Chapter 26
On the dawn of the third day, Maya had, without a doubt, failed to keep Tristan’s words.
After fending off wave after wave of attacks, her foot was shredded, her right arm broken. Her ribs felt cracked—each breath grew harder than the last.
The fever blurred her mind.
She had pushed her body and mind past their limits, and even forced herself to keep using aura. Maya was utterly drained.
“It’s over now.”
The White Serpent licked its tongue, watching as Maya finally collapsed to the ground.
“I’ll admit—it was entertaining.”
It offered the compliment as though doing her a favor.
It was the leisure of the victor. The truth was, the White Serpent had never imagined that any human could drive it into a corner alone.
“Same here.”
This had been a good chance to test how far she could push her body—still untrained after her regression.
But more importantly—
“It’s… almost here.”
She could feel it—awakening was close.
The same physical sensations she’d felt during her first awakening were returning to her.
As she smiled, a light began to shine from her right wrist.
It was so bright that the White Serpent faltered for a moment.
Like the manifestation of a white dragon, the pure light—different from fog or from the serpent itself—wrapped around Maya.
It’s awakening.
She had fulfilled every condition she had learned in her previous life:
— When she fully understood what the Pendragon swordsmanship truly was.
— When every ounce of her strength, will, and aura was utterly depleted.
— When she had reached the absolute limit of what a human could endure.
Even one of those was difficult, but Maya had met all three—just as she had in her last life.
From her wrist, a gleaming white sword emerged—the pride and dignity of a Pendragon.
The exhaustion weighing down her body eased. Movements that had been slow and heavy from accumulated injuries and fatigue grew quicker.
When Maya awakened, her power was nearly that of a demigod.
She had been strong before, but the difference now was like heaven and earth.
“I can breathe again.”
It felt as though she had finally returned to her own body.
As she stood, gripping the sword, a familiar face appeared before her.
“I thought the Pendragon line was completely finished, but you’ve called me out.”
A woman with short white hair and striking blue eyes stood before her—the last remnant of the White Dragon Pendragon’s will.
…I never thought I’d see her again.
Before Maya lost her qualifications, this woman had been her only conversation partner, back when she was the outcast of the knight order.
But their time together had been short.
Even though the power itself could not be taken away, speaking to Pendragon’s will required one to uphold the pride of a Pendragon.
As the emperor’s control over her grew, Maya lost that pride, and the will had vanished.
“White Dragon!”
Maya greeted her with a bright smile.
“…What did you just call me? Don’t use something that plain—there’s the title Pendragon! Use that!”
Of course, the spirited Pendragon flared up at once.
“Oh, but ‘White Dragon’ is easier and nicer, isn’t it?”
Seeing her exactly as she remembered made Maya laugh.
She recalled how Pendragon had hated that nickname at first, only to eventually accept it.
Everyone thought of Pendragon as a dignified, awe-inspiring dragon, but that wasn’t the whole story.
The will she had left behind for her descendants was that of a cheerful, mischievous, bold woman.
“What’s this?”
Their beautiful reunion—at least to Maya—was interrupted by a voice.
The White Serpent, who had been blinded by the light and squinting until now, had finally regained its senses.
Pendragon and Maya turned their heads in unison.
Pendragon gave a short, derisive laugh.
“Well, look who it is—a former servant of the Demon King.”
That was something Maya had never heard in her past life.
A servant of the Demon King?
Back then, Maya and Pendragon had been stiff with each other for quite some time.
Maya had been awed to be serving Pendragon, and Pendragon had accepted Maya’s formality and polite speech at face value.
It wasn’t until Maya became captain of the knights, when she was still being ostracized and struggling, that the two began speaking casually.
“You’re still a big brute who’s not worth your age. My descendant was losing to a thing like you?”
Maya didn’t back down.
“I hadn’t awakened yet—there’s nothing I could do. I know you think I did well.”
“Oh? You read my mind. Looks like this generation’s bloodline turned out decent.”
It hadn’t even been long since they’d started talking.
Maya felt proud of herself for remembering her life before she lost Pendragon’s will.
Or maybe it’s only natural.
That time had been her only truly happy memory—she had recalled and replayed it so often it was burned into her mind.
“Well then, let’s finish it.”
Pendragon’s expression turned satisfied, and then her form vanished—returning to the sword.
The blade glowed with a proud blue light, perfectly matched to Maya’s frame.
“Let’s deal with that one.”
Maya nodded.
“Alright.”
The sword she’d been using, which had only managed to leave small cuts on the White Serpent’s body, was long discarded.
You did well enough.
Giving a small farewell in her heart, Maya leapt high and swung the sword toward the serpent.
This was no ordinary sword aura—this was the Pendragon family’s aura. The blade cut deep into the White Serpent’s body.
“H-how…?”
The serpent trembled, staring at the massive wound pouring blood.
“Do you think I’ll forgive this?!”
Like a third-rate villain, it shouted and charged at her far faster than before—finally realizing she was a true threat.
But Maya’s speed matched it.
With a single strike, she severed the serpent’s tail.
A new one grew instantly.
“Heehee, useless!”
It laughed, delighted at its regenerating tail.
Maya closed her eyes, focused her mind, and swung again.
Pendragon’s sword was swift and nimble—its technique built on quick reactions and agility.
But speed alone could sometimes be a weakness.
Before awakening, she hadn’t had the strength to make her cuts decisive, leaving only shallow wounds on the serpent’s body.
But now it’s different.
The awakened Pendragon swordsmanship was not just wind—it was a typhoon. The speed that had once been a weakness was now a strength.
And more than that—each strike carried weight like a steel hammer, its path too fast for human eyes to follow.
Wounds bloomed across the serpent’s body, etched in the wake of her sword.
It wasn’t that it couldn’t dodge.
Maya was simply far faster.
“This is the swordsmanship that defeated the Demon King. There’s no way a small fry like this can do anything.”
Pendragon’s voice rang with exhilaration.
Maya felt the same. The fever flush on her face had turned into the heat of excitement.
She remembered what she had been swinging her sword for—
For myself.
When she held a sword, Maya could be herself.
The family that scorned her, the people who looked down on her—none of it mattered.
In no time, she seized the advantage, and the White Serpent fell.
But its mouth still worked.
“Foolish human! Killing me only brings the Demon King’s resurrection closer—don’t you understand?!”
The words didn’t affect Maya in the slightest.
“Ah, is that so?”
Smiling, she began cutting it to pieces again.
“You will be the cause of your own destruction!”
Even its curse didn’t frighten her.
“I don’t care.”
Having lived through it all once before, the Demon King didn’t scare her.
“If the Demon King returns…”
If the end of the world truly came—
“…I’ll just kill him.”
In her past life, she had become a brutal butcher, slaughtering countless people.
In this life, she could save the ones she had lost back then.
There was nothing more dreadful than repeating her past mistakes.
Even if he was the Demon King—
“I’m not afraid.”
Maya smiled, relieved.
She truly wasn’t afraid.
Not repeating the same mistakes was, by itself, already a life worth living.
With a heavy thud, the serpent’s body fell to the ground.
The fog surrounding them thinned.
The White Serpent was losing strength fast.
Maya climbed up its massive body as though ascending a staircase, until she stood before its fallen head.
Awakening had restored her energy, but it hadn’t healed her broken bones. Even lifting her sword now put a huge strain on her.
But her will—and the Pendragon family’s power—made it possible.
“It’s over.”
Puk!
Her sword pierced the White Serpent’s eye.
