clicking her tongue, Charlotte sat Delia back down and hurried toward the distant Heinzel.

“Hoo.”

Though outwardly composed, Charlotte was burning with anxiety inside.

She had reason to be.

To the north stood a beast of unknown identity, one that emanated such presence she didn’t dare consider provoking it.

No one knew when it might move or what would happen if it did.

But setting that aside,

What truly fueled her anxiety was Delia’s pristine appearance—far too clean for someone who had fought a fierce battle—and the pitiful state of Heinzel in the distance.

Mistilteinn, which Serr—possessed of knowledge beyond human limits—had assured would withstand most any shock.

Material she had been certain could be crushed or twisted but never broken.

Yet what she saw before her,

The prosthetic attached to his left shoulder had completely vanished without a trace. The one on his right shoulder was cracked as if it might shatter at any moment.

His body was equally devastated.

One leg was missing. The remaining leg hung by threads. The skin on his back had been completely stripped, and his bones appeared to have shattered into powder.

Moreover, there was no vitality in him.

No magic could be sensed in his body. That enormous, ferocious magical power—gone without a trace.

No life force could be felt. The unyielding flame that had seemed eternal—vanished.

Yet he still lived.

He breathed normally and remained standing.

These sights quickened Charlotte’s pace.

Clang— With an unnaturally loud sound, she planted her massive shield into the ground.

Charlotte called out to Heinzel with exaggerated gestures to announce her presence.

“Hey, baldy.”

Ten seconds.

Twenty seconds.

After thirty seconds, a sigh escaped Heinzel’s lips as if tension had finally left him.

“Charlotte.”

His usual voice.

A completely different atmosphere than before.

Emotions impossible to read.

A voice that had changed so drastically it was hard to believe it came from the same person.

“…What happened here?”

“A powerful beast appeared. We fought fiercely. And I won.”

Creak— The misaligned Mistilteinn made strange noises as he clenched his fist.

“Without weapons, without armor, I beat it down with these fists alone.”

Unlike that guy.

Slowly turning around, Heinzel’s gaze drifted past Charlotte to the empty air behind her.

His face held a sense of relief.

Longing, regret, and satisfaction were etched into his expression.

After observing him for a moment, Charlotte pulled an elixir from within her clothing and offered it to Heinzel.

“Yeah… you did well.”

She had many questions.

But she didn’t ask them. She couldn’t ask them.

Not only was this no time for leisurely explanations, but Heinzel’s expression seemed to say, “Don’t ask.”

Charlotte had no choice but to keep her lips sealed.

“Hmm.”

But Heinzel didn’t take the elixir.

He simply dragged his failing body toward Delia.

Despite having no leg, he walked steadily. Despite having no magic, he didn’t fall.

What was this inexplicable power?

Pushing her questions aside, Charlotte moved alongside Heinzel.

“You walk well.”

“I do.”

“Doesn’t it hurt?”

“It doesn’t.”

“Is that so.”

“It is.”

The same empty exchange as always.

Like talking to a wall, or conversing with a fool.

A conversation devoid of substance.

In the midst of it, Charlotte’s face twisted at a strange feeling of unease. But she concealed it.

Eventually, arriving before Delia, Heinzel glanced at the elixir in Charlotte’s hand.

“Could you give that to Delia?”

“I could. But I think you should drink it first.”

Pop— Charlotte removed the elixir’s stopper and handed it to Delia, while eyeing Heinzel up and down.

“I’m fine.”

Just as before, Heinzel shook his head and placed his hand on Delia’s dazed head.

“It’s all over.”

Color began to return to Delia’s pale face.

“You did well, Delia. I thought you were lying, but reinforcements did come, just as you said.”

“…Re-reinforcements?”

“Look over there.”

Following Heinzel’s gaze, Delia turned her head. Through the thick dust that had settled, one by one, Liberation Army members appeared with bewildered expressions.

And at their forefront, Hermilla stood, her face twisted with emotion.

“Hermilla unni…”

Delia’s eyes crumpled. Her lips trembled and her head drooped.

“Hnng… hic…”

“Here we go.”

Despite her annoyed expression, Charlotte crouched beside the sobbing Delia and gently embraced her, helping her drink the elixir.

“You’re not a child. Stop crying.”

“Snff, hkk… ngh…”

After this had gone on for some time, Hermilla arrived before them. She signaled the Liberation Army members behind her to stay back and carefully chose her words.

“…Mr. Heinzel.”

A brief question laden with meaning.

“Hmm.”

A brief answer accepting everything.

Then, a smile spread across Heinzel’s lips.

“I won.”

Words without a specific subject. But Hermilla understood their full meaning. What he had accomplished, what he had done. What level he had reached—she could tell.

So she nodded. She forced herself to smile.

“I was stronger. Slower, more frustrating, a long path around. But in the end, I won.”

Crack—Crackle— Repeatedly clenching and unclenching his fist, Heinzel gazed into the distance.

Toward Behemoth, which glared back at him.

“But there’s no time for an arm-wrestling match now.”

Though I’d definitely win right now.

Muttering this, he roughly patted Delia’s head and turned his gaze to Charlotte.

“When does the medicine take effect?”

Flinch— Charlotte’s body jolted violently. Avoiding Heinzel’s gaze, she quietly answered.

“…Soon.”

“I see.”

Not understanding their exchange, Delia opened her lips.

“What… medici—”

Thud—

But she couldn’t finish her sentence. The sedative mixed into the elixir had cut off her consciousness.

“How did you know?”

After lifting the collapsed Delia into her arms and standing, Charlotte cautiously glared at Heinzel.

“I smelled it. And sedatives of that level wouldn’t put me to sleep.”

“This amount would knock out an ogre.”

“I’m stronger than an ogre.”

“Tch. Fine, tough guy.”

Charlotte’s gaze shifted to the Liberation Army standing behind them. At that moment, medical staff arrived hurriedly with a makeshift stretcher.

As she carefully laid Delia down on it, Charlotte spoke.

“If I asked about your current condition, you wouldn’t tell me, would you?”

“I could tell you.”

“And how is it?”

“I’m fine.”

Charlotte’s face twisted viciously.

“Sure, asshole.”

After gently arranging Delia’s hair as she lay on the stretcher, Charlotte nodded respectfully to the medical team.

Confused by the princess’s bow, the medics quickly covered Delia with a blanket and hurried away.

Watching them depart, Hermilla finally parted her heavy lips.

“Mr. Heinzel. Are you… ‘still’ alright?”

“I promised to finish everything, win, and return.”

“I’d say this counts as having finished.”

“Not at all. If I leave things like this, I’ll certainly be nagged about it.”

“Is… that so.”

Forcing a smile, Hermilla turned away. She hid her expression. She buried her emotions.

Then, in her usual voice, she said,

“Well then, let’s go.”

“Hmm.”

Hermilla stepped forward.

Next, Charlotte.

Heinzel.

And then,

Behemoth began to rise.