I, Guinevere, am going to crush you, you curry stick, today!

It had deliberately chosen an individual least like Nuada to ensure she wouldn't slip out of its grasp, but at the final step, it saw the girl, who should have completely given up resistance and been immersed in blissful anticipation, somehow manage to stand up for the fourteenth time, supporting herself with her sword.

Even if the will has not yet yielded, having endured the "impurities" accumulated over thousands of years that have affected even it, the soul should have been shattered long ago. It is already extremely difficult to maintain its original form. How could it possibly... absolutely impossible to stand up again on its own!

……

"Finn, do you know why Solomon chose to end the Age of Gods?"

Before the other could answer, he stroked the simple ring, which still felt warm, and replied to himself, "I guess that's what he was thinking—to give to man what God has... and to return to man what man has."

……

The raging, illusory flames tore apart and devoured this picture of happiness and bliss. Faintly, one could almost hear someone asking, "Why resist? Isn't this what you've been pursuing all along?"

It sounded somewhat like Artoria's voice, but more mature and aloof, making her subconsciously think of the scene she had glimpsed during the trials in the Land of Shadows: the Knight King with shining golden eyes, tall and slender, standing before the Tower of Light.

At the same time, a pair of cold hands reached out from the side, slowly trying to help her up. Watching her sister's and parents' faces disappear into the flames, she thought for a moment and found the answer: "One person is missing inside."

"Oh?"

"The unfamiliar child at the fire scene."

"Just that?"

The Knight King's tone seemed to have stirred slightly.

"That's all."

she answered.

The past twenty-odd years were uneventful and unremarkable, but there was one thing that I can be proud of when I look back on it.

At the end of her life, she used her own life to save another child who was about the same age as her sister.

"This is the only heroic deed I've ever done in my life..."

Between life and death, there is great terror.

But what I see in my nightmares is not only a raging inferno, but also a girl crying and trying to escape.

It was as if reminding her that the passing of life was not meaningless.

That's it.

Then, boundless courage welled up from the bottom of my heart.

"……ha."

A soft laugh came from beside my ear.

"You once saved a life, and then became increasingly greedy, even wanting to fulfill the wishes of millions? Although your reasons and goals differ from that little girl's, you have both chosen a difficult and arduous path. Since that's the case..."

The hands that were supporting her body suddenly loosened, and the voice beside her ear continued to speak: "Try walking down and let me see."

"That's...of course."

She smiled back.

His body swayed a few times after losing its support, but he managed to stand firm. Using his sword as a staff, he climbed the steps in the darkness.

moment.

The gleaming sword blade stopped in front of the cauldron.

……

Click!

Like a gust of wind passing through a sea of ​​clouds, amidst the undulating waves, everyone heard the crisp sound. Ritsuka clutched her lower abdomen, her face pale as she curled up to the side, warily watching Maeve's smiling face beside her, occasionally reaching out to swat away Maeve's fingers that were secretly poking at her.

"Don't do that...it hurts...ouch!"

"Why are you yelling so loudly? You scared me to death." With a flick of her finger, she gently hooked her fingertip into the girl's palm. Seeing Ritsuka suddenly turn red and yell out, Maeve chuckled and withdrew her hand, adding insult to injury: "See, you're much more energetic now."

"you--"

The angry girl was about to unleash her limited vocabulary when a sharp, unexpected sound suddenly caught her attention.

It was a strange feeling, as if the whole world had quieted down, all sounds were still, and even the churning clouds had subsided. Maeve smoothed her beautiful hair, a slightly melancholy smile appearing on her face.

"what to do……"

Ritsuka's heart skipped a beat, thinking something had happened, but then she changed the subject: "I'm finally able to leave this place, but I'm a little reluctant to part with you."

"..."

It took Ritsuka several seconds to realize what those words meant: "You mean... Miss Guinevere succeeded?"

Maeve did not answer her.

Instead, as if sensing something, she turned her head and looked towards the light-forged staircase, as if her gaze met that of the half-dragon girl who had also turned her head.

next moment.

A dazzling light rose in their eyes—in everyone's eyes—...

P.S.: I'm still not entirely satisfied, but I've written most of what I wanted to write, so that's about it... I'll write another chapter tomorrow, and that should finish Volume Two. After that, I'll probably take a two- or three-day break to organize the story outline. Volume Three will be about fighting the lowly king and getting married~ Remember to vote!

The Final Chapter: The Continuation of the Dream (Part 1)

Crack, crack, like a series of soft sounds as an eggshell cracks open. The tiny cracks on the cauldron gradually widened, and the eyeball-shaped pattern clearly split in two.

The crimson streaks, like tears of blood, were accompanied by a chilling sigh: "You resisted death, yet you too ultimately chose it. Incomprehensible—"

"Humans, or rather the vast majority of creatures on earth, are by nature afraid of death."

The tattered cloak billowed in the wind, and a rough, large hand slowly rested on the eyeball, stroking it downwards—a gesture seemingly meant to bring peace to the deceased: "But it is precisely for this reason that we resist this illusory immortality. Because it denies both the joy of life and the fear of death, such a 'paradise'... is utterly meaningless."

"I can't... understand—"

Click!

The sound of the cauldron stopped abruptly. The Magic King raised his hand, and the eyeball and the red patterns around it dimmed completely. The treasure that had once exuded a solemn and sacred aura was now full of cracks, just like a broken container that could be seen anywhere, with nothing special about it anymore.

In another realm he was observing, the ever-flowing stream of souls slowed down, the towering ancient trees began to wither, and leaves fell in abundance, as if winter was approaching, creating a desolate scene.

The artificial prosperity and stability crumbled in an instant. Residents of island after island fled in terror, birds took flight, beasts scattered, and everything was swallowed by a raging sea of ​​clouds. Ritsuka watched helplessly as a child plummeted off a cliff in the distance. His parents desperately reached out, but they too fell with the collapsing rocks, vanishing without a trace. Only his desperate cries echoed on the wind, striking her heart like a hammer blow: "This is…"

Are you pitying them?

Maeve withdrew her gaze, her eyes sweeping over the people and beasts that had sunk into the sea of ​​clouds with the island, but she remained unmoved, her tone even carrying a hint of sarcasm: "Actually, there's no need for that, because all life here will soon disappear along with this dream."

"In one cycle after another, they are simply immersed in a blissful world, living in ignorance and happiness. And it is still the same now. I'm afraid that until the very end, these people will never understand what has really happened."

The world was crumbling before her eyes, and the past flashed through Maeve's mind like a fleeting bubble. Even if she would vanish like a bubble in the next instant, even if her true self—perhaps through countless reincarnations, or perhaps residing in Valhalla—would never know this long dream and all the things that happened within it, these things...did indeed exist.

She had once turned against her lovers and fought alongside enemies she once hated. Memories that seemed shrouded in a thin mist came alive again in the face of real death, and each and every one of them brought her a satisfaction and joy that surpassed even physical intimacy.

Before this, Maeve had never imagined that she would want to sing praises of life itself, just like those boring poets.

"The great dream is about to end, and all things will return to nothingness..."

A sudden gust of wind blew her pink hair upwards, and countless illusory, shimmering lights flew up with the movement. Maeve casually glanced around; people and wild beasts, near and far, were fleeing in panic, constantly scattering wispy points of light. Only Ritsuka, standing beside her, remained unchanged.

"From now on, perhaps only a few of you outsiders who stumbled in unintentionally will still be able to vaguely remember this dream."

"So... it's best to treat it as a little anecdote, and tuck this experience away in an inconspicuous corner of your memory. Perhaps sometime in the future, you can still..."

The sound of her voice was suddenly drowned out by the wind. Ritsuka couldn't help but take a step forward. The pink-haired woman who had just been speaking suddenly scattered into countless fragments of light in the gust of wind. A few tiny stars even rushed towards her, brushing against her cheeks before merging into the rising stream of light around her. Looking around, she felt as if she were surrounded by a galaxy, its brilliance shining like diamonds. After a slight moment of astonishment, she suddenly opened her eyes wide.

"This……"

"...So beautiful..."

A faint voice, tinged with loss yet also seemingly joy and relief, rang out. A young man on an island, fleeing alongside others, suddenly stopped, staring blankly at the ocean of light slowly unfolding before him, muttering to himself. Then came a second, a third. While the majority were still fleeing and crying out for their lives, more and more people began to stop. Some still wore blank expressions, simply following their instincts and immersing themselves in the strange and magnificent scenery; others, however, seemed to be awakening from a dream.

Some of them—a very small minority—offered a different kind of gratitude to the blue moon and the sea of ​​light. The wind carried these words of thanks, spoken and unspoken, upwards, reaching even those within the crumbling palace.

In the dusty environment, the girl gripped her longsword and tilted her head slightly.

"what happened?"

"No... I must have misheard."

She answered, looking at the traveler who was raising his hand. The cauldron shattered completely the instant he raised his hand, and the mysterious patterns and ancient, powerful aura on it vanished without a trace. This seemed to mean that their plan had finally succeeded, but after success came not celebration, but farewell and death.

"What will happen next?"

"Like a real dream, we awaken with the dawn, leaving no trace. Of course, due to some interference along the way, some people may retain a few memories, but that's all. Heroes and ordinary people alike have a vast future... while we, these false phantoms, can truly live, even if only for a moment."

As his body crumbled, experiencing the instinctive resistance to annihilation, the Magic King smiled faintly: "How about it, do you feel any regret?"

"so."

The girl nodded.

This outcome was entirely expected. Ever since she learned that she too was a "creation" from the Great Cauldron's dream, she understood that this matter would most likely not have a happy ending. Along the way, she had actually listened to every question the Great Cauldron asked.

"Actually... I wasn't trying to help you."

Magic King wasn't surprised: "I knew it. Even if we stood up to stop you, you would still insist on going this far."

The deceased are gone, and regardless of their intentions, what truly made the girl make up her mind was the experience of her short ten-odd years in this life.

They are those people, whether familiar or strangers, who should not have died.

Both Magic King and Dafu are gambling, betting on which side the scales will tip in the end, and Neman, who betrayed them, whether intentionally or unintentionally, has placed more chips on one side.

A dazzling galaxy unfolded in this gradually crumbling world. The palace walls turned to dust, revealing the bridge of light that stretched across the heavens and earth. The battle on it had ceased, and the figures of the Furmoirs, the Danu, and the Irish were disappearing one by one. As if sensing something, the girl turned her head and met the eyes of the tall, thin middle-aged man.

The other person first gave him an apologetic look.

She shook her head, looking somewhat dissatisfied.

Leodogran paused for a moment, then seemed to realize something, and the guilt in his eyes faded away, replaced by a belated joy and satisfaction.

“Fina, your sword is very sharp, but it is still missing one thing.”

"what?"

The old questions and answers, the doubts that had lingered in her heart for so long, now melted away like ice and snow. She seemed to hear her father answer: "No matter how sharp a sword is, it is meaningless without a swordsman."

Throughout her life, though she held a gleaming sword in her hand, the sword within her heart remained rusty. Her body grew day by day, but her heart remained stuck in that moment, stagnant.

The answer is now revealed.

"The desire to live and the fear of death are human nature. To sacrifice oneself for the sake of the law is the principle of the sword—"

Leodogran calmly looked at the petite figure. With a certain intuition, he knew that he would soon lose this memory and the child he had carefully cared for and raised. But in any case, for this moment, he felt a deep sense of pride.

The sword, received from its master, has finally been passed on to another person after decades of honing.

To be a teacher and a father, that is enough for me.

He nodded slightly, and a familiar footstep approached beside him. Balan said with a smile, "You have a good student."

"You too."

The two looked at each other and smiled.

……

The girl only looked away when the bridge of light disappeared. She also caught a glimpse of the evil dragon, who was spitting out angry sparks and seemingly shouting something, but because it was in dragon form, she couldn't understand a word.

It's probably not a nice thing to say.

"Humph."

And whether it was just my imagination or not, the usually reliable Sword of Light let out a slightly smug hum.

But in any case, all of this has to come to an end.

As the aura of the cauldron dissipated, those ignorant "creatures" perished almost instantly. The more conscious they were, the longer they remained. And now, even the Magic King before them began to turn into fluttering specks of light.

Unfortunately, I never heard a reply from her in the end... But looking back, I really did take advantage of her quite a bit during this strange journey—although to outsiders, she might have been the one who was taken advantage of.

The girl sheathed her sword, looked at her palm, tapped her lips with her fingertips, and suddenly smiled, as if she had thought of something.

This scene, witnessed by the Magic King, unexpectedly reminded him of some unspeakable events that had happened with a certain girl long ago, and his mood lightened considerably.

"It's about time we said goodbye."

Upon hearing this, the girl quickly composed herself, a faint smile still lingering on her lips: "Yes..."

"I wish you and that young man a good outcome." He spoke slowly and deliberately, then watched with satisfaction as the smile on the girl's lips suddenly froze.

"……What?"