The Great Sword is not the Main Body!
Chapter 200 – Prayer

“Kartia.”

A completely different tone of voice, along with the emotion it carried.

With this, Frey had shown her third change.

Thud!

She easily blocked the incoming punch.

Of course, her stance was unstable.

Her strength was lacking, too.

If she were to accidentally smash a skull or snap a neck, Kartia’s plan couldn’t be fulfilled.

Still… even so, I never imagined she could block it this easily.

Surely, Frey had abandoned defense and was focused solely on offense… yet her transition between attack and defense was this quick?

It was surprising. And familiar.

I couldn’t observe her movements closely since she had been thrown aside… but thinking about her last stance and the current outcome, her movement was identical to Kartia’s exquisite combat style.

Rustle.

Soon, her body, which had been floating in the air, landed in the flower field. Her fist was still gripping my sword, but I carefully prepared to pull it out.

‘Has she returned…?’

[Not sure yet… but one thing’s certain, she’s completely different from before. And that tone when she called my name… that was exactly like her.]

“You really do resemble her… hmm?”

A cold voice suddenly cut Kartia off. Yet again, a different tone. It was the same voice as the one Kartia had called the fake Frey.

I immediately pulled my sword up and swung it toward the voice. Not to cut, but to create distance.

I still didn’t know Frey’s exact condition, so I couldn’t recklessly strike. But being too close was also too dangerous.

So even if the swing was unstable and full of openings, it didn’t matter. If it came to it, I had many options. My body was ready to react under pressure.

Whoosh!

The flat of the blade shot toward Frey. It was fast. Fast enough that one couldn’t tell whether it was meant to slash or create space.

But Frey followed its path with her eyes. Then, clicking her tongue, she gave my body a light push.

As a result, Frey stopped abruptly just in front of my feet after slicing through the air. At the same time, 

Rustle.

She grabbed my collar in a flash.

Kartia gasped in surprise. So did I. But Frey didn’t care and began to shake me by the collar.

“Ugh…!”

Baffled by Frey’s bizarre behavior, I threw a punch. At the same time, I swung the greatsword to make sure my fist wouldn’t get caught like before. Frey reacted instinctively. Feeling that, I unleashed my blood aura.

Thud!

Her hand let go of my collar. As if annoyed, her leg swung out and widened the distance between us.

[Crazy bitch, what the hell is she doing…?]

I felt around the area she had grabbed.

Calmer than ever, I felt the fabric of neatly arranged clothes,so neat they barely touched the skin.

In a situation like this, fixing her clothes…?

[…I think it really is Frey.]

Hope bloomed stronger in Kartia’s voice. I felt it. That urge to rush forward at any moment.

Is that something close friends can tell… just by seeing?

“…F-Frey?”

“Put some respect on it. Watch your tongue.”

Frey clicked her tongue again at my question, clearly annoyed, then looked down to examine her appearance.

Then, with a face that looked like she was cursing internally, she began undoing the heavy armor wrapped around her body.

Eventually, Frey threw off all the armor, tidied her sweat-soaked hair, and looked around.

After glancing around several times, she took a deep breath and faintly curled her lips.

“…That Kartia.”

[Yeah. It’s the real Frey. Ha, fuck.]

Even if my ki sense was sharper than most, I couldn’t read the emotions in someone’s eyes.

But even I could feel Frey’s emotions now.

Not just in her eyes, but all over her face.

Excitement, happiness, joy, ecstasy, elation.

Anticipation.

Those emotions,

Frey’s face, brimming with the feelings of someone who had regained her freedom, weighed heavily on both Kartia and me.

Then suddenly,

Frey’s gaze, full of interest, turned this way. At the same time, she drew the greatsword stuck beside her and let out a laugh identical to Kartia’s.

“What are you looking at, you fucking bitch?”

“Eh…”

It felt like she was talking to me, but no.

Frey’s gaze, that emotion,

Was directed at Kartia, who was behind me.

‘C-Can Kartia be seen…?’

[Even if she can’t see me, she can probably feel me. That bitch and I…]

At that moment.

Whoosh, Countless flower petals scattered from where Frey had been standing.

[Noah!]

As Kartia shouted, 

Shwick. 

Frey’s greatsword, charged with sharp killing intent, was swung. I immediately grabbed the hilt and raised it with all my might. 

Crack!

I swung to deflect it, but it didn’t budge. Frey’s sword carried a horrifyingly heavy force.

“You’re taking this?”

Frey’s lips twisted upward. The killing aura in her sword grew thicker. Just touching it felt like my whole body was being shredded. I twisted my entire body to shake it off, scattering blood aura. 

Rustle.

At the same time, I leapt back to widen the gap between us.

Even so, the terrifying aura still lingered around me.

The nature of the aura had changed.

Before, it felt slimy and monstrous. Now, it was like a finely honed blade.

And the already heavy sword had doubled in weight. I had to use all my strength just to parry it.

Why the sudden change?

If she were the Frey who was Kartia’s old friend, she wouldn’t go this far… had Frey’s consciousness not fully returned?

[No, it really is the Frey I know.]

‘Then why…?’

Before Kartia could answer, 

Whoosh! 

Flower petals scattered once again. Through them, Frey’s sword swung down. A greatsword, lunging for my neck like the fangs of a beast.

I immediately steadied my breath and scattered my greatsword. 

Clang! 

A harsh explosion of air rang out, and behind it, Frey’s knee shot forward. I dropped my elbow to deflect her knee and pushed with my back foot against the clashing greatswords.

Rustle.

Once again, flower petals scattered and the distance between Frey and me widened.

I took a breath and glanced around.

New flowers were blooming beneath the crushed and uprooted ones trampled by Frey and me. If these ever-blooming flowers hadn’t been here, I wouldn’t have been able to keep up with her movements.

Maybe Frey thought the same. She shot an irritated glare at the blooming flowers.

“If it weren’t for the flowers, you would’ve been crawling on the ground ages ago.”

Frey spoke with an annoying expression and arrogant words.

“No, crawling would’ve been merciful. You might’ve been bawling, begging for mercy.”

Heh!

Her laugh sounded just like Kartia’s.

The same expression as Kartia.

The same stance as Kartia.

“As expected.”

Frey pointed her blade toward Kartia, who would be behind me.

“When you’re taught by a worthless master who swings around a trash sword, of course the disciple turns out to be trash too.”

Whoosh!

This time, the flower petals scattered beneath my feet.

An obvious provocation.

I accepted it.

Because the tip of that teasingly flicking sword was saying something else entirely.

So I raised the blade then unleashed the killing aura I’d been holding back.

I surrounded myself with blood aura, scattering icy energy.

Then gathered the drifting feathers and sparked the flames of hell.

Boom! 

The swords collided, and a terrible roar burst out. The resulting shockwaves cut into our skin and drew blood.

Just as I expected,

‘Wow, I thought you were some airheaded flower child. But you actually caught the hint?’

Frey’s voice traveled through the sword.

It was completely different from the way she spoke aloud, lighter, more careless than Kartia’s.

‘Anyway, good. I’ve got something to tell you and Kartia. Things I want to say.’

To me… and Kartia?

Just as I was about to voice my confusion,

Frey’s fist tore through the floating blood droplets and rushed in. I twisted my body to avoid it and spun to swing my greatsword again.

Clang! 

Another sharp sound rang out, just like before. And again, Frey’s voice came.

‘Too many ears around makes things annoying, so just shut up and listen. Keep your expression in check.’

Boom, crack, clang!

‘My memories are all jumbled, so explaining it is hard. Eh, just listen and figure it out yourself.’

With those words, Frey’s sword came storming in without pause. It was a deadly storm of strikes that made holding a conversation impossible.

It was nerve-wracking. Just keeping up with the speed was tough, but I also had to apply just enough force to block her attacks without giving myself away.

Meanwhile, Frey showed no hesitation, swinging her sword like a madwoman. Each time, shallow cuts appeared on both our bodies.

‘Oh, and one more thing. Fight me seriously. If that bastard Aaron notices you’re faking, there’s no telling what he’ll do. He already suspects something’s off. Not much we can do, just keep bluffing to the end.’

Feeling cold sweat trickle down my back, I focused on Frey’s voice echoing in my mind.

‘First thing, my soul isn’t fully freed. I don’t know what kind of lunatic did it, but someone tore a massive scar into this soul. If you look closely, it’s even shaped like a fist… anyway, thanks to that, I was able to slip out for just a little while.’

Frey’s sword pressing down on me felt unbearably heavy. Maybe it was the strength behind it, or the emotions inside it, I couldn’t tell.

But for me, it was too heavy to bear.

‘Second thing. What’s eating away at my soul is that nameless bastard you’ve all been talking about. No matter what I do, or you do, this thing won’t ever fall off or be cut away.’

Frey’s sword swung again. It was like Kartia’s, but faster, stronger.

She pulled off feats impossible with a greatsword as if they were second nature.

The mesmerizing sword techniques blurred before me.

More refined than before, they came crashing down.

As I barely blocked them,

I caught something strange in her words.

…How does she know what we were talking about?

‘Right. That’s the third thing.’

The tip of Frey’s sword trembled slightly.

‘No matter how quiet you are, no matter how low your voices, that nameless thing has been listening from the very beginning to the very end.’

The previously flawless flow of her blade showed a tiny distortion.

‘So kill me.’

Kill her,

‘Tear my soul to pieces, and erase me from this world entirely.’

If we do that,

‘It might buy us a little time before that nameless thing descends.’   

 

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