The Great Sword is not the Main Body!
Chapter 207 – Prayer

“Krgh, huh- kuhk…”

At the same moment my chest was pierced, the [Blood Aura] that surged from within soaked into my wound. Spreading throughout my body, it forced my dimming consciousness to stay awake, to stay alive.

“Heeheehee.”

A laugh identical to Rubia’s.

A voice identical to Rubia’s.

A tone identical to Rubia’s.

Yet the presence before me, though identical, exuded an entirely different atmosphere as she smiled at me.

The wound Alstein’s hand had created showed no sign of healing.

Not even the warmth of her hand could be felt.

But the being in front of me smiled as if nothing was wrong. Laughing just like Rubia, she schk- yanked the hand that had pierced my chest out without mercy.

That wasn’t the end. The [divine power] that had once gently healed my body now gnawed away at it, and the hand that had once stroked my hair now violently grabbed a fistful of it.

“Nice to see you, Noah.”

The fabric clinging to my wound stung all over.

The forcibly tilted head stretched the wound open in agony.

My broken ribs throbbed, and the lips I had bitten to suppress my screams stung bitterly.

But more than all that, 

“Oh my, Noah.”

Right before me, 

“Does it hurt a lot?”

From the one who looked exactly like Rubia, 

“Shall I heal you?”

The absence of the Rubia I knew, 

“Like always?”

drove me mad with pain.

“…Ru, bia…”

I knew I couldn’t reach her.

I knew I couldn’t touch her.

But clinging to a thread of hope, I called her name.

But, 

“Yes. I’m Rubia.”

The figure before me mercilessly severed even that faint hope, seductively licking the blood on her other hand. Then, with lips soaked in ecstasy, she slowly moved toward my neck.

At the same time, 

Shwaang! 

Kartia’s greatsword was swung.

The heat from the earlier battle had not yet cooled, but the greatsword, unable to carry true [killing intent], surged toward the hand gripping my hair.

Following that, Frey’s sword plunged between Rubia and me, and the roots of Yggdrasil wrapped around my body, dragging me backward.

In the midst of that urgency, 

Clicking her tongue in disappointment, Rubia released my hair. Then, she reached out toward the greatsword swung at her hand.

It was slow. Compared to the swinging greatsword, it was endlessly slow, frail like a swaying flower.

Yet, 

Thud!

Kartia’s sword was easily stopped by that frail motion. Then, even Frey’s sword was effortlessly blocked by Rubia.

“Everyone. If I were to get hurt or die, Noah would be terribly sad. Would that be alright with you?”

Using the blade of the greatsword like a handle, she stood up.

[That nameless bitch is full of crap.]

Kartia scowled, gripped the greatsword held by Rubia in reverse, twisted her waist, and struck upward. At the same time, radiant [divine power] burst from Rubia’s back. Shapeless at first, it rapidly transformed into the form of wings, firmly clutching Kartia’s greatsword.

The sword was blocked again.

Seeing this, Kartia clicked her tongue and created distance from Rubia.

Meanwhile, Laila, who had come to my side, emitted the light of a spirit to draw out the [divine power] writhing inside me and slowly mend my open wound.

But that was all.

Even with Serr’s spirits, Laila’s abilities, and the frantically working [Blood Aura] trying to heal my body, 

All they managed to do was close the gaping hole; my internal injuries showed no improvement.

As my consciousness began to fade, 

Rubia, standing across from us, raised her arm. Her limp arm traced through the air. In response, the [divine power] swirling in the air surged into the hollow lump of flesh that was once Alstein.

Crick, crack.  

Alstein’s body began to swell. The scattered flesh and body parts around us writhed and gathered toward a single point.

Seeing that, Frey muttered something and dashed forward. Unlike earlier, her greatsword now brimmed with killing intent, encased in a blade of pure [Aura]. A cold blue glint flashed. Each time, the gathering body parts of Alstein were shredded into pieces.

Eventually, the flesh was cut into unrecognizable chunks, and the pool of blood, devouring itself, grew in size. Even so, Frey’s sword did not stop. It ceaselessly slashed through the amorphous slime that could no longer be called a human corpse, frantically preventing its completion.

Laila, who had been healing my wound, also joined in. Supporting my head, she reached toward Yggdrasil. The ground trembled, and all the roots of Yggdrasil shot up to the surface. The scenery warped. Magic surged wildly. A crushing pressure radiated to the marrow of our bones.

Petals scattered faintly as Yggdrasil’s roots gathered and intertwined, stretching toward Laila’s hand.

The moment they touched her hand, the tremors ceased. The jagged roots, like a beast’s fangs, vanished. The twisted scenery returned to normal, and the surging magic calmed.

What emerged was a massive scythe made of wood.

And atop her head, a crown of thorns settled gently.

The image of Laila I had seen countless times on screen came vividly to life.

Shuffle. 

I heard her footsteps in my dulled ears. They were heading toward Rubia.

Rubia, now face to face with her, was smiling.

Laughing as if Laila didn’t matter in the slightest, her gaze remained fixated on the grotesquely growing mass that used to be Alstein.

Shuffle.

The footsteps grew faint. As the lingering echo disappeared, 

Thud! 

A massive greatsword embedded itself at Laila’s feet.

Where the sword had flown, 

Its owner.

Frey’s head hung limply. Her arms were spread out, suspended in a black glow, and both legs were pierced together on a black spike.

As blood gushed from her wounds, Frey slowly lifted her head. She stared at the faintly formed silhouette that had appeared before her.

A thin, delicate outline.

Shrouded in darkness, holding a crude horn in each hand.

The smile on Rubia’s face deepened.

Her wings fluttered gracefully. Feathers formed from [divine power] scattered, drifting through the air and gathering behind her. One by one, the forming wings enveloped her, eight pairs in total.

Moments later, the dark figure raised its hand.

It placed the horn to its mouth, smirking.

Laila’s face contorted in shock.

Frey’s expression fell into despair.

And then, 

―――!

A blaring horn cry pierced the silence in my ears. It resembled the trumpet that had brought destruction to Hablon and summoned Carpeng to Roholon, 

But this one bore even deeper despair.

It opened the sky.

Ripped, torn, and finally split open, within the rift of the heavens, an unfathomably massive figure emerged.

It brought with it thunder.

Wrapped in jet-black storm clouds.

Its fur, too rigid to even be called fur, was sharper than spikes. The claws on its four feet were easily twice the size of the greatsword it carried.

Its colossal wings on either side could blanket the ends of the world, and even standing atop the land, its head reached the sky.

That was not the end.

Behind the monstrous beast, 

From the rift in the sky, 

Came beings I had seen countless times in the game.

Dragons, whose very existence was synonymous with annihilation.

Thousands of dragons opened their maws in our direction.

Rubia, soaked in ecstasy, spread her wings.

The [divine power] that surged alongside her, 

That repugnant light drove away the darkness and illuminated the world in radiant brilliance.

And then, she reached out her hand toward me.

She opened her mouth and spoke.

“Come with me, Noah. To our paradise.”

At the same time, 

Kartia stood, facing all of it head-on.

Kartia, gazing up at the impossibly high sky, spoke.

[Noah.]

Her greatsword dropped from her hand.

And then, 

A worn, broken longsword was gripped in her grasp.

[I don’t yet know what you desire, what you’re hoping for.]

Shuffle.

Kartia’s body, lighter than ever before, stepped forward.

[But I’ve always sought only one thing: victory.]

Shuffle.

Her softly fluttering hair lengthened, reaching her waist.

[That’s why I could endure. That’s why I survived.]

Shuffle.

Her neatly kept casual clothes transformed into a worn, tattered uniform.

[But in the end, I couldn’t claim true victory.]

Shuffle.

Her body was marked by countless scars, deep and large enough to etch even onto her [Ki sense].

[But you, you’re different.]

Shuffle.

The soft smile at the corner of her lips, the hand that let go of her greatsword, 

[You can do it.]

Shuffle.

Her eyes locked onto the black sun, suspended beyond the colossal beast that stood on the land, past the horde of dragons numbering in the thousands.

[So watch closely, and never forget.]

Shuffle.

With a yearning for victory, 

[This is the path that leads to true victory.]

Shuffle.

As she prayed for triumph in the days to come, 

[From Kartia, the Sword of Victory.]

Shuffle.

She shone brilliantly.

[Once your master, Shin Noah.]    

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