The Great Sword is not the Main Body!
Chapter 211 – Hero

Kartia’s art of slaying dragons was not flashy.

Amid the skies dominated by ancient magic far beyond ordinary spells, Kartia’s sword remained silent and steady.

Yet it was not weak.

Rather, it was faster and more precise, without a sliver of error, than the dragons’ gaudy magic.

Each time the faint blue moonlight flashed, a dragon’s head fell.  

Even in the downpour of dragons’ blood, Kartia’s worn uniform remained pristine.

In the midst of attacks where no escape could be seen, she moved with an almost mystical grace, deflecting, dodging, and parrying every assault.

When surrounded by dragons, she used their own magic, their own attacks, to create openings. She blended into the chaos of their massive bodies, forcing them to strike each other.

Yet throughout all this, Kartia’s body remained aloft in the sky.  

Never once did she fall,   

Walking calmly through the dragons as if the heavens were hers alone.

It was an unbelievable sight.

As if the purest form of combat itself had been transcribed onto the battlefield, my mind couldn’t tear itself away from Kartia.

Click, clack. 

It was then that ‘Rubia’ approached me.

“It’s a little lonely just standing here, isn’t it? Shall we have a chat?”

[I won’t refuse.]

At that moment, 

Crack! 

The roots of Yggdrasil surrounding us shot toward ‘Rubia’ like sharp spears.  

But her steps did not falter.  

Instead, she smiled lightly, as if amused by the thorns aimed at her.

In contrast, the black silhouette standing beside her began to ooze a sticky, corrupted light toward the attacking roots.

“Oh, come now… You already dislike me enough. If you act like that too, it just makes things harder for me, doesn’t it?”

‘Rubia’ sighed softly, raising a hand above the black silhouette’s head.

Then, 

Crack!   

In the blink of an eye, the black silhouette’s limbs were gruesomely twisted.

Screaming like metal scraping metal, it crawled desperately toward Rubia, clutching at her ankle, its blank face stretching, a mockery of a mouth starting to form, 

But even that gesture disgusted her.

CRUNCH! 

Hundreds of spears made of [divine power] tore the black silhouette apart.

Along with it, the dark shadow that had been strangling Frey’s body vanished as well.

Frey, now freed from her bindings, almost fell to the ground,   

But Yggdrasil’s roots gently rose to catch her.

“I believe if a pet bares its fangs at its master, it deserves to be punished. What about you all? Don’t you think so?”

‘Rubia’ glanced back and forth between Frey, struggling to breathe beside me, and Serr, then finally smiled with satisfaction and continued walking toward the thorns.

I immediately tried to rise.

[Opponent of the End. In my name, I will protect them. You must not move until your wounds have healed.]

But Laila’s voice rang out in my mind, halting my movements.

[Don’t worry. I can protect all of you, except Kartia. And… though I hesitate to call it fortunate, it seems the Nameless One hasn’t finished her awakening yet. She doesn’t seem inclined to attack us right now.]

Laila’s voice was bitter, as if she were swallowing something unpleasant.  

Yet her vicious roots toward ‘Rubia’ never wavered.

“You’re right. Laila could protect everyone here except Kartia. And I won’t harm you all right now, either. But… ”

Tap,   

The first root to touch her was swallowed by black light, shriveling in an instant until it couldn’t even be called a root anymore, curling gently around ‘Rubia’s’ body.

“Still keeping your guard up… It’s a little sad. It’s fine, though… I do have feelings too, you know. I’m still human. Heehee.”

Tap,   

The next root touched her, and the next, and the next.

Every blade of green that came into contact with ‘Rubia’ withered in an instant, wrapping around her body.

At last, stripping away all the roots, ‘Rubia’ stood before us,   

Wearing a tender smile.

“Noah, have you heard why Kartia became like that? Did you hear about her past?”

I didn’t answer.

I couldn’t.

Because of that voice, so chillingly identical to Rubia’s.

Because of that smile, so eerily perfect that it made my teeth grind.

“Oh right, Brunhilde told you everything, didn’t she? Heehee, silly me. Sorry. So much information flows to me now that I forget things.”

That smile,   

That lifeless gaze piercing me,   

Squeezed my chest harder than the wound running through it.

“So why did Kartia delay her choice?  

There were so many people alive in that era.  

Not only that,   

There were heroes too, transcendent beings who had broken free from the chains of rules.  

And yet, she delayed the choice, erased herself from history.  

Why?”

‘Rubia’s’ gaze, which had been drilling into me, now turned skyward,   

Where Kartia continued her desperate battle among the dragons.

“And why, after all that, has she finally chosen now?  

Back then, Kartia could have entered the False Paradise.  

She could have saved everyone.  

So then, what was it all for?”

Her voice sounded like it carried rage,   

Yet there was no anger, no irritation.

Only curiosity.  

Fascination.  

And a disturbing sense of joy.

“Humans really are strange creatures.  

So weak, yet surviving to the very end.  

So foolish, yet so wise.  

Even when crushed by despair, they crawl their way back up again and again.”

That same gaze turned toward Frey, who was approaching, cradled gently by Yggdrasil’s roots.

“For creatures like you… it’s fascinating how you become endlessly foolish and weak when standing before something you love.  

Perhaps Kartia delayed her choice because of that feeling called love?  

And this shell I crafted… ”

Swish.

‘Rubia’s’ arm lifted, stroking her own face lovingly.

“I believe it was completed more perfectly, more swiftly, precisely because of that love.”

And so, 

“I don’t want to kill beings like you who’ve wrought such miracles.  

When the False Paradise descends, I want to take all humans with me.  

I want to witness with my own eyes the brilliance of humans fighting to protect what they love.  

The brilliance so noble it captivated even ‘Lilith’ herself.  

That’s why I remain in this world, why I’ve repeated this world over and over.”

With a voice soaked in ecstasy, ‘Rubia’ finished.

“How about that? Modest enough, isn’t it?”

―――!

From the sky where Kartia fought, a terrible roar erupted,   

A massive light burst out.

Even far from the battlefield, shielded by Yggdrasil’s protection, the heat scorched my skin.

The chaotic surge of magic tangled the information flooding through my [Ki sense].

But only for a moment.

From a faint black scar in the air, the explosion began to die down.

And when my senses cleared again, 

What I saw was the blackened remains of dragons plummeting to the earth,   

And amid them, Kartia, standing proudly atop a dragon’s head.

Still firm, still smiling with unshakable pride.

“Isn’t it blinding?  

The light of one who burns everything to illuminate the path forward.  

It’s so dazzling… it’s enough to take your breath away.”

From ‘Rubia’s’ lips escaped a thrilled sigh as she gazed blankly at the sky.

And then, 

“But it’s not enough.”

Rumble… 

The storm clouds gathering around the battlefield began to swirl together.

“Light existing in brightness is meaningless.”

Rumble… 

Within the converging clouds, violent lightning crackled.

“Light must exist within darkness to truly shine.”

Rumble… 

The Primordial Beast, Ziz, who had been bowing its head, began to move.

“And so, I, ”

Rumble… 

Ziz raised its massive head to the sky.

Lightning coiled around its maw.

“I want to make the final light of a hero who led an era, ”

The lightning gathered into a small sphere, greedily devouring the surrounding magic.

Crack, crack.   

Its body began to swell ominously.

“…more perfect.”

Splinter,   

Ziz opened its massive jaws toward the heavens.  

The atmosphere quaked.  

The pulse of its enormous power shook the earth and erased all color from the world.

Immediately after, 

Snap!   

Laila, moving faster than a blink, teleported in front of Ziz.  

I too, dragging my battered body, sprinted toward Ziz.

But, 

Crackle!

The lightning fired faster than we could move,   

A savage bolt of light pierced through Kartia’s right arm.

And that wasn’t all.

The dragons that had been fighting Kartia activated their magic simultaneously.

Chains appeared from the air, binding Kartia’s body.

Breaths, coiled deep within their throats, erupted into the world.

The overwhelming shockwave tangled the flow of my [Ki sense] into incomprehensible noise.

And within that chaotic scene, 

The last image burned into my mind was, 

Kartia, her arms severed.

“Aaah, I’m so excited…  

I wonder how beautiful a human soul can shine, brighter than ever.”

‘Rubia’s’ gaze turned toward Ziz.

The divine power leaking from her fingertips seeped into Ziz’s body.

“You can do it, can’t you, Ziz? Please, grant my wish.”

[GGGGRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAA―!!]

Obeying ‘Rubia’s’ command, Ziz spread its massive wings and let out a shriek like metal tearing.

Lightning began to gather again.

A force that carried the pure fury of natural disaster itself.

Within it, a tainted divinity far beyond even ‘Rubia’s’ [divine power] churned.

Whoooosh!

Wings, far beyond any dragon’s, beat the air.

Feathers sharper than any beast’s claw scattered.

A raging storm tore across the land.

Within that storm, corrupted [divine power] spread,   

The dark light of the black sun spilled over the earth.

Yggdrasil’s roots withered.  

Flowers and petals that had barely clung to life decayed into nothingness.

Crack!   

A still-intact root of Yggdrasil gently wrapped around my ankle.  

The same with Serr.  

The roots of countless plants bound us tightly to keep us from being swept away by the storm.

In the raging storm where it was hard even to open my eyes, I lifted Frey into my arms.  

Batting away the feathers aiming for Serr, I stretched my [Ki sense] wide, searching desperately for Kartia.

But my tangled senses only sent brutal pain through my skull, without yielding the answer I wanted.

Through that burning, searing pain, what I finally saw, 

Was a mass of dragon breaths gathering into one point.

And Ziz soaring straight toward Kartia.

And then, 

Blood-soaked from head to toe, blocking Ziz’s path, 

Was Frey.

“Hold your head high, dumbass.  

Have some goddamn shame.”

It was Frey, standing firm.