The Great Sword is not the Main Body!
Chapter 220 – Ancient Dragon, Sirinias (5)

Clank! 

A shift stirred within Sirin’s body as the battle continued.

The chains that had bound her heart for violating the [Law], the binding force that had restricted her power, were weakening.

The binding of the [Law], being the [Law] itself, even Sirin could not escape that law of the world.

And yet, now, it was beginning to unravel.

The reason:

The Awakening of the End.

It made no sense.

There should have been ample time left. Barely half a day had passed since the Nameless One returned to the cradle.

So why had the [End] opened its eyes?

Retracting the greatsword aimed at Frey, Sirin looked out across the distant horizon with her “eye.”

From a horizon so far away that even a dragon’s vision, let alone a human’s, could perceive nothing,

Sirin saw it.

The Awakening of the [End].

The Nameless One breaking the [Law].

The act of shaving off her own essence to hasten the [End]’s awakening.

There was no time.

At this rate, the [End] would descend upon the world within a day. And when that happened, it would all be over.

All “incomplete” humans would return to nothing, while “complete” humans like Noah would follow the Nameless One and step into a false paradise.

Biting his lips, Sirin unleashed her mana.

The fully restored torrent of power blew Carpeng and Frey far away, creating a pause, time to think.

Within that space, Sirin reflected.

No, there was no need for reflection.

What she had to do was already decided.

Lowering her gaze from the horizon, she looked to Noah, standing alone and apart.

There could be no more hesitation now.

She had already earned ‘her’ hatred long ago.

Now it was time to earn Noah’s as well.

It stung a little, but what could he do?

This was her burden to bear.

The smile that had lingered on her face vanished.

The power that had been suppressed by the bindings was released in full.

Heat shimmered around her body, distorting the view as it began to spread.

Her now emotionless eyes turned toward Serr.

Noticing the shift in Sirin’s aura, Serr’s eyes widened in shock, but soon settled.

Then, as if giving instructions to Frey and Carpeng, Serr turned to the spirits around her and seemed to speak.

Seeing that, Sirin smiled inwardly and opened her palm.

A golden orb, matching the color of her own eyes, rose above her hand. It was small enough to fit in the hand of Sirin’s human body.

Inside it were not only the histories Sirin had amassed as the Ancient Dragon Sirinias, but also the threads of fate long forgotten by all.

Looking down quietly at it, Sirin used her heightened ki sense to feel the stirrings of the [End].

She saw Noah, still unable to rise.

To force her up, she raised her greatsword. Releasing her true strength, she swung at the first to charge, Carpeng.

With a sickening sound, the ever-defiant Carpeng’s upper body was torn apart.

Then, with a throat dry as sand, she uttered a dragon’s [Decree].

Like a dry branch snapping, the unshakable Frey’s body crumbled powerlessly.

Over them, countless spirits of light descended.

They poured life into Carpeng and Frey, frantically healing their wounds.

Vitality returned. Though they could barely move, they glared fiercely at Sirin with wide, unyielding eyes.

To that, Sirin waved her hand.

Click, like gravel grinding.

The spirits that had been healing Carpeng and Frey had their necks snapped. Their tiny bodies began to collapse, and from them, translucent essences were drawn out.

Only visible to Sirin’s eyes, eyes that governed the world, the souls of the spirits were pulled into the golden orb above her palm.

Her gaze lifted from it.

She saw Serr’s twisted expression. Her lips parted, reciting a chant she had never spoken until now.

The foundation of magic is incantation.

An incantation is a prayer to the world’s mana, to realize a miracle.

But for high-level mages, incantation is unnecessary embellishment.

Archmages could manifest miracles simply by willing it.

And yet, Serr, who had long since surpassed even archmages, was now chanting.

As if willing it wasn’t enough, as if she needed to draw it into an even sharper form.

To deliver her will into the very fabric of this world.

Fsshhh… 

A magic circle spread before Serr.

Within it, countless formulas intertwined. It was no longer mere great magic, but something worthy of being called a miracle.

Sirin’s “eye” saw it.

She saw the scale floating at its center.

Creak. 

A grotesque sound echoed as the scale began to tilt to one side.

At the same time, Sirin stepped forward, heavily.

Then, her greatsword lashed out.

The sweeping slash shattered the magic circle and pierced Serr’s abdomen.

Splurt! 

Blood dripped from Serr’s gut and mouth, staining the parched earth with a dreadful color.

Sirin’s grip on her greatsword tightened. The orb hovering in her other hand rumbled ominously.

Crack, crack.

It held enough power to kill everyone present.

Enough power to plunge the world into ruin.

But Sirin, 

Did not want that outcome.

She wanted Noah, no, the Challenger, to end her life.

And so, she smiled.

Because the Challenger had stood up.

Because she now faced the world, gripping her sword.

Even if it didn’t seem like she wanted to, the very fact she had taken up her sword was enough to soothe the urgency burning within Sirin’s chest.

Even while losing everything, she rose, not to escape, but to move forward.

It would be a lie to say that sight didn’t bring joy.

Sirin’s faint smile followed the arc of Noah’s greatsword as it swept toward the sky.

That greatsword… mirrored the figure of a great swordswoman who had once cut through a world she believed she could never reach.

Ssshh!

Laila too, now healed from the wound inflicted by the Nameless One, began to blanket the surrounding area in a field of blooming flowers.

It was a breathtaking sight, but Sirin could not simply stand and watch.

At this rate, her own attacks could put Carpeng, Frey, and even Serr in mortal danger.

In a world where even sound had begun to vanish, Sirin’s lips moved.

Just as Laila’s flowers touched their bodies, Sirin’s dragon [Decree] completed.

The flowing blood halted. Gaping wounds closed. Twisted bones realigned.

Throb.

It felt like a spike driving through her heart, but it didn’t matter anymore.

And so, as she felt the Challenger’s sword begin to sever her fate, Sirin closed her eyes.

The moment it cut through, the moment her companions’ safety was secured, that greatsword would surely swing toward her.

Just as ‘she’ once had.

Intercepting every strike, predicting every move, and lunging straight for her throat.

However, that sword would be filled with hesitation.

It would lack killing intent, even conviction.

After all, unlike ‘her’, to Noah, Sirin had never been an enemy.

Even if she were to confess everything she had done, that timid girl would never bear true hatred.

Rather, she would pity her.

Just like ‘she’ had, the one who once opened a new path for Sirin.

It was inevitable.

For if one traces the flow of a river upstream, it all leads to the same source.

A bitter smile escaped from Sirin’s lips.

Had she once called ‘her’ a hypocrite?

Could she even call it hypocrisy now?

What do you call a hypocrisy that never  s, that continues forward endlessly?

If a pretense done in hope ends up becoming virtue, what then?

If nothing remains of the process, and only a good result survives, 

Is it good? Or is it evil?

Before that thought could find an answer, 

The Challenger’s sword reached the heart of causality.

Sirin’s eyes opened. Her golden draconic face looked to the Challenger.

And at that moment, 

Something even Sirin hadn’t foreseen occurred.

A distortion outside the world’s [Law] descended upon Noah.

* * *

A sky so clear it looked transparent.

And beneath it, vast open land.

From that place, a being was born.

It did not know why it existed here, or what it was.

But it knew, clearly, what it must do.

So it moved.

Shed its hollow shell, and took the form of a “[Law].”

The form most feared in the world beneath it.

Then it looked up.

It crouched and bowed its head.

To the being that had created it, Lilith, now on the verge of vanishing.

[“I’m sorry to leave you with this burden.”]

Lilith’s hand brushed the bridge of the transparent being’s nose.

[“Everything began from my sin.”]

Her voice was gentle, and unbearably heavy.

[“So don’t be sad.”]

Her touch was soft, and deeply painful.

[“Please, do what you must.”]

Her smile was kind, and heart-wrenching.

[“I’m counting on you, Sirinias.”]

Ssshh. 

Lilith’s form, stroking Sirinias’s nose, began to fade.

And just before she vanished completely, 

Lilith slowly turned her head.

Not to Sirinias, who bowed before her, 

But to a girl standing blankly at the edge of the space.

One Sirinias could not see.

A girl who should not exist in this place.

To Noah.

[“Noah. Please, don’t hate this child too much.”]

Lilith. 

Lilith, who looked just like Rubia, 

Smiled sadly and said:

[“All of this… is my fault.”]

“Ru… bia…?”

Noah’s hand slowly reached out.

And at that moment, WHOOSH!

With a blinding flash of light, her vision collapsed.      

 

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