Chapter 82 – The Battle Against Tylant (5)

The mana that had enveloped the space withdrew.

About 30% remains.

With all restraints removed, it was definitely stronger than expected.

I thought I’d have 60% left, but I used twice as much.

The greatsword in my hand vanished, replaced by the one that had been embedded in the ground.

I pulled it free and approached Tylant.

Though his body lay in pieces—making it hard to consider him alive—he still clung to life. The way his flesh writhes and tries to merge back together proves it… Ugh, disgusting.

I twisted my aching body, testing my range of movement. Not good.

I’m not sure if I can manage with the remaining elixir and mana, but I have to try. Besides, the thirst isn’t quite satisfied.

As I drew closer, Tylant’s eyes rolled grotesquely in their sockets to track me.

Guruk—guruk—kururuk…

His mouth gaped open and closed, but with his body in pieces, he could only sputter blood bubbles.

I crouched down and began stripping the intact hide from the larger chunks of flesh. After collecting all the usable leather, I dealt with what remained.

I scattered the pieces of flesh. Tore them apart. Crushed them to bits. Mangled his heart and burst his eyes. I even retrieved Kalt’s sword and struck the pieces repeatedly.

“Hah…”

I backed away from the writhing flesh that could no longer even bubble blood.

Heart, eyes, body, catalysts—

I’ve destroyed everything beyond recovery. Even if the blessing activates, there’s only one thing it could do now.

It seems the blessing was already used to break Tylant’s seal, but better to be thorough.

A faint light began rising from the scattered flesh.

The dim glow transformed into radiant divine power, enveloping the area and isolating the space.

In that pure white expanse… This warm, brilliant space was so absurd, I couldn’t help but smirk as I offered my greeting:

“Hello, Lilith.”

A voice thick with anger responded:

“What… are you?”

That voice—now harsh, insolent, and filled with hatred— But once, it had been warm, gentle, and lovely.

“How about we have a chat?”

Rubia’s voice—the one whose heart I had pierced with my own hands.

***

I ran without stopping toward the source of the thunderous noise.

Just moments ago, I’d felt an unsettling mana, but now… now I sensed divine power.

None of it made sense. Unease crashed over me like a wave.

I ran on, fighting the oppressive weight that seemed to crush my body.

With each step, the mountain range before me looked less and less like the one I knew.

A landscape of absolute ruin.

Compared to this devastation, the chaos from the battle with Kalt seemed like child’s play.

Everything except the sky had turned to ash.

The autumn leaves that had blazed orange— The rocks that had complemented that vibrant scene— The snow that should have blanketed the ground in white— The thick spatters of blood—

Everything, without exception, had turned ashen gray.

And there, at the center of that gray expanse—

A single figure retained its color.

Noah.

I ran. My legs gave out and I fell. I tumbled ungracefully.

But I kept running.

“Noah…!”

I called her name as I sprinted forward. But she didn’t seem to hear me, sitting motionless, staring blankly at the sky.

Her figure came into focus. Grew clearer.

No wounds marked her body. Though her clothes were soaked in blood… why were there no injuries? Potions? No—there weren’t even any scars.

Could it be someone else’s blood?

I drew closer. Saw her emotionless expression. Her vacant stare.

I heard her breathing.

My steps slowed.

I stopped.

Her limp hand slowly rose.

And as it did, Noah’s face gradually turned toward me.

“Oh, Rubia?”

A smile spread across her previously blank face. Her clouded eyes brightened.

Noah, yet… Not Noah.

She was there, but wasn’t there.

I had so many questions I needed to ask. So many things I wanted to know.

I want to hold her close right now and breathe in her scent. I want to pat her precious head. I want to give her the jelly I brought in my pocket.

But first—

“Noah… Can I still call you Noah?”

“Huh?”

Noah’s eyes widened at my question. She worked her mouth silently for a moment, then managed a difficult nod.

“Yeah… Noah. You can call me Noah.”

“I see…”

I don’t know how to act around her. Everything about her feels different.

Her expressions, her gaze, her smile— Nothing matched the Noah I knew.

If this were my Noah, I’d already have her in my arms, breathing in her scent, patting her head, and slipping jelly into her mouth.

The words wouldn’t come.

Why can she see now? What happened to the Noah I knew? Is this her true form? If not… what happens to this Noah when the original returns? And if this is real… how am I supposed to act?

I couldn’t bring myself to ask.

I’m afraid of getting answers I don’t want to hear. Afraid of hurting Noah. Afraid… it would break me.

“Um… Rubia.”

“…Yes?”

I must have lowered my head at some point. I slowly raised it again.

Noah stood there with a bitter smile, holding up white fur.

“This is Tylant’s hide. If you make it into a coat, it’s incredibly warm. Just one layer gets you through winter easily. Ah… w-well, you’d keep ‘me’ warm with divine power anyway, Rubia… No, I shouldn’t mention—”

No stammering. No formal speech. Her voice carried strength.

“Ahem! Anyway, wear it with ‘me.’ Or if you don’t need it, you can sell it… The material’s excellent, so it’ll fetch a high price. I wanted to save the teeth and claws too, but… well, that didn’t work out.”

But. Her hands trembled. Her voice shook. She couldn’t meet my eyes.

Guilt etched deep lines in her face.

Following her gaze, I saw it—a pond formed of blood, with pieces of flesh floating on the surface.

Not a puddle—a pond.

Is that… is that Tylant now?

“Is that… Tylant’s remains?”

“Yes.”

“Did you defeat him… alone?”

“Yes.”

“How could you possibly…?”

Her casual responses made me curious about her expression. When I turned to look—

“Easily?”

She just beamed at me.

“This is Tylant we’re talking about.”

“Right?”

“A Master… could only manage to seal him.”

“Exactly.”

“And it seemed like several seals had broken.”

“All of them were released.”

“…All of them?”

“Rubia.”

“Y-yes?”

“We don’t have much time, so let’s head down. I’ll explain everything over food.”

Noah suddenly stood and pulled me along by the hand. My body, weak and unsteady, followed helplessly behind her.

“Oh right, let’s collect the fragments first. The Central Guild might want them, but that’s fine. You can get stronger without relying on things like these.”

Noah stirred the blood pool, grinning as she held up her hand. Strangely, not a drop of blood stained her clean hand.

In that spotless palm lay a blue fragment.

“Ta-da!”

“Is that… Tylant’s fragment?”

“Yep. Just this should be enough proof that I defeated him.”

After examining the fragment briefly, Noah tucked it into her pocket and grabbed my hand again.

“Let’s go.”

She smiled brightly as she walked forward.

But in that smile—

There was no joy at all.

***

“Waaaah!”

Noah’s face lit up with a brilliant smile at the pile of jelly I’d gathered.

“C-can I really eat all of this?”

“Of course.”

“Really…? You’re not saving it for someone else?”

Does she understand what she’s asking? Does she know how those words squeeze my heart?

“It’s all for you, Noah.”

Noah tilted her head slightly, then nodded and stuffed a handful of jelly into her mouth.

“Mmm! Delicious!”

Her smile as she ate the jelly—that, at least, remained exactly the same.

“Aren’t you hungry?”

“Nothing’s open right now… but didn’t Rebuge say he’d bring food?”

“Yes, but… he said it might take a while.”

“Mm. That’s fine. I’ll just fill up on jelly for now.”

Her hair swayed gently with each chew, just like before.

Watching her, I felt a little… just a little more at ease.

“By the way, Rubia. The festival will have fireworks and lots of food stalls, right?”

Noah asked, swallowing her jelly as she looked at me.

“Yes, it will.”

The festival.

When we came down from Karahan, Rebuge had met us, and after a brief report—

He’d burst into tears, prostrating himself on the ground… swearing to spend his entire fortune on a festival and begging Noah, the hero of the hour, to attend.

Much had happened since then.

In the end, Ursphere itself decided to hold the festival.

A grand celebration.

They even declared they’d make it an annual holiday to commemorate this day.

“There’ll be lots of accessories for sale. And clothes too.”

“I suppose… there will be.”

“But the highlight has to be the fireworks. They’ll be spectacular, right? So loud… with crowds everywhere. They’ll look even more amazing against the night sky. I bet lots of couples will get together too. You know how it is—people suddenly feel brave, like everything’s going to work out… that kind of feeling.”

“…Yes.”

“It’ll be fun.”

But her expression showed no excitement. Her smile wasn’t real. She looked at me but didn’t see me.

No joy. No happiness.

“It’s in two days, right?”

I nodded quietly.

“I see.”

Noah turned from the window to face me.

“I really want to see the fireworks.”

In her faint smile—

Regret lingered.

“With you, Rubia.”