The Great Sword is not the Main Body!
Chapter 219 – Ancient Dragon, Sirinias (4)

Ssshhh…

As Serr’s overwhelming barrage of great magic dissipated, what remained was the devastated, ruptured land.

“…Did we get her?”

“You dumb… Hey, are you seriously brain-dead?”

Sirin stood there, her body wrapped in her own wings.

There wasn’t a single scratch or scorch mark on the dragon wings enveloping her. Nor was there any damage to the ground beneath her feet. As if all the spells had simply bounced off, the land where Sirin stood was pristine.

“Haha… I tried to dispel it all, but it seems there was a limit.”

A soft, awed laugh came from within the cocoon of her folded wings. Then, 

Swish! 

The wings unfurled, revealing a changed Sirin.

Eyes slit vertically, gleaming golden.

Small scales around her eyes.

Fangs peeking between slightly parted lips.

Horns spiking out from her temples.

A slowly swaying dragon’s tail.

Seeing Sirin now, in a form barely recognizable as human, Frey clenched her teeth and raised her greatsword.

In sync, Carpeng’s eyes sparkled as she looked at Sirin’s horns, steadied her breath, and readied her stance.

Meanwhile, Serr, having unleashed a colossal amount of magic, gritted her teeth through a pounding dizziness as she forced her staggering body upright.

Even for a genius like Serr, casting that many high-level spells at once was impossible.

What made it possible was memorization.

Even so, preparing thousands of disaster-level spells had clearly taken its toll. Serr’s face had gone pale.

“You’re amazing, Serr.”

“Without a scratch on you. Are you mocking me?”

“No, I mean it. I think you’re truly amazing.”

Sirin offered a small smile.

Whether she was waiting for Serr to recover or for some other reason, no one knew.

She calmly looked at the swaying Serr and straightened her skirt, disheveled by the sudden appearance of her tail.

“Truly incredible. In another world, you would’ve lived a happy life surrounded by many people.”

Sirin’s eyes lifted to the clear sky.

“You might’ve created magic that’s unimaginable even now… or developed more efficient ways to control mana.”

Serr steadied herself.

She raised her wand. The surrounding mana writhed, gathering toward the wand’s tip as if following her will.

“And perhaps, yes, perhaps, you might have met a better teacher than me.”

For a moment, the mana gathering around Serr wavered. Cracks formed in her previously stoic expression, and her lips parted with restrained indignation.

“Past or future. In this world or any other. There exists no ‘human’ capable of being my teacher. Even if by some miracle I do have a teacher, I will surpass them. No matter who or what they are. I will surpass them.”

“Haha, is that so.”

Despite the madness in Serr’s words, Sirin smiled gently and drew her greatsword.

“Then let’s see if that’s really true.”

Crack! 

Her now-inhuman hands gripped the hilt with monstrous force.

The dragon wings, once neatly tucked to suit her human form, spread wide. Crunch, the ground shattered under her step. Her greatsword scraped the earth as her body tilted forward.

“I have always wanted to see a disciple surpass their master.”

Boom! 

Sirin launched forward, splitting the air.

And this time, 

A distinct killing intent burned in her attacks.

It had to be.

Because she knew, 

That she, 

That this world, 

Had little time left.

* * *

A storm of mana surged, so violent that one couldn’t even approach.

And yet within, the inside of the barrier remained calm, devoid of even a breeze.

Noah stood blankly in the barrier Serr had prepared, her face twisted in anguish as she felt the brutal battle between Sirin and her companions.

There was undeniable killing intent in Sirin’s attacks.

There was brutal killing intent in Carpeng and Frey’s strikes toward Sirin as well.

But, 

Serr’s magic, and the spirits swirling around her, held no such intent.

Even that catastrophic great magic she had unleashed earlier, 

It contained not a trace of killing intent.

It was merely a way to protect Carpeng and Frey, a method to draw Sirin’s attention away.

However, now, 

Now Serr’s magic carried killing intent.

Sirin’s attacks, her magic, 

All of Sirin’s power, now imbued with pure killing intent, 

Was directed at Noah.

She knew.

That killing Sirin, the Ancient Dragon, Sirinias, was the only way to reach the End.

She knew that Sirinias was a being that must inevitably be killed.

And yet, memories of the past.

The time they had shared.

The grief of not wanting to lose anyone else again, held Noah’s feet back like shackles.

Serr surely felt the same.

And yet, Serr was moving. She was launching magic at Sirin. She was fighting Sirin by staking her own life.

That sight, that action, 

The sorrow hidden behind Serr’s expressionless face made Noah’s despair deepen.

Then, 

Sirin’s eyes turned toward the far horizon.

Her eyes, opened wide, shimmered with urgency.

She bit her lip. Clenched her fists.

Slowly, her gaze lowered, settled on Noah.

Within them, was a heavy resignation that Noah could not yet understand.

And at last, 

Expression vanished from Sirin’s face.

The atmosphere shifted.

A completely different force surged forth, an aura unlike anything that had come before. In the hand not holding the greatsword, a terrifying power gathered.

A small orb.

Within it resided power that surpassed even a dragon’s breath or Serr’s great magic.

It could not be left alone.

The moment that thought solidified, Carpeng and Frey charged toward Sirin. Serr also forced out a spell and launched it in Sirin’s direction.

Sirin, with the orb hovering in her left hand, swung her greatsword. A massive shadow, like a dragon’s claw, followed the blade’s arc.

Its target was Carpeng.

Carpeng, who tried to resist by detonating all the Blood Aura within her body, was instantly engulfed in blood.

Her right eye burst. Her right arm was torn away. Her right leg vanished without a trace. Her ribs were completely shattered, fragments embedding into her lungs and heart, making even breathing agonizing.

Then, Sirin opened her mouth.

From it came a [Decree] beyond human comprehension.

Crack!

Frey’s body twisted.

It was the same kind of [Decree] that once crumpled a mage during the Cartia Festival.

As Frey’s body contorted more and more, Serr’s magic unfurled behind her.

The light of the spirits enveloped Carpeng and Frey’s bodies. But before they could heal a single wound, their necks snapped, and the spirits vanished.

They did not return to the World Tree.

They were annihilated.

Serr’s expression twisted. The face of the Spirit King supporting her from behind warped in agony.

Serr’s mouth opened. For the first time, she began to recite a chant. The Spirit King placed its hand on her back.

Mana floating through the air, combined with the mystery of the spirits, gathered around Serr.

A massive magic circle unfolded before her. The wand of Yggdrasil, raised high, locked into the circle’s center like a key.

Click! 

A sound like a sealed door unlocking echoed.

Serr began the incantation, 

Slash!

But she couldn’t finish.

Sirin’s greatsword shattered the magic circle and pierced Serr’s abdomen.

The hand Serr had extended for her magic fell limply. Blood gushed from between her parted lips. The Spirit King supporting her back was also pierced by Sirin’s blade and slumped lifelessly.

Moments later, the orb hovering in Sirin’s hand rose into the sky.

Carpeng, torn in half. Frey, crushed. Serr, impaled in the stomach. Sirin’s expression remained dry and emotionless.

Craack, Crkk…

Ominous sounds rang from the rising orb.

Serr’s fading eyes looked to Noah.

Her trembling lips barely opened.

A barrier.

Serr’s magic had cast a barrier.

A stronger one than before now surrounded Noah. Seeing it, Serr nodded faintly in relief, then turned her gaze toward the approaching manifestation of death.

Noah, 

Noah, who had collapsed behind her comrades’ protection, 

Felt the barrier that now wrapped around her.

She recalled Serr’s faint smile.

She thought of Hermilla, who was surely still fighting. Of her comrades.

She remembered Heinzel’s booming laughter.

Luchi’s refreshing grin.

Everything about Cartia.

She remembered.

Everything she had vowed never to forget.

She replayed it all again and again, 

And stood.

She no longer wanted to lose anything.

No longer wanted to despair.

No longer wanted to regret.

And, 

She wanted to save them.

She wanted to save them.

Her friends, her comrades, her people.

This world.

Rubia.

Even if it meant disappearing.

Even if it meant being forgotten.

With her own hands, 

She would save them all.

Clank! 

She gripped her greatsword.

Tighter.

She stepped forward.

Stronger.

She extended her ki sense. The orb Sirin had lifted floated far away. With her current sword, it was a distance she could never reach.

And so, she remembered.

A man who once cut something that could never be cut.

That man’s old sword.

That upright sword.

She remembered it, 

And swung her greatsword.     

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.