The Great Sword is not the Main Body!-Chapter 132: Valoran Conquest (6)

"Ugh... You dogs, if you're going to kill me, you should fight until the end. Hah... Why are you running away like rats?"

[This is called the Wheel of War.]

"I know that. Damn it. Just saying whatever comes to mind."

Ser, who had just spat out the blood that clogged her throat, kicked aside the pieces of her limbs scattered on the floor and walked forward.

As her staggered body moved, dark red blood dropped in splashes.

"I never imagined there would be a completed Master, but it seems like things are really going to shit."

[Did those bastards just create a weapon in Erden?]

"Yes. How about it? Did you feel a little of humanity’s greatness?"

Ser chuckled, picking up her robe that was lying on the ground, brushing it off before covering up her torn clothes.

[...Now I clearly understand how far human evil can develop.]

A voice full of lament.

Ser clicked her tongue and snarled at the Spirit King.

"Yeah, why did you just sleep through it all and let the world turn into this? Are you out of your mind? Ugh... cough... spit, are you out of your mind?"

[That was beyond my control. I never imagined that Yggdrasil would lose so much power... I’m sorry.]

"Does it mean anything if you stab me and say you're sorry? Enough. Just shut up."

Ser, whose body seemed ready to collapse, barely steadied herself and looked up at the sky.

The sky, which had been so clear until she rallied the villagers, had turned red, as if carrying death.

And in the center of it, a red moon stood imposingly, blocking the black sun, showcasing an ominous appearance.

[The red moon... looks like that brat Valoran has finally made up his mind.]

"Please, if you're going to say something you can't explain, keep it to yourself. Why do you keep sounding like that? You're annoying."

[Hmm...]

Ser clicked her tongue again as she heard the Spirit King’s silence.

"I need to go quickly. Is Karma okay?"

[Well... It’s not in a good state, but it should heal in a day or two.]

Karma, the top-tier spirit sent to Rubia, had already been recalled. The high-level and mid-level spirits sent to observe the situation there were also the same.

Most likely, completed ones had found their way over there. If that’s the case, the damage to the villagers won’t be light.

Ser sighed deeply as she took out a communication crystal.

The crystal was connected to the head of the Cartia Adventurer's Guild, whom she met on her way.

She cleared her throat and activated the crystal.

Then...

"Hah... Hah, S-Ser, are you okay?"

The voice of Vishur, gasping for breath, came through.

And behind it...

The sounds of squelching flesh, tearing, explosions, metal clashing, magic being activated and dispelled, and the sounds of people dying.

Ser clicked her tongue and quickened her pace, using the wind spirit’s abilities to increase her speed.

"What’s happening?"

[A completed Master. There are... Hah... about fifteen of them. We’re trying to block them as much as we can, but it seems like... it’s about to break through.]

"Trying to block them? What does that even mean?"

A foreboding feeling crept up her spine.

Ser increased the number of wind spirits and accelerated further.

The devastated scenes flashed by her vision.

The corpses of people.

The corpses of the villagers.

The faces that had been visible when they were gathered and Ser had shouted with a loud voice.

They were scattered on the floor.

And behind them, the red half-sphere dome covering the homeland.

Occasional white and purple pulses of light shimmering across its surface.

The pulses of Rubia and Hermila.

Outside the dome... so that means, Noah is all alone inside?

Just as she was about to change direction towards that place, Vishur's voice, sounding like the flame of life was flickering out, reached her.

[...The Temple of Memory... they’re trying to destroy it...!]

The Temple of Memory.

The place where Noah and Rubia must undergo trials while evading Erden’s watch.

Erden had made sure no one could enter its ears, but...

From the moment the completed ones had been hiding in the village, this was practically confirmed.

"...Understood."

Ser ground her teeth and put the crystal ball back into her pocket.

A traitor.

A traitor among the top brass?

Or perhaps, a Challenger?

It was still too soon to be sure.

They might have been captured and had their brains removed.

[What choice will you make?]

"I'm getting a headache. Please be quiet."

Ser, speaking in a fierce tone, took out the crystal connected to Hermila and activated it.

Then...

"Ser! Are you okay?!"

A loud crash echoed as Hermila's desperate voice came through clearly.

"...What’s happening?"

[After the guiding orb disappeared, we tried to enter with Rubia, but... the path is blocked.]

"Isn’t it breaking?"

[It’s impossible.]

A voice full of despair.

And the constant sounds of destruction.

Brilliant divine energy spreading through the sky.

Yet the red dome stood firm, unwavering.

Steadying her trembling voice, Ser spoke again.

"The Temple of Memory is under attack. The number of completed ones is about fifteen. It seems they’re almost breaking through."

A sound of a breath being taken.

[It’s my mistake.]

"They might have been captured and had their brains removed."

[...That’s true, but.]

"Let’s assume that for now."

After placing the crystal back into her pocket, Ser ran her hands over her face and thought.

Even as she did, the sounds of death and destruction did not stop.

The choice.

She knew well how much impact her choice would have.

Even if there are fifteen completed ones, it could be dealt with somehow.

Right now, the Spirit King was awake, so...

Even if Rubia and Hermila’s powers can’t break through the dome, she could handle it.

Just from the aura she could sense from afar, it was no different from a spirit’s energy.

To abandon Noah and preserve the Temple of Memory.

To abandon the Temple of Memory and save Noah.

The former could be useful in the future.

Another huge variable might emerge, and given the possibilities, it seemed relatively high.

The latter relied on a terribly low probability.

But it could save Noah.

Then...

Ser smiled bitterly as she took out the crystal again.

"I’ll join."

Then, in a lowered voice, she spoke.

"Vishur."

[...So, you’ve chosen the future, huh.]

"What are you talking about?"

After ending the communication, Ser placed the crystal back into her pocket and mocked the Spirit King.

"I chose the future because I believe ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) in them."

She turned and looked at the red dome.

"I believe in Noah. I believe in my friend. I believe she will win no matter what, so that’s why I made this decision."

[...Ha, ahahahaha!]

"So, can you lend me some strength? Fifteen might be a bit too much for me."

[Alright, my child. I’ll lend you as much as you want. Swing it freely.]

When the Spirit King’s laughter died down...

Billions of stars, woven into the red sky, began to rise, falling toward the despair-soaked earth.

The space where the sky and earth had been flipped.

The space where the sky fell, and everything became tangled.

I stand there.

Floating. Sinking. Existing. Not existing.

"I doubted the god I believed in. I denied the sky."

My existence is being denied.

"That’s why I walked the path of the fallen."

How much time had passed? My mind is fuzzy.

The voice of Cartia that once rang in my head feels far away now.

"Bringing down the sky. Falling from the sky. No matter what, all my kin followed me. Thus, I achieved a feat that would remain in history."

My tangled thoughts can't think clearly. My body feels heavy. The sensation in my head is faint.

"Yet, that history and those feats disappeared. Even my ancestors' deeds vanished. Have you never wondered why?"

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

Whirr-

"Ugh..."

The movement of my swing is light, but the result that approaches me is heavy.

"Do you not wonder where all the races of the past, who lived in that distant time, went? What happened to that history? Have you never questioned it?"

It’s not fast.

It’s not vicious.

A light, fluttering sword dance.

But...

Clang-!

Every time it hits...

Crack-

Strange memories begin to seep into my head.

Celestials and Demons.

Elves and Dwarves.

Spirits and Beastmen.

Humans.

Endless wars.

Dragons waiting at the end of the world.

The end.

And again.

Celestials and Demons.

Elves and Dwarves.

Spirits and Beastmen.

Humans.

The first despair given to them, the claws of the end.

Dragons.

The end.

Again.

Again.

Again.

And then...

"I questioned it. And I realized. We are nothing more than a process."

The end.

"By the end, everything was erased, mixed, and vanished. That’s why, now, there’s not even a trace."

The image of Valoran, like a storm, swells up and pours into me.

Visions spanning multiple eras.

The cycle of birth and destruction.

Souls, unable to be liberated, slowly being whittled away.

All of it, a chaotic flood, pours toward me.

I awaken every sense in my body to confront it.

Twisting, bending, and merging together.

"They were heroes who lit up the eras."

Thus, the vision meets. The first one was the Elf.

"They ended the war."

The sword meets. The second one was the Demon.

"They achieved revenge."

The clash. The third one was the Celestial.

"They saved their kin."

The clash of fists. The fourth one was the Beastmen.

"They reached the end of the world."

The voice. The fifth one was the Human.

"But they couldn’t surpass the end."

My head spins.

Unknown memories pour in.

"But, a variable arose with the fifth. Two souls remained in the same era."

Complete victory.

Absolute victory.

The victory they had longed for.

"That’s how a path opened."

Cartia Frey.

The ceaseless sword dance suddenly stopped.

The visions that had been swirling calmed, and the red streaks of blood falling from the moon halted in mid-air.

"Adversary. What shape did the end you saw take?"

At first, it was just blurry.

But as the era passed, it began to take shape.

"I could not see it. Nor could the previous heroes."

What was completed then...

Still formless.

White.

"But you saw it. You felt it. You painted it. Therefore, you can reach it."

The red moon cracked.

The light of the black sun began to pour out.

"Hm. It wasn’t a bad choice to trap me in the gap of dimensions. It’s been so long since I’ve had a clear mind."

The great sword raised once more.

The previously still visions twisted and swirled.

The blood falling began to flow again.

"Cartia, I thank you. Truly, thank you."

Valoran’s face, nodding in joy, held a refreshing smile.

"Adversary. I’ll ask one last thing. Will you be the best, or will you be the worst?"

Frey gripped it tighter.

"Will you follow the sky, or resist it?"

The energy flared.

In response, the blood surged and rose.

Chilly coldness spread faintly.

"Will you be the end, or will you be the beginning?"

The red moon fades.

The halo shatters.

The broken wings cover the earth.

"At your last moment, what choice will you make?"

The dark light of the black sun, which swallowed the red moon, descends upon the world.

Best.

Worst.

Surrender.

Resist.

End.

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Beginning.

The end.

"In my final moment, I..."

Surging vitality beyond the limit burst out.

"...I will save Rubia. That’s my choice."

In the despair where dark light descends, it shone brightly.