I placed my hand on the girl’s shoulder, who was staggering.
“That’s enough.”
“No, I… have to kill… Carpen… Rubia… must… die…”
She was already mumbling, half out of her mind.
What a stubborn one.
“I’ll take care of the rest. So… stick close to the Shaman. It must be so boring all on your own.”
With that, I lightly tossed her backward.
She crashed into the Shaman, landing on her backside.
Watching that scene, I couldn’t help but burst out laughing.
That’s what you get for kicking me earlier, you little rascal.
Ignoring the guy staring at me blankly, I quietly…
Gathered my mind.
Cleared my heart.
Drove away the vengeance that was tightly packed inside me.
Filled it with the memories of the past.
The resolve of the present.
The hopes for the future.
The headache faded away.
The trembling of my body ceased.
The fear, the despair, the darkness…
Vanished.
My mind became clear.
The range of my senses widened.
I observed Carpen’s body.
I could feel his movements.
Sense his breath.
His heartbeat, his Blood Aura, his rage…
I felt it all.
I took a step forward.
So light.
Incredibly light.
A laugh escaped me.
Even lighter than when I reached platinum.
I stepped with lively feet, even more so.
“Cough… it was this simple, huh?”
[GRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAA-!]
An even more ferocious roar struck my eardrums.
But I felt no fear at all.
I looked down at the sword in my hand.
It was an old sword.
The blade was completely bent.
The edge was gone.
It was rusty.
An old sword.
Anyone seeing it would laugh hysterically.
But so what?
As long as I have a sword, I can cut.
As long as I have the will, I can act.
That’s why…
I swung it.
With one strike, I plucked out five nails.
I swung.
The Blood Aura scattered everywhere.
I swung.
My wrist was sliced.
I swung.
Bones were chopped off.
The Blood Aura surged even stronger.
The bones restored.
The blood vessels.
The skin.
The nails.
All restored.
I pushed forward without faltering.
Like the boy who once braved the harsh winter.
Like the boy who endured that freezing winter bare-handed.
To protect my little sister.
Headed out into the world without a shred of fear.
Like the past me.
I advanced and swung my sword.
Not with a unique ability.
Just ordinary sword strikes.
The swordsmanship I first learned when I held a sword.
I merely replicated the swordsmanship of an ordinary Adventurer.
Remembering my essence.
The power to protect everything.
I remembered and replicated it.
The sword swung silently.
In a single strike, it sliced through Carpen’s wrist.
Thick, viscous blood soaked the ground.
The raging Blood Aura enveloped me.
Flesh tore apart.
Muscles burst.
Bones shattered.
It wasn’t painful.
Rather, it invigorated my spirit, making me happy.
The swirling magical power surrounded my body.
Not sharpened magical power.
Not vengeful magical power.
But a brightly glowing magical power.
A warm magical power reminiscent of Lux.
Everything created by burning my remaining life.
Moved my body once again.
I swung my sword.
The wrist that had rapidly restored was sliced again.
I stabbed and swung.
My right arm was severed.
If Heinzel was watching, he would surely be delighted.
I swung my arm lightly.
Sending the thick Blood Aura flying.
“It’s this simple.”
I unleashed the Blood Aura in all directions.
Toward Heinzel and the girl.
It wasn’t even funny.
Swinging the old sword, I cleaved through the Blood Aura.
So light.
I pressed on, without rest.
Cutting, stabbing, swinging.
Sometimes throwing punches, using my body to push forward.
Toward Carpen.
Into the freezing winter.
Into the endless nightmare.
Into my past.
I moved forward.
Slicing through Carpen’s legs.
Restored.
Slicing through his arms.
Restored.
Cutting open his belly and scattering his insides.
Restored.
I burst his remaining left eye.
But…
It was restored.
The Blood Aura scattered in the air converged.
Gathering and gathering…
Until the Blood Aura reached its limit.
It swung.
It shot.
It exploded.
This was the most powerful attack I had seen so far.
But if I stopped here now, those behind me would be in danger.
So I walked into the swirling death.
And once again…
I swung my sword.
An arm fell off.
Not needed.
Since it was a one-handed sword anyway.
I swung.
My legs were crushed beyond recognition.
No need to move.
As long as I can see it, I can cut it.
I swung.
My belly split open and my insides flowed out.
That guy Noah endured despite having his belly punctured.
There’s no way I can’t.
Having lost the need to eat, that bald guy would be the only one happy now.
I swung my sword.
The Blood Aura scattered.
I cleaved through Carpen’s entire Blood Aura.
But…
The blood scattered in the air regained form and absorbed back into Carpen’s body.
No matter how much I cut, it wouldn’t end.
I couldn’t cut it all.
Still couldn’t reach it.
Of course.
It’s only natural I can’t reach it.
What I genuinely wanted to cut wasn’t that guy.
What I truly wanted to cut…
Was the world.
Of course, it was only right that I couldn’t reach it.
For a weak human.
An ephemeral being.
A minuscule existence…
To try and cut the world.
How foolish and ignorant that was.
Daring to stand on two legs on the ground.
Daring to look up at the sky with two eyes.
Hence, I lost my legs.
I lost my eyes.
Yet still…
I had to keep going.
Since one hand remained.
One leg remained.
Even if weak, the spark of life still burned.
I had…
Something I wanted to protect.
Raising my sword…
I cut.
Remembering the freedom I had stifled.
The freedom I had tasted for a moment was so sweet that I ran after it.
That’s why I didn’t break.
I cut.
Recalling the biting cold.
That bone-chilling cold woke my sleeping mind.
It made my body move without rest.
That’s why I advanced.
I cut.
Remembering the pain of hunger.
But it didn’t hurt.
I hadn’t tasted it.
I didn’t know the fullness.
That’s why I could feed my little sister.
I could endure it.
I cut.
Recalling the despair.
I had tasted the nausea-inducing despair.
Experiencing the depths of despair.
So deep that it made me feel sick.
I didn’t want my only sister to know that kind of despair.
I wanted her to chase only hope.
I wanted her to hold onto hope.
That’s why…
I could smile.
I could be happy.
I could dream.
Raising my arms.
I lightly waved them.
Carpen’s body.
The Blood Aura.
In the landscape.
In the sky.
On the ground.
A scar was etched into existence.
A fierce wind spiraled up from that scar.
A blizzard wrapped around my body.
The cold winter poured forth.
Flowers wilted.
The trees shed everything in solitude.
The snow falling to the ground veiled the world.
The death of life…
The end of everything drew near.
A lonely and desolate winter.
A bitter season…
Came trampling everything down.
But…
Even so.
Flowers bloom.
White and pure.
Wildflowers blooming everywhere.
Riding the wind.
Treading on the snow.
Blooming.
Taking root on the rough soil.
With strength and bravery, they endure.
They scatter seeds relentlessly.
Promising a future.
Waiting for the next season.
And…
Heralding a new beginning.
Without chasing after the past.
Not bound.
Not obsessed.
Advancing forward.
Toward the future.
Toward the next day.
Toward spring.
So…
Winter passes.
Spring blooms.
Summer approaches.
Autumn draws near.
Winter will rage again.
But after that…
Surely…
Spring will bloom.
I stood up on my crumbling legs.
I steadied my wobbling body.
I lifted my trembling arm.
And then…
I brought forth spring.
A warm spring.
A spring that met Hablon.
A spring that held hope.
A spring when I became an Adventurer.
A spring when I received my sword as a gift.
A happy spring when Lux’s laughter blossomed profusely.
“I’ve reached it. Finally, I’ve reached it.”
Like cherry blossoms scattering.
Centered on the lowered sword.
A line was drawn in the world.
That thin, thin line…
Soon pushed everything aside.
The dazzling sun…
The sun that governs all…
The symbol of the goddess, Lilith.
And…
This very world itself.
For a brief moment…
I cut it.
*
“Ru, chi… sir…?”
Rubia’s sigh echoed, lost and wandering.
Drawing her creaking body, she crawled to Ruchi.
“Ru, chi… Ruchi… uncle…!”
Continuously…
Endlessly…
She crawled toward Ruchi.
She reached him.
Touched the cross-section of his severed leg.
“Ah… it’s you. Did you just… see that?”
The corners of Ruchi’s mouth lifted.
“Why… why did you protect me…?”
“I’m not particularly protecting you. I’m starting to feel sleepy… So go ahead, fire it… before it’s too late… I want to see… that scene… you talked about…”
Flipping his body over, he directed the firework toward the sky.
He activated it.
The end of the stick ignited.
The weak flame…
Soon surged and…
With a peculiar sound…
Shot toward the sky.
The flames reaching the top…
Exploded with the sound of a bomb.
Colors were invisible.
Bright light wasn’t visible either.
But…
It was more dazzling than ever.
“Also. I’ll give you this… cherish it. It’s my everything.”
Then, Ruchi handed me his sword.
His old sword.
The unsightly sword, he passed to me.
And…
In the brightest voice I’d heard so far.
With a joyful voice.
In a radiant voice.
And…
In an endlessly…
Weak voice.
He laughed, blooming beautifully and said:
“It’s the sword my little sister gifted me, and the one that beheaded Carpen, the sword I used to cut the world. Since it’s a sword that has touched this world once… its worth is surely fitting. You–”
With the sound of the firework exploding, his last words scattered away.
Ruchi’s heartbeat could no longer be heard.
His breath fell silent.
Everything…
Nothing…
Could be heard.
I released my grip from the Great Sword.
I held Ruchi’s sword.
The petals he left behind.
And then…
Upward.
To the sky he had touched.
To this world.
I fired the firework.
Wishing he could see it.
Hoping only…
That it would be beautiful.
Endlessly.
