Chapter 238 – Serr the Mage

As the tipped scales leveled, the key that had filled my soul vanished.

I had no idea how Serr managed to take the key that had been dormant within my soul.

Was it a variation of the magic that restored Rubia? Or was it a new spell entirely?

I didn’t know. There was no time to think.

First, I had to stop Serr.

I clutched my aching, tangled head and tried to move, 

“Stop. If you take one more step, I’ll really kill myself.”

“…What?”

Serr placed a hand over her chest and smiled softly.

“Good. Stay right there and listen to what I have to say.”

“Serr, don’t joke around. Right now… I know what you’re trying to do, ”

“I know exactly what you were trying to pull, Noah. You were planning to open the gate to true paradise, not a false one, and complete the world, weren’t you?”

“…If you knew, then why, why are you doing this?”

“It’s because I know. Ah, don’t come any closer. Do you want to be the one who kills your friend, Noah?”

As soon as I stepped forward, unable to hold back, magic swelled in Serr’s hand, ripped through her skin, and dug into her chest.

“Does it look like I’m bluffing? Go ahead and try to move. I’ll die in the most miserable way you can imagine.”

“Serr…!”

“If you stay right there, I won’t use this hand to tear apart my own flesh. The same goes for you, Rubia. Don’t move.”

Serr roughly wiped the blood from her lips and caught her breath before continuing.

“I didn’t want to resort to such a cowardly method. But Noah, you’ve grown too strong, and I had no other choice. You should’ve stopped at being just strong enough. Then I could’ve restrained you myself.”

Drip. 

A drop of blood trickled down her chin and stained the petals.

But Serr still smiled.

Right now, if I rushed at Serr, if I used all my strength, could I stop her?

Could I cut down the magic blooming in her hand and prevent her death?

And the key within her soul, could I retrieve it?

It would be nothing to cut down the magic in her hand and bind Serr’s body.

But even if I managed to stop her that way, I wasn’t sure I could extract the key woven into her soul.

But I had to try.

Making sure Serr wouldn’t notice, 

Crunch, as I finished preparing to run, the petals beneath my feet crumbled.

At the same time, Serr let out a small sigh.

“For the record, I have no intention of opening the gate to paradise. I also have no intention of dying.”

“…No intention of opening the gate to paradise?”

“There isn’t much time, so I’ll keep this brief. I intend to offer this key as the price for the scales. What I want is to change the fixed future.”

Serr’s gaze turned to Rubia.

“I mentioned it before. I said I’d find my own way to change the future. Do you remember?”

“…Serr.”

“I’ve finished all the preparations for that. Honestly, the odds were almost like a gamble, but, by coincidence, everything lined up perfectly. As if some godlike being was helping us.”

Serr shrugged.

“Of course, even with all the preparations in place, there’s no guarantee of success… but, well, that’s how it is. So please, set aside your doubts.”

“But… if there’s no key, this world…”

“Will it really be different if there is a key?”

“If there is, we can save the world. We can free it from the Nameless One’s grasp. If we do that… we can save Rubia’s life, and everyone living in this world, ”

“At the cost of your own life, Noah?”

“Ugh, that’s…”

Caught off guard by Serr’s sharp retort, I bit my lip.

I tried to feign ignorance, but she was certain. She knew I intended to sacrifice myself.

Neither Sirin nor Primavera knew the plan I had come up with. Even Primavera seemed not to have expected it.

So how did Serr know?

About the key, about my plan, there was no way she could know unless she could read my mind. How…?

As I wandered in those long, tangled thoughts and speculations, 

Wooo, wooo.

A chilling sound echoed across the sky.

It came from the end of the endlessly stretching horizon.

With a stiff, creaking neck, I forced myself to turn and look.

There, a hazy, wavering figure was rising.

The [End].

The [End]’s crimson eyes stared at me.

And I stared back into those chilling eyes.

For a moment, the [End]’s eyes closed.

At the same time, 

Crackle!

From my left, an ominous sound stabbed into my ears.

I turned.

There, Rubia was collapsed on the ground, shrouded in black divine power, groaning in pain.

“Rubia…!”

I rushed to her side at once.

I hugged Rubia’s body, now ice-cold in an instant. Each time I did, the darkness pouring from Rubia’s body seared me, tore at my skin, tried to break my bones, and twisted my veins.

Even so, I didn’t let go. I held her even tighter and met her eyes.

Soon, grr, an ugly sound escaped between Rubia’s clenched teeth. Her hand rose. Darkness surged up from the ground. Her hand, trying to swipe at the air, contorted. But Rubia’s hand did not stop.

Drawing unknown characters, her blood-spattered white hand led the darkness killing me to brighten. It grew warm. Radiant light shone, healing my body.

On the other hand, Rubia’s condition only worsened.

Blood tears streamed from her eyes. Blood seeped from her nose, her mouth, her ears, and even as her skin cracked, fresh droplets welled up from between the splits.

“Ah, no… Ru… Rubia. What, why is this suddenly… why, what’s happening…”

“My magic is coming to an end. Because of that… the Nameless One’s consciousness has returned. Rubia is… resisting it. I didn’t expect my magic to end this quickly. This… is my mistake. I’m sorry.”

Seeing this, Serr bit her lip and took a step back.

“Noah. There’s really no time now, so listen carefully to what I say. Rubia, it’ll be hard, but please listen as well.”

Creak. 

The scales began to tip.

“I will offer up this key as a price to demote the Nameless One’s divinity. Along with that, I will offer up my magic, and all the magic in the land, as the price to seal the opening of the false paradise. If that works, the fixed future will surely change. Of course, there’s a chance it will fail, but I’ll do whatever it takes to stop it. After that, I’ll bind the [End]’s legs, “

Not to the left, but to the right.

Creak, creak.

The scales kept tilting to the right with an unpleasant noise. Serr turned her back to look at them, paused for a moment, and bit her lip.

For a while.

Serr called my name in a heavy voice.

“Noah.”

“…Yes?”

“Noah, do you trust me?”

“…That’s so sudden, what do you mean…?”

“Please answer me. Noah, do you trust me?”

Serr, who looked right at me with unseen eyes, was more serious than ever.

“I do.”

She didn’t ask what I believed in, but I answered.

I was upset with Serr for taking the key without permission, but I trusted her.

She had so many secrets, but I could trust her.

Because she was Serr. Because she was my friend.

“I see…”

Serr slowly nodded and looked down at Rubia. Rubia, too, looked at Serr and managed to nod.

Hearing our answers, Serr closed her eyes.

Creak, creak.

Even then, the scales kept tipping.

“In that case, “

With her eyes still closed, Serr quietly muttered and then opened her eyes.

“Can I trust you, too? Noah, Rubia?”

Her shining eyes gazed at us.

“Even though I have so many secrets, even though I’ve lied to you, can I trust you and rely on you?”

It wasn’t her usual assertive tone. It sounded as if she was seeking permission.

That voice, unlike Serr, was trembling.

“…Yes.”

I nodded.

“I trust you, Serr. So please, trust me too.”

I nodded and answered with determination.

Hearing that, Serr stared blankly at me for a while.

“Ahaha…!”

And then, she laughed.

“All right.”

Not her usual quiet smile.

Not her habit of covering her mouth and giggling.

“I will trust you. I’ll count on you.”

Radiantly.

She smiled brighter, more dazzlingly than ever.

“Originally, I was going to demote the Nameless One, seal the opening of the false paradise, and then bind the [End]’s legs. But maybe I wasn’t strong enough, because I wasn’t able to bind the [End]. And now that the key is gone as the price, the true paradise gate won’t be able to open either. However.”

Creak.

The endlessly tilting scales came to a stop.

“Noah, Rubia. If it’s you two, you can do it.”

Creak.

And again, the scales began to tilt.

To the left.

“You can definitely do it.”

Crack.

A fissure formed in the scales. At the same time, an identical fissure began to appear on Serr’s body, just like the one on the scales.

“You two, because you’re my friends.”

Even as she smiled, Serr spread her arms wide.

“Now, I want both of you to watch closely. And pass this on to the mages who will come after.”

And, laughing out loud.

Laughing lightly, freely, and brightly, she cried out,

“At the end of the path you chase as mages, neither the Tower Master, nor the Grand Mage, nor the Sage, nor the Spirit Master, “

At last, clank, the scales reached perfect balance. The fissure widened. Through it poured life force, light brighter and hotter than the sun, a magic so radiant it resembled her smile.

“It was I, Serr the Mage, who was the first and last to reach it!”

A kaleidoscope of violet light unfolded.

An infinite mirror of all creation spread out, too vast to even dare chase with the eyes.

It reflected forgotten pasts.

It reflected the twisted present.

It reflected the fixed future.

Countless variables swept through the past.

Countless branching points diverged in the present.

Beyond the future, results that could never have been reached were revealed.

A future that could never exist.

A future that could never have been imagined.

A future thought impossible, but now made possible.

Toward that future, toward the cracked scales, 

Serr reached out with a dazzling smile.

“Miracle.”