Thud—!
The Great Sword clashed. The Black Sun shook violently. Debris from the shattered sky fell into nothingness, and the barely maintained shape of the earth twisted.
Yet we charged at each other without a care.
Jong-eon’s sword swung. Steel erupted from the ground. Dark clouds spat lightning. In the empty void, hellish flames soared, gathering on her great sword, which was adorned with violet flames.
Once again, it swung. Multiple times, or perhaps it seemed frozen in place. But behind it, hundreds, thousands of deadly strikes stretched out, filling the space.
The deadly strikes ignited. Frost formed. Blood Aura surged forth. Thunderbolts shot out, shadows loomed.
An disaster no human could endure.
Amidst it all, I too swung my sword. My sword held no unique abilities from various beings, nor did it carry thousands of deadly strikes capable of filling the space. Yet, I swung it. I did not doubt. I believed in my sword, in myself.
Because that’s the only action I can do best right now.
One strike.
The strike I swung shattered the calamity pouring towards me. It smashed Jong-eon’s attack, and even sliced the hem of Jong-eon’s cloak. I cracked the armor wrapped around her arm and inflicted wounds upon her skin.
Jong-eon no longer smiled. Just like during our argument, she scowled and swung her great sword.
I met her sword head-on. A horrifying sound of impact erupted. A fierce vibration coursed through the great sword. Yet I did not recoil. I did not falter. I held firm.
In the desperate struggle, I gathered the oxygen lying on the ground. I swallowed it. Crack— The force pushing against Jong-eon’s great sword intensified.
As Jong-eon gritted her teeth, the ground gave way beneath her. The earth bouncing up obscured my view. I closed my eyes and sensed. I envisioned Jong-eon’s next move. The predication, now bordering on foresight, implanted images in my mind.
I moved my body along with it. I turned my head and loosened my grip on the great sword.
Whoosh—! The sharply drawn deadly strike from Jong-eon left a shallow wound on my cheek. Following that, the outstretched fist brushed my pelvis. The resulting gust of force sent my body flying sideways.
I drove the great sword into the ground, bracing myself against the force pushing me away, stabilizing myself. Thud— I gathered strength in my back legs, preparing to run, and swung the great sword over my shoulder.
I took a breath. Suddenly, the landscape around me came into focus.
It was a complete mess. It had crumbled beyond repair, beyond explanation.
In a way, it was a relief. Considering the battle was fought in a place where no one lived. If it had been in Cartia or Ursphere, or perhaps the capital of the empire, it would have taken an enormous amount of time to rebuild that civilization.
By the way, when everything is over, will this place be restored to its former state? As I thought about that, Thud. Jong-eon’s great sword plunged into the ground.
Countless flowers bloomed in the terrible ruins. At the center of the radiant garden stood a massive tree. An ash tree. The World Tree.
Like it had roots reaching to the other side of the world, the World Tree showcased its steadfast figure. Leaves fell. Petals soared. They filled my sight.
A dreamy landscape. So beautiful I couldn’t look away. I recognized this scenery.
Laila’s instant kill, a sight I had seen countless times in the game.
I immediately dashed away.
One blow. The dreamy scenery twisted dramatically. Each vibrant petal and leaf turned into the sharpest blades imaginable.
As if that wasn’t enough, black feathers harboring magical energy swirled amidst them. A red moon rose in the sky. Valoran’s instant kill.
Two blows. Hellish flames surged forth. Flames reached the ends of the sky, gathering. It formed a shape. The shape of a colossal arrow. Brunhilde’s instant kill.
A blizzard, unfitting for all this, howled. A massive mountain of remains turned white in an instant. A gigantic mountain reminiscent of the Karahan Mountain Range. Disasters gathered on that mountain. Tylant’s instant kill.
Three blows. An avalanche that looked as if it could swallow the world cascaded down. A fire arrow so fierce it seemed to melt the very eyes upon looking at it was shot forth. Black feathers soaked in the blood spilled by the red moon burst. Petals shimmering with crimson light and leaves surged like waves.
Crash— I swung down the great sword resting on my shoulder. From above, below.
The avalanche split apart. Arrows exploded in mid-air. With the magical eruption, feathers evaporated. Petals and leaves were torn apart into fragments.
From the now-clear sight at the end, Jong-eon lifted her great sword. The Black Sun shook once more.
Woosh, woosh, woosh, woosh—
Then, a chilling wail descended.
The red sky was covered in darkness. The red earth, and the horrendous desecration was all cloaked in darkness, leaving nothing but shadows behind.
Jong-eon’s golden eyes gleamed ominously.
I couldn’t exactly tell what that attack was or what kind of power it contained. However, I knew that it was a blow containing all of Jong-eon’s strength.
Thus, I understood what I had to do. What I could do.
I would break it.
I would shatter everything that stood in my way, everything that stopped ‘me,’ ‘myself,’ us. Crush them. Smash them to pieces.
Break it down without leaving a trace.
For what purpose?
For ‘me,’ for ‘myself,’ for all of us.
For Rubia.
For everyone.
—Boom! The pulse within me intensified.
—Boom! A rough explosion erupted.
—Boom! Light spread from my fingertips and toes, igniting.
I do not restrain this power. I do not suppress it.
I accept it. I use it.
I wield it like the weight of the great sword itself.
I strengthened my legs, firmly planting them as if grasping the earth. I bent my waist. I lifted the great sword behind me. My right hand was close to the guard, my left hand held the end of the hilt.
The great sword feels heavy. My body feels heavy. My head feels like it’s about to explode. Blood trickles from my eyes. Blood streams from my nose. Blood rushes from my throat. My body trembles with an overwhelming force that seems ready to collapse at any moment.
Yet, I do not fall. I do not crumble.
I will not let go of the great sword. I swing it.
Once.
That will be enough.
Slash—!
I stepped forward heavily.
Jong-eon stepped forward.
I twisted my waist, gathering momentum.
Jong-eon twisted her waist.
I brought the raised great sword down heavily.
Jong-eon brought her great sword down.
—-
Light and darkness intertwined.
And the world shattered.
*
“Phew… Ugh… Ugh…”
I spat out congealed blood.
I tidied my messed-up hair and staggered to my feet.
The great sword in my hand was gone. My senses were not extending out. Yet I could still see. Even if it was just faintly.
Indeed. My assumption was correct.
I had not summoned the great sword. With my own eyes, I wanted to leisurely take in this world, even if just for a moment. Grasping my racing heart, I glanced around.
Still, my vision remained hazy. I couldn’t see properly.
Blink blink— I repeatedly shut and opened my eyes, rubbing them with my trembling hands.
I peeled away the congealed blood clots and opened my eyes.
It was still unclear.
And then I realized.
…It wasn’t my vision that was hazy, but the world had become hazy.
“…W-What is this…?”
The voice I just uttered echoed from an odd direction. I could not distinguish between the sky and the land. For now, since I was standing with feet planted, this must be the ground…
Tap— I gingerly extended my foot and tapped.
Feeling something solid, it was indeed the ground.
But its appearance… looked like the sky.
No, rather than sky, it resembled a bucket of paint mixed with various colors.
Is it safe to walk? I thought as I carefully moved forward. Then, from the opposite side, the same sound echoed back. Squelch— squelch—
The sound of Jong-eon’s footsteps.
As I narrowed my eyelids, the blurry form gradually became clearer.
Jong-eon too, was walking cautiously, probing the ground just like me. She then stopped— as if noticing my gaze, she rubbed her eyes vigorously and stared at me.
I looked back at Jong-eon.
Jong-eon’s face twisted in a grimace.
Then, she stomped towards me, but suddenly Splat— she fell over.
Rofl— I couldn’t hold back my laughter and it echoed.
Jong-eon’s face turned bright red as she got up, puffing her cheeks in frustration.
Then, after staggering for a while, she walked back towards me again.
Looks like Jong-eon is not in a good state either. The famously flowing cloak had vanished, and the scaled armor wrapped around her hands now only left traces behind.
She wasn’t even wielding a great sword.
But her fists were tightly clenched.
“…Hey.”
Eventually, Jong-eon arrived before me, panting heavily as she spoke.
“Why didn’t you kill me?”
A growling voice.
However, with all her strength drained, the growl wasn’t frightening at all.
“Why did you let me live?”
So I answered a bit confidently.
“…I’ll save you. And… you let me live too.”
“I told you, don’t talk nonsense…”
Jong-eon’s fists trembled violently.
“I may no longer be Jong-eon, but even if I became this way, I cannot be saved. This is what I offered as payment to restart the world… I can never be saved.”
“No, you can. I can.”
I believed I could, without any basis.
That was my conviction.
If I could reach my level.
I could do it. Without fail.
“Stop being stubborn!”
“It’s not stubbornness…!”
Crack— A rough sound came from Jong-eon’s clenched teeth.
After grinding her teeth repeatedly, sighing deeply, she finally opened her mouth slowly.
“Hey.”
“…What?”
“I wasn’t going to say this.”
“What, what is it…?”
I had never harbored intentions of malice towards Jong-eon.
Because I wanted to save her. I wanted to see her live and laugh alongside Rubia.
But then.
“I went to an underwear store with Rubia in Ursphere.”
Right at this moment.
“That time. I saw Rubia in her underwear before you did.”
Malice towards Jong-eon surged wildly.
“W-What… are you saying?”
“Is that all? Rubia even prepared a fire festival for me. What do you think?”
Smirk— Jong-eon snickered at me.
Then she slightly raised her head and looked down at me as she continued speaking.
“Aren’t you jealous?”
Gulp. My breath caught. I was so, so angry. The extreme anger tightened my throat.
The heat soared from within. That heat consumed my entire face, igniting it.
Well then, so is that how it’s going to be.
Hoo. Hoo. I steadied my rising breath, opening my mouth as well. I couldn’t lose to Jong-eon like this.
“I… I cooked soybean paste stew for ‘Rubia.’ And also… we held hands at the amusement park, had a uniform date, and watched the fire festival…!”
At that moment.
“Jealous… Gah!”
Slap— Jong-eon’s palm struck my cheek.
