Amid my fading consciousness, I felt the spirit’s energy settle on my chest.
In an instant, my broken ribs found their place, and my ruptured organs regenerated.
I immediately spat out the dead blood rising through my throat and pushed myself up.
Sirin still stood motionless in the spot where she had knocked me down.
I couldn’t… keep up with her movements.
The distance between Sirin and me was considerable.
Yet, in a heartbeat, Sirin closed that gap.
Could I even say she closed it?
It would be more accurate to say she had always been standing there.
And that wasn’t all.
I couldn’t read the movement of the fist that slammed against my chest, nor the motion of whatever it was. There was no trace of preparation. I couldn’t even visualize what happened after my chest was struck.
Sirin just stood still, and I felt as if I were the only one rolling on the floor.
Did she move quickly?
At a speed my senses couldn’t perceive?
I didn’t know. I couldn’t tell, but I gripped the Great Sword.
I expelled breath laden with blood and concentrated my senses. I seized every detail, from the breath leaving my mouth, to the blood circulating within, and the subtle movements of magical power.
As I expected, Sirin’s condition was a mess.
It hadn’t been good since I arrived here, but after taking my attack a moment ago, she had become even more damaged.
But how could she move like that—
Crack—
“Ka, hak—!”
A sudden shock sent my body flying. I crashed to the floor, splattering thick blood. I pushed myself up with my left arm, but the shattered limb couldn’t support me.
Thus, I was forced down again, and I barely managed to prop myself up using my unbroken arm.
At that moment, a light spirit, which arrived just a moment too late, landed on my left arm. As I felt the rapid healing beginning, I steeled my legs.
Boom!
It felt like a massive claw stomped my body, and the ground around me exploded.
Clutching my fading consciousness, I twisted my waist to rise from my fallen position. Broken bones prodded through muscle and organs, obstructing my movement, but I gritted my teeth and forced myself up.
I couldn’t stay down like this. Somehow, I had to mimic that movement—
“You’ve grown splendidly. In this world where even Cartia has vanished, there will be no swordsman better than you.”
Snap— Instinctively, I lifted my arm again, and it shattered.
“However, that’s all there is.”
Crash— My body, curled up in pain, slammed back to the ground.
“Your level is limited to this world. You couldn’t even surpass Cartia.”
―――!
A deafening blast rang out close by, shaking my very consciousness. The light spirits that had been here earlier, along with Laila’s petals, all vanished without a trace from that single shock.
A fist? A foot? Or something created by magical power?
I still couldn’t comprehend the attack.
But it wasn’t the Great Sword.
If it had been the Great Sword, my body would have been chopped to bits long ago.
I spat out shattered teeth and rose from the ground, already a ragdoll of a body, exhaling painful breaths to widen my senses.
Having rolled for some time, I was now far away.
But it was ground I could easily close the distance on if I ran lightly.
Sirin walked that distance.
“So, overcome it. Break free from everything that binds you, shatter the regulations. You can do it. No, you must do it.”
Her steps were light, with not a single ounce of weight.
Above those steps, a fist clenched.
Even though she could have closed the distance in an instant, Sirin lifted her leg and set it down.
She raised her arm slightly and clenched her fist.
Unnecessary actions for Sirin now.
Those series of movements signified that Sirin was watching over me.
That she was trying to help me grow.
However, unlike before, the process was no longer gentle. Sirin’s attacks carried a different kind of lethal intent now—no, an intent to shatter the very world itself.
That realization filled me with a sense of frustration.
The gap that lay between Sirin and me.
Despite receiving so much training, despite losing so many people, the fact that I was still so weak enraged me.
And so, I let go of distractions.
I discarded any hesitation or fear I had about cutting Sirin.
I gripped the Great Sword.
To do what I do best.
To defeat the opponent standing before me.
“I’ll say it again. Noah, if you wish to be the protagonist, if you want to save this world, Rubia—”
Shatter the regulations.
At once, sound ceased.
The space trembled.
As I grasped that, I swung the Great Sword. Kwang! My blade and the approaching fist clashed. Sparks flew before they settled.
Sirin moved.
And so did I.
Boom! A furious shockwave erupted.
The Great Sword lost in the power struggle and ricocheted. I used that force to throw my body backward. The instant distance that had opened vanished. I struck down with all my strength. Kwahjajajak! The sound of our fists meeting was almost unbelievable.
Soon after, Sirin’s arm, touching the Great Sword, followed a half-circle downward. Just as I reached for the Great Sword that had been swept away, thwack!
Sirin’s palm struck my chest.
“Ugh, Hk—!”
An unknown force burrowed into my body, a sensation like a hammer hitting me from within, causing a pain to explode throughout.
Crack! I bit my lip as I gripped Sirin’s hand still on my chest and raised my knee. However, Sirin wouldn’t allow it, crushing my captured arm with a crunch— and delivering another blow.
Thud—Kwang!
My body was hurled backward, tearing through the air. My tumbling form clung to the Great Sword I plunged into the ground. Kwahgahk! The earth bore deep scars left by my sword as I pulled it back up.
“Ugh, spit…”
I continued to cough out blood and caught my breath.
“…Haha.”
Sirin, looking at me from a distance, raised her lips while stroking her stomach. Where her fingertips touched, a deep wound marred her skin.
The Great Sword had connected just before she was about to knock me away.
“Almost there.”
Sirin held onto her ghastly wound, finishing the bleeding.
She lifted her head.
And walked.
Just like before, a prelude to her next attack.
I steadied my breath and spread my senses wide.
Sirin’s form materialized.
The ground she stepped on materialized.
The appearance of the land, the things that constituted the end of the world, materialized.
“Yes. Draw it wider. As much as you can, as far as you can exceed your limits. Draw to the point where the world you wish to save is laid bare, and cut down everything that blocks your path.”
I didn’t stop. I kept expanding.
Passing through this place.
Through Cartia.
Beyond where my feet had tread.
The center of the world.
The foundation that encompasses all.
On top of which, I saw the entwined chains.
Chains that bound my soul.
And beside them, the chains that had been severed long ago.
The chains that Cartia had cut lay there unravaged.
I smiled seeing that.
Laughing, I raised the Great Sword.
Towards what I truly needed to cut down.
I swung the Great Sword.
*
Walking toward Noah while clenching my fist, I flinched and paused.
Chills ran down my spine.
The cold sweat trickling down my back froze my feet in place.
The cause.
Noah.
The momentum had shifted.
No, her very existence had changed.
“Finally. Finally, you did it.”
I had known.
From the moment Noah began to keep up with my movements, I had felt her closing in on the regulations. But I never expected her to realize it this quickly.
That wasn’t the only surprise.
That strength.
The power Noah held surpassed all my expectations.
“Is this what it means to be a protagonist?”
Of course, she hadn’t completely broken free from the regulations.
She had only managed to crack her shell.
But it wouldn’t take long to completely break that shell.
Then, I would have to help her fully shed it.
That would be most likely the final act of the regulations…
No.
As Noah’s friend, it would be the last thing I could do for her.
I gripped the Great Sword tightly with both hands.
I took a deep breath, igniting my instincts.
I couldn’t rely on my senses for the fight that was about to begin. If I did, I’d certainly die before even exchanging one blow.
“Laila, may I ask one last favor?”
[…Should I set up a barrier?]
“Yes, as sturdy as possible. Build it with everything you can muster.”
I waved my hand at Laila and lifted the barrier I had set up. My strength, which had been drained to six parts, returned.
“Hah…”
A sigh of relief escaped me, charged with the sensation of fullness surging within.
At that moment.
Noah raised the Great Sword.
The blade stripped of all distraction lay still.
Her breath, her aura, her killing intent.
Everything churned quietly.
No, it wasn’t just quiet; it felt as if I couldn’t even sense anything.
Even my eyes, the eyes of regulation observing everything, couldn’t look into the overwhelming power she exuded.
Now, I was no longer in a position to be challenged; I was the challenger.
“Hehe, ha ha ha!”
Laughter spilled from me endlessly.
Was it finally the thought of being able to die?
No, it was about fulfilling my wishes.
The wish of that being was finally within reach.
“Haha… ‘Noah,’ thanks to you. Noah, thanks to you for becoming my friend. I dreamt dreams I could never have again and held hopes I could never possess. I took on a disciple that wasn’t supposed to be in my fate and embraced happiness I shouldn’t have had.”
I laughed.
“Thanks to you, I had fun. Truly, thank you.”
Noah, too, smiled at me.
“I’m also grateful… Sirin.”
Her smile was incredibly bright.
And also painfully sad.
“Yes, this will be the last.”
Thus.
“Noah, show me your path.”
The Great Sword that wished to save the world.
The Great Sword now wielded to save the world.
Was swung.
