Pash!
As Ser’s great magic, which had been unleashed without a gap, dissipated, the devastated land around erupted in chaos.
“…Did I take them down?”
“Y-you really are a moron, aren’t you?”
There stood Sirin, wrapped in her own wings.
Not a single scratch or soot blemished the dragon wings encasing her. The ground she stood on was equally pristine, as if it had repelled all magic, leaving her completely unscathed.
“Haha… I tried to erase it with dispel, but there was a limit, huh?”
From the gaps of her cocoon-like wings, a sound of amused laughter escaped. Soon after, her wings unfurled, revealing a transformed Sirin.
Her vertically split, gleaming golden eyes.
Tiny scales sprouted around them.
Fangs peeked through her slightly parted lips.
Horns jutted sharply from her temples.
A dragon tail swayed gently behind her.
Frey, witnessing the now barely human Sirin, gritted his teeth as he raised his great sword.
In response, Carpen, eyes sparkling at Sirin’s horns, regained his composure and readied himself.
Meanwhile, Ser, who had unleashed an overwhelming amount of great magic, struggled to maintain her balance, fighting against the dizziness invading her head.
Even though Ser was a genius, she couldn’t possibly cast that much great magic all at once.
The only reason she managed was thanks to memorization.
However, preparing a disaster of such magnitude, especially in the thousands, was likely beyond even her capabilities, leaving her face pale.
“Impressive, Ser.”
“Without a single injury. Are you mocking me right now?”
“No, I genuinely think it’s impressive.”
Sirin smiled softly.
Perhaps she was waiting for Ser to recover or had some other reason for her actions.
Sirin quietly watched the stumbling Ser and tidied her disheveled skirt, which had been thrown off by her suddenly grown tail.
“Really amazing. If this world were different, you would’ve… been surrounded by many people, living a fulfilling life.”
Sirin’s gaze lifted to the clear sky.
“Maybe you could’ve created magic unimaginable at this moment, or found a more efficient way to wield magical power.”
Ser, who had been staggering, stood tall.
She raised her wand as the surrounding magic rippled and gathered at the tip of her wand per her will.
“If you went further, yes. You might have met an even better master than me.”
In an instant, the magic gathering before Ser started to flicker uneasily. Her usually expressionless face cracked, and her displeased lips parted.
“Whether in the past or the future, in any world, there can be no ‘human’ who can be my master, one who can teach me. Even if I encountered one in a thousand or ten thousand, I would surpass that master. No matter who or what it is, I will inevitably surpass them.”
“Haha, is that so?”
Despite hearing Ser’s insane words, Sirin maintained a gentle smile as she drew her great sword.
“Then let’s see if you’re truly that confident.”
Woodak! – Her claw, no longer human, gripped the hilt fiercely.
Sirin’s dragon wings, which had been neatly folded, spread wide. Kwa-zzik! – Her step dug into the solid ground. The great sword dragged along the earth, and her body leaned forward.
“I have longed to see a disciple surpass me.”
Pwoong! – Sirin propelled herself forward, cutting through the air.
In that attack, a clear killing intent began to manifest, unlike before.
It was inevitable.
She knew how little time remained for herself and for this world.
*
A storm of magic surged without any way to approach it.
In stark contrast, inside the peaceful barrier was devoid of even a single breeze.
Noah, standing dazed inside the barrier prepared by Ser, felt the desperate battle between Sirin and her companions, and his face twisted in horror.
Sirin’s attacks were laced with evident killing intent.
Carpen and Frey’s attacks also bore the malicious intent directed at Sirin.
On the other hand, Ser’s magic held no malice in it, nor did the spirits surrounding her.
Even just moments ago, the great magic Ser unleashed was the same.
Though it was a horrifying disaster, there was no trace of killing intent within it.
It was merely a means of redirecting attention away from Carpen and Frey toward herself.
But now, it had come to this.
Ser’s magic bore killing intent.
Sirin’s attacks, her magic—
Everything imbued with pure killing intent was aimed at Noah.
He understood.
That in order to reach Jong-eon, he had to kill the ancient dragon Siriniusus.
Noah knew that it was inevitable to end Siriniusus.
Yet memories of the past—
The time spent together—
The grief of not wanting to lose anyone else pulled Noah’s steps back.
It must have been the same for Ser.
Yet, Ser moved. She unleashed magic toward Sirin, confronting her at the cost of her own life.
That sight, that action—
The sadness hidden behind Ser’s impassive face only deepened Noah’s despair.
In that moment,
Sirin’s eyes fixed upon the elongated horizon.
Her wide-open gaze was riddled with anxiety.
She bit her lip and clenched her fists.
Slowly, her gaze dropped to Noah.
Within it was a heavy resignation that Noah could not see.
Eventually,
Sirin’s expression vanished.
Her momentum shifted.
A different kind of energy flowed from her, one unlike anything so far. Power of a divine nature amassed in her hand that didn’t wield the great sword.
A small orb.
Within it lay strength overpowering even the dragon’s breath, surpassing the great magic Ser had unleashed.
They couldn’t let it be.
That thought passed through Carpen and Frey’s minds as they charged toward Sirin. Ser, too, strained to unleash magic and aimed it at Sirin.
Sirin, with the orb floating in her left hand, swung her great sword. A massive shadow, reminiscent of a dragon’s claw, followed the trajectory of her sword.
Targeting Carpen.
Carpen, attempting to absorb that attack with all his blood aura, was met with a Kwajjak! as his body was bathed in blood.
His right eye was blown out. His right arm was ripped apart. His right leg disappeared without a trace. All his ribs shattered, sending fragments into his lungs and heart, making each breath agonizing.
Then, Sirin’s mouth opened.
From within flowed incantations incomprehensible to human minds.
Bbudug! – Frey’s body twisted.
An incantation similar to the one that had once crushed a wizard’s stance at Cartia Festival.
As Frey’s body twisted and crumpled, Ser’s magic unfolded behind him.
The spirits’ light enveloped Carpen and Frey. However, without healing their wounds, their necks snapped and they vanished.
It wasn’t a return to the embrace of the World Tree, but eternal extinction.
Seeing this, Ser’s expression contorted. The face of the spirit king supporting her twisted in horror.
Ser’s mouth opened. For the first time, she began to chant incantations she had never uttered. The spirit king’s hand touched Ser’s back.
The magic floating in the air, combined with the spirits’ mysteries, gathered around Ser.
Before her, a massive magic circle unfolded. The Yggdrasil wand lifted swiftly and embedded itself at the center of the circle, becoming its key.
Chul-chak! – The sound reverberated as if unlocking a door.
Ser began to finish the incantation—
Chwahak!
But couldn’t complete it.
Sirin’s great sword shattered the magic circle and plunged into Ser’s abdomen.
Ser’s outstretched hand, meant for the incantation, fell weakly. Blood gushed from her lips, split open by the invocation. The spirit king supporting Ser also fell limp, stabbed by Sirin’s great sword.
A moment later, the orb that floated in Sirin’s hand rose skyward.
Sirin’s expression remained unaffected as it tore apart Carpen’s upper body, crushed Frey’s form, and pierced Ser’s belly.
Chjeojak! – A foreboding noise resounded from the orb that soared higher.
Noah, whose eyes were losing vitality, looked at it.
His trembling lips parted slightly.
The barrier.
Ser’s magic had created a barrier.
A barrier thicker than before surrounded Noah. Seeing this, Ser nodded in relief, then turned to watch the ever-growing embodiment of death.
Noah,
Sitting behind his comrades’ protection,
Felt the barrier encircling him.
He recalled Ser’s smile from earlier.
Even now, he thought of Hermila, who was still in battle, and her companions.
He remembered Heinzel’s hearty laugh.
Luch’s refreshing grin.
Everything of Cartia.
He remembered.
Vows he had made not to forget.
As he continued to mull over them,
He stood up.
He no longer wanted to lose anyone.
He no longer wanted to despair.
He no longer wanted to regret.
And,
He wanted to save.
He wanted to save friends, companions, people.
This world.
Rubia.
Even if it meant his disappearance.
Even if it meant being forgotten.
With his own hands,
He would save them all.
Jeolgreuk!
He gripped the great sword tighter.
Stepped firmly on the ground.
Unfolded his senses. The distance from the sphere Sirin had lifted was far beyond what he could reach with his current sword.
Thus, he recalled.
A man who had severed what he could never have cut.
The worn sword of that man.
The sword that had remained steadfast.
Remembering,
He swung the great sword.
