The Great Sword is not the Main Body!
Chapter 212 – Hero

Starting from the right arm that had been pierced by Ziz’s attack, all strength began to drain from my body.  

I bit down on my tongue, gnawed my lips, forced the magic within me to circulate, and widened my eyes to pull my fading consciousness back into focus.

In that momentary gap, 

The chains and the dragons’ magic dug into that tiny opening, wrapping around my entire body.

Movement stopped.  

Breathing stopped.  

The flow of magic circulating within me came to a halt.

In a world where everything seemed frozen, even my thoughts grinding to a standstill, 

Slice.

A grim sound echoed from below my shoulder.

“Shit…”

I forced my barely responsive eyes to look toward the source of the sound.

In that world where everything was halted, I saw my arms, cleanly severed, falling toward the ground.

I saw the longsword I had vowed never to let go of slipping farther away.

And then, 

The sensation of pain, which hadn’t registered until now, surged across my body.

The heat of the [Breath] scorched my skin, the remains of my burnt clothing burrowing into it.  

The throbbing pulse of magic gnawed at my bones, baring its fangs at me.

I had to find a way.

Somehow, some way, I had to endure this onslaught.

I twisted my unmoving body, forcing myself to fully feel the agony of amputation.  

I brought back the stench of blood pouring down my throat, hammered the scent of burning fabric into my nose, and kept my wide-open eyes desperately searching for a means to survive.

And through the deafening cacophony tearing at my eardrums, 

I found it.

An alien sound, different from all the rest.

Following it, 

Step,   

A labored, dragging footstep.

And just as I took that step, 

Countless spells surged forward to devour my body.

Yet I paid no mind to the death rushing at me,   

I stretched my foot forward again.

At that moment, 

Slice.

A clean cutting sound pierced the chaos.

Clatter.

Through the gap created by the broken chains from my severed arms, a familiar greatsword drove in.

“You dumbass.”

And then, 

The exhausted voice I had been searching for.

The voice that had found me, Frey’s voice.

“…You came.”

Whatever the hell she had pulled off down below, Frey’s body was in shambles.

Her fingers were twisted, barely managing to grip her greatsword.  

Her front teeth, who knows where they had gone, left a gaping hole in her smile that looked so dumb it was hard not to laugh.

“Heh, what, you laughing?  

Are you fucking laughing, huh?  

Hey! I’m like this because of you, you piece of shit, and you’re laughing?!”

Slice. 

“Cover up that gap-toothed smile, dammit… Hff,  it hurts when I laugh… ugh, because of you… kuhuhk… can’t stop… fucking laughing, !”

CRASH!

“Goddamn it! Should’ve just left your ass to die!”

CRACK!

Whether out of real rage or blood pressure shooting through the roof, Frey, face flushed beet red, grabbed my collar with one hand and cursed violently,   

While at the same time, cutting through every chain that had bound my body.

Thanks to her, I regained my freedom.

Seeing that, Frey let go of my collar, turned toward the dragons, and swung her greatsword.

―――!

Just as always,   

Her blade, intercepting every attack aimed at me, was wrapped in a calm, steady light.

“Fucking hell, putting on airs after losing your goddamn arms.”

Frey’s venomous cursing came through the roaring noise.

“You’re always acting tough, but without me you’re nothing.”

“…I got ambushed, damn it.”

“Yeah, well, if it were me, I’d have dodged that too.”

“Bullshit.”

Just like always.

The same banter, the same atmosphere.

Meanwhile, behind the light-hearted chatter, a new wave of dragon magic gathered.  

Dragons tensed, preparing to unleash another round of [Breaths].

In this despairing situation, the only bit of luck, 

The dragon we stood atop was still bound by strange chains and unable to move.  

And Frey’s momentum had made the other dragons hesitant to act rashly.

“Got any plans?”

“I’ll think of one now.”

I answered lightly, but honestly, it wasn’t a situation where an easy plan would come.

If only one arm had been severed, it might still be manageable.

But both arms gone,   

What the hell could a swordsman do now?

No, that’s wrong.

I’m not just some helpless cripple.

If I don’t have arms, I’ll bite down on the sword.

If my jaw dislocates, I’ll jam the hilt into my severed stumps and keep fighting.

Even if I had to do that,   

I could still butcher these arrogant lizard bastards.

But the final battle against the Primordial Beast,   

Even if Frey and I fought together, victory would be far from guaranteed.

And relying on Laila was risky, too,   

Because the Nameless One still needed to be watched.

In short, 

We were well and truly screwed.

Frey must’ve reached the same conclusion, clicking her tongue and nodding.

Still, her face looked oddly refreshed.

“Alright. Then after this is all over, you’re buying me drinks.  

Really fucking expensive ones.”

With that, Frey turned her back to me and faced the dragons.

“Actually, make it two rounds, no, four rounds.”

“Three.”

“You bitch.”

Frey chuckled, but quickly, the laughter faded from her voice.

“Three rounds, then three minutes.”

And with that, 

Enveloping her greatsword with her [Aura], 

“I’ll hold them off for three minutes.”

Thud,   

She shoved me back.

“Go. Finish it.”

“What do you mean…”

Before I could finish, 

Her light punch sent my weakened body stumbling, 

And I immediately began falling toward the earth.

At the same time, 

A blinding bolt of lightning tore through the sky where I had just been standing.

Hurricane winds formed a visible vortex.  

Countless feathers rained down, embedding themselves into the dragon’s skull that had been our footing.

[GGGGGGGGGRRRRRRAAAAAAA―!]

Ziz’s roar shook the world.

A roar steeped in fierce rage.

That rage,   

It wasn’t directed at me, but at Frey.

The reason was easy to see.

The face that had been intact not long ago was now a wreck.

On a head covered with fur tougher than steel, deep and brutal wounds were carved.  

One eye was crushed, leaking yellow pus.  

Between its densely packed fangs, vivid red gums were exposed.  

The gaping maw, once capable of swallowing everything, was torn open, blood pouring like a waterfall.

And it wasn’t just the head.

Ziz’s enormous body bore countless wounds,   

Some were mere cuts, others so severe that chunks of flesh dangled loose.

That weak girl,   

Just how had she managed to do that?

What choice had she made, just to save me?

Even if I didn’t want to know,   

I couldn’t help but understand.

Frey’s sword didn’t carry just [Aura].  

It was infused with a light the same color as her very soul.

I grit my teeth.

The rage boiling up choked my throat, and the creeping despair strangled my breath.

Even now,  

The light of Frey’s soul burned brighter.

And my powerless body,   

Was growing ever further from that light.

Still, 

The golden thread that had once snapped, 

Did not reconnect.

Finally, my falling body, 

Thud,   

Landed lightly on a bed of soft flowers.

At the same time, the flowers’ stems wrapped around me,   

Offering me their vitality, stopping the blood pouring from my severed arms.

In a battlefield reeking of death, 

Amid the stench of despair clinging to my body, 

The scent of gladiolus spread.

And then, 

From somewhere familiar, 

Came the scent of a beast.

I turned toward it.

And there, 

“Huuff… huff… Ka… Kartia.”

There was Noah, her face twisted in pain.

And beside her, 

“Heeheek, heeheeheehaha!”

A red-haired wolf beastkin,   

Wolf ears perked high,   

And a tail wagging cheerfully behind her.

“Whoa, is that really the Kartia I knew?!”

Once, she had sworn an oath with me.  

Now, she had become one of the Beasts of the End.

“Carpeng…?”

It was Carpeng.

“Carpeng? Yeah, that’s right. I’m Carpeng now.”

Carpeng, carrying Noah on her back, stood before me.

“Still, it’s been a while seeing me like this, huh? Ugh, tch.”

Gently setting Noah down, Carpeng stretched her long legs and approached.

“You… how are you even, like that, “

Ignoring my words, Carpeng looked up at the sky.

“Man… brings back memories, doesn’t it?”

Though her eyes looked skyward,   

The sharp curve of her lips spoke of the distant past.

“You humans couldn’t fly back then. So I, we, helped you.”

Carpeng’s head tilted toward me.

“Well? Want me to help again?”

Rustle.   

A rough gust swept back Carpeng’s stiff hair.

In those revealed red eyes,   

In that relaxed smile, 

Was a fighting spirit even fiercer than it had been a thousand years ago.

“But, You’ll have to make a promise again, just like back then.”

Taking my silence as agreement, Carpeng chuckled as she stood tall.

“Not asking for anything big. Just don’t forget, alright?”

The world we lived in.

The feats we achieved.

The past when we laughed together.

Our, 

Simple, 

Story.

“How about it? Easy, right?”

Carpeng’s gaze stayed fixed on the sky.

But her fist reached toward Noah.

“I’m counting on you, Opponent of the End, no.”

Rustle,   

Carpeng’s tail wrapped around Noah’s wrist.  

Then, 

Tap,   

She brought Noah’s fist to her own.

“Shin Noah.”

Just like a thousand years ago.

To tear the wings off arrogant fools.

To slam the smug faces of the mighty into the dirt.

For the survival of distant descendants.

With a radiant smile, 

Not toward despair, 

But toward hope, 

She leapt into the sky.