The Great Sword is not the Main Body!-Chapter 105: Training (2)

"I am a genius."

The shrill scream that escaped made me slowly open the mouth I had been pressing shut with my hand.

"...What?"

"I am, a genius."

I quietly watched Ser as she spoke each word slowly and clearly.

Well, what does she mean by that?

"Is this... related to the magic I sent flowing into my body?"

"To be precise, it's not magic, but anyway. I am a genius. And because I am a genius, there are things I can understand."

Her mysterious violet eyes stared at me.

"Just like you, Ruby, you are like me."

"If you're talking about hair color... I guess we do look alike?"

My hair is silver-white. Ser's is milky-white, though. They're both in the white spectrum, so...

"Yes, the hair color is similar, but it's not just that."

Ser's magic, which had been stirring up my insides, left my body again.

"Ruby, do you hate humans?"

"I do."

"So do I."

Ser's lips curled into a soft smile.

"They're vile creatures."

"Disgusting."

"Selfish."

"To the point it makes my blood boil."

Ser's eyes narrowed in a crescent shape.

The sourc𝗲 of this content is frёeωebɳovel.com.

"See? We're alike."

The conversation flowed naturally like water, and my body flinched slightly, but I tried to remain calm as I opened my mouth.

"Well, I don't think I'm the only one who hates humans."

"That's not true. Ruby, you lost your family, didn't you?"

"...And?"

"So did I."

The expression I had been maintaining crumpled.

"Right now, I don't understand what this conversation is about. If you're trying to provoke me, then congratulations, you've succeeded. But... I don't think a person like you would do something like that."

I calmed the irritation that had risen for a moment and continued.

"Just get to the point."

"No matter how much I think about it, it's an incomprehensible incident. An accident that happened with coincidences piling up. After all of that, the power that settled into my body. And a body that's strangely hard to kill."

"...What exactly... are you saying?"

"I've summarized the key points of what I've been through. Is it the same for you, Ruby? From the looks of your reaction, it seems like it is."

Her violet eyes, like the dawn, stared right through me.

"I swear on Yggdrasil, I have not investigated anything about you, Ruby. I don't know about your past, what you've done, or what your recent activities are. I haven't investigated any of it."

I don't understand. What is this woman in front of me saying? Why is she saying this?

"If you're uncomfortable, I'll tell you about my past first. Well, I was a genius. I grew up in a family of mages... um, that's not really important. At a young age, I entered the Mage Tower and achieved many things."

"Yeah."

"By the time I turned 19, the world was praising me as the miracle grand wizard."

"That's impressive."

"Heh, yeah, thank you."

Ser, who had been smiling with pride, straightened up and put her coffee cup down.

"Then, the head of the Mage Tower betrayed me. He wanted to use my extraordinary talent to open the portal to the Spirit Realm. It seemed like he wasn't originally that kind of person, but he suddenly started acting crazy."

An event that, no matter how much I think about it, still doesn't make sense.

"But ironically, the magic formula that the previous Mage Tower master had spent his entire life researching was fundamentally flawed, and his intention to summon a spirit was so arrogant that the spirits got enraged. As a result, all the mages in the tower were killed. Starting with the head of the tower, the elders... and my parents too."

An accident that happened with coincidences piling up.

"But the funny thing is, after they all died, the spirits' power settled into my body, even though I couldn't use magic anymore."

The power that settled into her body after everything was over and done.

"What do you think happened next?"

Ser's smile deepened.

"...You and I are the same."

"Exactly. As expected, I am a genius. No, no, this isn't about being a genius. Perhaps a detective would be more fitting."

Ser chuckled, sank into the sofa, and continued in a languid voice that was different from before.

"No matter how many times I tried to die, I couldn't. It was really abnormal. Cutting my tongue, slashing my wrists, drinking poison, jumping into a fire, hanging myself, gouging out my eyes, even ripping open my stomach to take out my intestines."

A body that’s strangely hard to kill.

"A high-ranking spirit appeared and healed me without my permission."

She lifted the coffee cup in front of her and tipped it to her lips.

It was lukewarm.

"So, the reason you’re telling me this... no, how did you find out that I’m the same as you?"

"I thought you might be proud of it, so I checked quietly."

"So that magic-like thing from earlier?"

"Yes. And, as expected, Ruby, just like me, is being sheltered by a being of much higher rank."

With a smile, a tiny water spirit appeared in Ser’s hand.

Kyu?"No matter how recklessly I kill spirits like this."

Kyuuiiiik... Kyaaahhhhh!!Bwoom!

"The King of Spirits doesn't punish me at all. He doesn't even move from his seat. But..."

Ser, looking around, picked up a knife and stabbed the hand she had just used to explode the spirit.

"If I keep doing this, I can feel it. The King of Spirits personally moving and intervening with me."

The moment Ser finished speaking, the knife embedded in her hand disappeared, and the hole in her hand healed ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) up.

It was like my divine power healing me without permission.

Naturally.

"Sigh..."

She continued drinking the lukewarm coffee, matching the unconnected phrases she had spoken.

The reason she suddenly brought up these stories. About Ser, who spent time with me. About the high being who is sheltering us.

As the coffee in the cup reached its bottom.

An undeniable. Unwilling-to-accept. Conclusion came.

"So... what you're saying is... this didn’t happen by accident, but it was inevitable?"

"Yes, that's right. The death of my family, the abilities that came after, the various incidents that happened, and yet, not dying..."

"A role that must be fulfilled in this world."

"Exactly."

Nodding and smiling, Ser stood up and started brewing a new coffee.

As I looked at her back, I fell into thought.

The role I must fulfill. The role I must fulfill as a priestess.

Burning my body to save the world.

I know. I know, but...

It's not because I became a priestess that I have to do this.

Could it be that, from the moment I was born into this body. No, maybe even before that... it was a predetermined fate?

Feeling disillusioned with the world. Not wanting to save such a world. Leaving Erden. Meeting Noah. Falling in love with her. Wanting to save the world she lives in, the world she loves.

All of it, predestined.

"You look quite shocked. Please drink something warm and calm down."

Ser, now sitting on the sofa opposite me, handed me a cup of coffee.

"...What is the reason you're telling me this?"

Placing the coffee cup on the table with a clink, Ser slowly spoke.

"I've taken my time and researched many books, ancient civilizations, and everything that happened during the Age of Chaos. In particular, I delved deeply into Kartia, who is with you, Ruby."

"...You knew."

"I am a genius. I couldn’t have not known."

Is this how people become arrogant when they're praised as geniuses after entering the Mage Tower at a young age? Or was she always like this from the beginning?

My complicated mind cleared a little with that one arrogant remark.

Then, Ser, with a voice slightly more relaxed than before, smiled.

"Heh. You’ve calmed down a little, it seems. I purposely said something unnecessary earlier, but I'm glad it worked. If not, even I, a genius, would have been quite embarrassed."

If you are reading this translation anywhere other than Novelight.net or SilkRoadTL, it has been stolen.

"Since you're a genius, would you like to guess what I was thinking?"

"Did you think that people who enter the Mage Tower at such a young age become this arrogant and conceited? It wasn’t originally my personality. I just changed because it was easier to live this way. And I’m not wrong. I am a genius."

"...Yeah. Sure, you're a genius."

"Don’t look at me like that. I haven’t gone mad."

"No, I think you're pretty crazy."

"Have you already started showing your true feelings just because we’re a little closer? You shouldn’t do that. There are so many people who dig into and exploit that."

"If I reveal all my true feelings, we wouldn't be able to stay in the same place."

"Ah, indeed... That might be true. I don’t want to die either, so I won’t provoke you any further, Ruby. Heh."

Seeing Ser with a relaxed smile, sipping her coffee, I couldn't help but let out a small laugh.

"Yeah, well... I do have to thank you, Ser. It’s true. Thanks to you, I feel calmer."

"Yes. I will graciously accept the compliment."

Admiring her unending audacity, I also tilted my coffee cup.

A little while later, Ser spoke in a bright voice.

"Ruby, you should thank me."

"What's that all of a sudden?"

"From now on, things are going to get very difficult for me. I won’t die, but it’s going to be painfully unbearable. However, I think you need to know this, so thank me."

"What...?"

What is this crazy person saying now...?

I thought it was just another nonsensical thing, but seeing her serious gaze now... she seems quite serious, so I nodded my head.

"Um... okay. Thank you."

With a satisfied nod, Ser opened her mouth.

"Didn’t you think it was strange?"

"...What?"

"Heroes from the Age of Chaos all vanished, leaving only their names behind. Even the great Kartia was the same."

"Well... that's true."

"It's not just humans. Other races also disappeared. Elves, Dwarves, Demon Races—all of them. Gone."

"Wait, hold on. Disappeared... all of them?"

"There are no corpses. No traces of wars. Not even a meteor falling from the sky. They just... all disappeared."

Ser still wore a light smile on her face.

"Isn't it strange?"

"Yeah, it’s definitely strange..."

"I thought about it. Why those strong races had to disappear. Why Kartia’s soul, who was praised as great, had to remain. Why I had to be connected to the Spirit Realm. Why you, Ruby, had to become a priestess."

Her violet eyes were staring at me.

"I came to this conclusion. This world... is running on human life as fuel."

Ser's face turned pale.

"The one who ended the Age of Chaos was the human Kartia. That's why the strongest race, humans, were chosen. In old age."

Blood burst from her eyes.

"The stronger, the better. The higher the rank, the better the fuel it makes. But... the races that lived during the Age of Chaos weren’t all humans. There was impurity among them."

From her nose.

"That’s why the gods. They must have overturned that era once. To filter out the impurities and leave only the pure fuel."

From her mouth.

"End."

From her ears.

"They must have overturned the world with End. And what was created afterward... is the world we live in now."

Her skin split.

"A completed world."

Her bones crumpled.

"A false paradise."

But.

"Erden."

Still smiling.

"The tree that connects to me, that connects the worlds, Yggdrasil, is the gate to Erden."

Ser said.

"I believe, Ruby, you are the key to opening that gate."

As her body collapsed.

[But, even in such an era, I want to believe it still exists.]

Just before she touched the ground.

[Carrying the hope of humanity, passed down from the Age of Chaos.]

Her voice, carried on the wind.

[By opposing the gods, and achieving godslaying, she will open a new era.]

She spoke another word.

[The existence of the adversary.]