"What is that… sword?"
The Beast of the End's golden vertical pupils stared at the burning Flame Sword in Carlisle's hand.
Carlisle didn't answer. He raised the sword, and with his only remaining right hand, he swung it down fiercely.
Boom!!!
The blizzard was split in two, and the scorching flames, like dawn, cleaved through the extreme cold, leaving a burning crack across the sky and earth!
Carlisle leaped up, charging directly at the Beast of the End. The giant beast's sharp claw swept towards him, and he cut it down without hesitation
Clang!
The sharp claw broke with a clang, but there was no blood at the break; instead, pure magical light diffused… This was the essence of the Great Spirit.
The Beast of the End let out an earth-shattering roar, and the space behind it twisted again. A blue orb, dozens of meters in diameter, condensed into shape, and the temperature in the air was instantly sucked dry, even dimming the flames.
[Flame sword Draw! When courage and Flame Sword Blaze intersect, the crimson sword will pierce evil!]
Flame Sword Blaze responded!
The holy flame on the blade suddenly surged, and Carlisle slashed down from the air; a flame strike that pierced the sky and earth roared out!
Rumble!!
The orb was forcibly split open, and magic power scattered into countless light particles. The strike, with undiminished momentum, heavily struck the body of the Beast of the End. Cracks spread, and the light of magic power overflowed from the wound.
Carlisle landed back on the ground, looking down at his body… Sure enough.
His Fingers began to turn into blue light particles, slowly drifting away. The holy flame could heal those with a righteous heart, but my soul was already broken… He also understood why this sword had always slept deep within his soul.
Because it needed a Holy Sword Driver, or rather, a scabbard… And the scabbard had already crossed over to this world with him.
Because
The scabbard… is my body itself.
His flesh, bones, everything was a container for the Flame Sword Blaze. And now, with the sword's power completely unleashed, his existence was being burned away.
The Beast of the End stared at him, seemingly finally understanding something.
"…Is it worth it?"
"Farewell, Great Spirit… No, Beast of the End."
Carlisle slowly pressed the emblem on the sword guard against his forehead, and Flame Sword Blaze let out a clear, resonant dragon's roar.
[flame sword Draw! Dragon! One-Volume Slash! Liefire!]
In an instant, the holy flame shot into the sky, and Carlisle's figure transformed into a red and blue interwoven meteor, piercing through the body of the Beast of the End at a speed beyond vision.
Whoosh!
When he reappeared, he was already behind the giant beast. But the battle was not over-
Carlisle's figure began to flicker, constantly appearing around the Beast of the End like a burning phantom. Each appearance was accompanied by a scorching strike, and flames carved unhealing wounds onto the colossal body.
Finally, his figure teleported to the top of the Beast of the End's head, and the blade of Flame Sword Blaze erupted with a sun-like radiance-
Cross Slash!!
Crossing flame sword energy pierced through the sky and earth. The body of the Beast of the End gradually disintegrated in the holy flame, transforming into a sky-full of drifting blizzard, and the extreme cold once again enveloped the forest. A blizzard even more ferocious than before swept in.
It's over… Carlisle slowly landed, and the Flame Sword Blaze in his hand began to dissipate. He looked down at his right hand, which was also gradually becoming transparent.
Not much time left… Dragging his body, which was on the verge of collapse, he walked step by step towards the barrier. With each step, more light particles drifted from his body. The moment he finally stepped into the barrier.
Plop.
A blood-stained hand gently landed on Subaru's head.
"…I'm back."
— — — — — —
"Subaru, listen to me…"
Carlisle's voice was very soft; his body had already begun to turn transparent, and blue light particles, like fragments of stars, peeled off from him little by little, scattering in the wind and snow.
He slowly raised his hand and placed the blood-stained knight's medal into her palm.
"When this snow stops… you must return to the Royal Capital immediately."
His voice was calm, as if he were just explaining a very ordinary small matter.
"Take this, and go find Lady Crusch and Felix… Tell them, I sent you."
Subaru's pupils trembled violently, and she desperately clutched his wrist, but the place she touched was as illusory as mist.
"Also…" He gently tapped her chest, and a faint light flashed and disappeared. "I've left the last of my flame to you… It will protect you in my stead."
"What are you talking about?!" Subaru's voice was almost torn, and hot tears streamed onto the back of his hand. "That monster is dead! What are these blue light particles?! What about you?! What will happen to you?! Answer me!"
Carlisle did not answer.
Or rather, he could no longer hear.
His gaze remained gentle, but it seemed to look past her, towards a more distant place.
"After that… go find Reinhard, she will arrange everything. You must leave Lugunica."
"Kararagi… is a good place." His lips curved slightly, as if imagining her there. "…You will definitely like it there."
"My savings… are in the nightstand in the Mansion room." His voice grew softer and softer. "Though not much… it's enough to buy a house…"
"Stop it!!!" Subaru's nails dug deep into her palm, and blood dripped from between her fingers. "Why?! Why is your body disappearing?! Stop it… Please, stop it!!!"
Carlisle gently stroked her hair.
"Also…" He paused. "Mayonnaise… don't eat it every day. It's not good for your body and stomach. You're always like this, once you get obsessed with something, you can't stop.
"Remember to wear more clothes… Don't dress so lightly like those noble young ladies."
"Remember to bring an umbrella on rainy days… Don't run back drenched and get a fever like last time."
"Take care of your health; if you get sick, go to the doctor immediately… Don't try to tough it out."
He slowly turned to Rem, his gaze soft.
"Rem… could I trouble you to look after Subaru?"
"She's always so clumsy… she needs someone to watch over her."
Rem's tears had long since overflowed, and she bit her lip hard, not letting herself cry out loud.
"About Ram… I'm very sorry." His eyes dimmed. "I was still… too late."
"You must forget me and start anew there, okay?"
He turned his head away, no longer looking at Rem's tear-streaked face. Was it because he couldn't bear to, or because he didn't dare?
Finally, he looked at Subaru again.
His lips curved slightly, revealing the gentle smile Subaru knew best.
"Live on, thank you… for coming into my life."
"Saying this now…"
He looked down at his already translucent hand and chuckled softly. The laugh contained self-mockery, yet also an endless tenderness.
"Is it a bit late?"
The last wisp of his voice drifted away with the wind. His gaze still gently fixed on Subaru. In the instant his form was about to completely vanish, the deeply hidden emotions in those clear blue eyes were finally no longer concealed. That fervent yet restrained love; in his final moments, he etched her image deep into his dissipating soul.
The words that should have been spoken earliest, yet he waited until he couldn't even touch her to say them.
But he still said them.
Because some words, even if late, she absolutely had to hear.
Carlisle's outline was as hazy as mist in the morning light. His body transformed into countless tiny blue light particles, like stars falling from the night sky, gently swaying in the wind and snow.
Each particle of light shimmered with a faint but warm glow, like the last of his tenderness. They slowly ascended, scattering in the biting cold wind, like dandelions blown away by the wind, lightly merging into the vastness of heaven and earth.
Subaru reached out, wanting to catch one of them, but the light particles slipped through her Fingers, carrying the last of his warmth, and disappeared behind the vast curtain of snow.
Carlisle Eltheran
Born on the border of the Lugunica Kingdom, he died in the blizzard of the Beast of the End, at the age of nineteen.
His life was short but brilliant, like a meteor streaking across the night sky, leaving the most dazzling light in the darkness.
Under the all-encompassing shadow, his sword light tore through the calamity that had raged for four hundred years.
Facing twisted madness, he built a wall of protection with his flesh and blood, never retreating a single step.
When the world was about to freeze into eternal winter, he transformed into the last light and heat, melting the destructive ice and snow.
He chose to burn his life into a flame protecting others in the winter of his nineteenth year.
Knights do not die, they merely turn into stars.
May his light forever illuminate the path of the living.
...
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