Yuri tried to speak to Gert, but only brief replies came back now and then; a proper conversation was impossible.
She realized that his reason was fractured.
Becoming a Death Knight had worn down much of his mind, replaced by a fierce aggression toward living beings.
They were in the midst of a grueling battle.
“Uh…”
“What is it?”
The Great Library trembled as Pierre dashed toward it.
At the same moment, Gert’s movements froze.
“Die!”
Simon, unaware of the situation, kept swinging his sword wildly, and one of his attacks struck Gert—but instead, Simon was knocked back.
Still, Gert didn’t react; he simply stared at the Great Library.
Something was happening.
Yuri, with Guilty draped over her shoulder, looked at Ivan’s group. They faced the Great Library, arms spread wide in joy.
“It’s finally happened.”
“Whoa…”
“Did it succeed?”
They murmured such things.
Thanks to Gert’s sudden stillness, they had a moment’s breathing room. Yuri motioned for the others to hold back, then grabbed Ivan by the collar.
“Explain. What the hell is that?”
His eyes burned strangely as he answered.
“It will awaken.”
“What will awaken?”
“A new being to serve Him.”
“Who is ‘He’?”
“That is…”
Suddenly, Ivan swung his sword at Yuri.
“You don’t need to know!”
Yuri blocked the attack as if she’d been waiting for it, then tripped him, sending him sprawling. As Ivan rolled to escape, Yuri grabbed his hair and yanked him back.
He crashed to the ground again, his neck twisted.
“Where do you think you’re going to strike me from behind again?”
“Arrgh…”
The other mercenaries surrounded Yuri, weapons drawn.
Yuri sliced Ivan’s neck with Guilty, drawing blood, and asked the mercenaries,
“Explain what your boss meant.”
One of the archers lowered his bow slightly.
“It’s all over now. We have to run.”
“Over? What’s over?”
“The Devil’s Flower, dormant in Adelvine, will awaken. Then even that Death Knight will fall. There’s nothing left for us to do.”
“Devil’s Flower?”
“Sorry for deceiving you, but we each had different goals. Now we have to run. It’s the only way to survive.”
“I’m not running. Explain who this ‘He’ is, and what the Devil’s Flower is.”
“Time is—”
At that moment, a wall of the Great Library collapsed.
Everyone’s eyes widened.
From the breach, a black mist poured out, spreading rapidly. The mercenaries’ gazes grew vacant.
Yuri felt a crushing despair invade her mind.
But the Soul Slash would not allow this corruption. Like purifying poison, mana surged through her body.
“Everyone, snap out of it!”
Jared was fine, but Simon and Guiness might struggle to resist.
Then Yuri turned to see an unexpected sight: Cory was shielding the group with magic. The dark power spilling from the Great Library couldn’t penetrate his barrier.
“Whoa…”
Yuri gave him a thumbs-up.
Meanwhile, the mercenaries, as if entranced, kept moving toward the Great Library. Even Ivan, subdued by Yuri, had a dazed expression and struggled to get up and follow.
Jose approached.
“Prince, I don’t know much about magic, but I can tell that’s black magic. It’s bewitching people.”
“Should we run?”
“I think we have to… but—”
Yuri and Jose both looked at Gert.
The figure who had stood still began to move.
At first, Yuri thought he was also under the spell.
But Gert attacked the mercenaries heading toward the Great Library.
Running was useless. They had no strength to resist.
Watching the mercenaries fall one by one to Gert’s hand, Yuri muttered,
“How is this all unfolding?”
Gert killed them and pulled their hearts from their chests, squeezing them above his head.
The skull, soaked in blood, glowed fiercely as the core embedded in his chest flared brightly.
Gert’s power grew stronger.
Cory, watching, said,
“Prince, I think I understand.”
“Tell me.”
“I can feel it. An evil being was sealed inside that Great Library.”
“And?”
“That being, like Oqua, needs living life to survive. But Gert has been killing those lives instead. Whether he meant to stop the evil or not, by killing living creatures, he effectively sealed it away.”
Cory’s explanation made sense. Yuri had suspected something similar.
The Death Knight, a resurrected knight who refused death, had his own reasons for the massacre.
But his hands were stained with too much blood.
“Life is… complicated.”
Yuri gave a bitter smile.
If only everyone could be happy—that kind of world never comes.
“Hey.”
Yuri kicked Ivan’s head, who was still subdued. Ivan blinked, seeming to come to his senses.
“What the hell happened…?”
“What do you think? You were bewitched.”
“Ah…”
“Just one question. Answer me, or you die. Who is this ‘He’ you mentioned?”
“He is…”
Ivan looked at Yuri, then at the Great Library radiating darkness, and at Gert standing before it.
He licked his dry lips and spoke again.
“If I answer, will you really spare me?”
“Yes.”
“He is…”
Then his head exploded.
Ivan’s skull shattered, blood and brain matter pooling on the floor. Yuri stared at the gruesome scene and muttered,
“Who is ‘Baro’?”
“Not a person’s name, but the ‘Baro’ as in ‘the very one,’ I guess.”
“Just as I thought.”
“Yeah.”
“Damn.”
Apparently, Ivan was under a curse too. Yuri kicked his headless corpse aside and turned back.
Gert was still staring at the Great Library.
What was he thinking?
Yuri called out.
“Hey, Gert.”
Surprisingly, he answered.
[Human.]
“Oh, he’s responding?”
[Leave.]
A dusty wind swept past his gaunt frame. The Death Knight, stripped of his plate armor, looked fragile, as if he might collapse at any moment.
Gert said,
[If you don’t leave, I will kill you.]
“And you?”
[I will stop you.]
Gert turned his back, as if done speaking.
“No one’s giving a proper explanation.”
Yuri summoned her mana method and peered into the realm of souls.
Everything changed.
The Great Library was consumed by black energy, transforming into a grotesque monster with writhing tentacles. Opposing it, Gert was no longer a skeletal Death Knight but a knight clad in worn armor, his cloak billowing.
Yuri noticed something at the spot where his core was.
“Life.”
The character flickered rhythmically, as if trying to convey a message.
Seeing Gert and the Great Library in the soul realm, Yuri felt she understood.
Gert was, after all, a product of black magic.
Therefore, he could never truly destroy the Devil’s Flower. His greatest resistance was to exterminate the living beings of Adelvine, cutting off the nourishment feeding the monster.
A stubborn and tragic path.
But Yuri was different.
She walked up behind Gert and shouted,
“Gert. I’ll help you.”
He stopped and turned.
His eyes flickered.
[You must not. I will stop you.]
“No. You can’t kill that thing. You know that, right?”
[That’s why I will stop you.]
“I can kill it.”
Gert looked at Yuri. She repeated,
“I can cut through black magic.”
Erich Briole had traveled east, absorbing their martial arts and creating a completely new mana method.
The details were unclear, but one thing was certain.
He wanted to forge a sword capable of opposing evil.
Thus, the Soul Slash—the sword that cuts through heart and soul—came to Yuri.
“I am Yuri Briole, third prince of Briole. I can slay those who dwell in darkness. I intend to destroy all products of black magic in Adelvine. You can trust me.”
Her declaration carried weight.
Gert stared at her with blood-red eyes, silent for a long moment. His core blazed like a flame, the character for ‘Life’ glowing even brighter.
He spoke.
[Are you a knight?]
“Yes.”
[Do you swear?]
“Swear?”
Yuri laughed.
A vow? That had long lost meaning.
The world was full of those who swore falsely.
Such an old-fashioned knight.
She placed her hand over her heart.
“Of course. I swear on all my honor. But you have a task for me as well.”
She stepped closer. Though close enough to strike if Gert changed his mind, she didn’t care.
Facing him, she said,
“The being that destroyed Adelvine now threatens the entire continent. I intend to stop it. So once the Devil’s Flower is destroyed, tell me everything you know.”
Gert looked at her without answering.
Yuri didn’t press him for an answer.
Instead, he tapped Gert on the shoulder, as one comrade would to another.
“Do you understand?”
Having glimpsed Gert’s true self through the realm of souls, Yuri no longer saw him as a Death Knight reduced to a mere skeleton.
All that remained was a stern, rigid knight with a sharp gaze standing before him.
Gert stared at Yuri for a moment, then silently turned and began walking toward the Grand Library.
The sight of that gaunt, skeletal knight advancing toward the enemy was both pitiful and solemn.
He would fight on relentlessly until his soul was completely worn away.
Yuri called the others over.
“We don’t need to fight Gert anymore.”
“Didn’t he just refuse to answer?”
“He did answer.”
“Huh?”
“You probably didn’t see it, but…”
Yuri slung Guilty over his shoulder and looked up at the black tendrils snaking out from the Grand Library.
“He winked.”
“Excuse me?”
“Let’s go. That monstrous thing that destroyed Adelvine is right there. Our enemy isn’t Gert—it’s those ugly tentacles. Now, this feels like a real fight.”
“Damn it, first a pile of corpses, now tentacles…”
“Think we’ll make it out alive?”
“Don’t jinx it.”
“This is exactly why coming to Adelvine was worth it. Hahaha!”
“I’ll always follow the prince.”
“I’ll do my best.”
Each of them spoke up. Some grumbled, but no one backed down.
Yuri took the lead, and the others naturally fell in behind him.
The formation was the same as always.
Yuri said, “Don’t die. If you do, I won’t let it slide.”
“How can you not let it slide if we’re already dead?”
“If you’re curious, go ahead and try dying.”
The Grand Library began to collapse. The radial black tendrils smashed through the outer walls, revealing their grotesque form.
Above them rose a mass of dark red flesh.
At its center was a terrifying maw, exuding a pitch-black aura.
“Kori, focus on blocking mental attacks.”
“Yes!”
“Simon, Guiness, protect Kori while fighting.”
“Yes!”
“Sir Jose, do as you see fit.”
“Leave it to me!”
“Laurent, Jared.”
“Yes.”
“Yes.”
“Let’s do our best.”
“We’ll give it our all.”
“Let’s get this done.”
Kori stepped back and formed a protective seal, while Simon and Guiness guarded his side, wary of the tendrils.
Jose separated himself, searching for an opening.
Laurent and Jared stood beside Yuri.
“Gert’s the strongest, so don’t get reckless. Support him while you fight, got it?”
“Yes!”
“And…”
Everyone drew their swords.
There was no time for further orders.
Gert charged toward the demon’s flower.
Yuri shouted, “Do what you can!”
He lay prostrate in the pitch-black darkness.
With every breath he exhaled, the scent of sulfur seeped out.
Suddenly, his eyes opened.
Countless characters flickered across his bright yellow pupils, appearing and vanishing. Then, a single character emerged, illuminating the darkness.
「命」 (Life)
It gradually brightened until it shone enough to light the entire cave.
He tilted his head in confusion.
The light wasn’t emanating from within—it was merely reflecting a greater source, like the moon.
Then what was the origin of this dazzling light? His eyes darted erratically through the void.
Finally, his gaze fixed on a single point.
He was looking somewhere far beyond the cave.
At last, his lips parted.
[This is becoming troublesome.]