Yuri instinctively swung Guilty backward.
Feathers scattered.
Flap.
With the sound of wings, a white bird took flight and landed on Sybilla’s shoulder.
He had thought someone grabbed the back of his neck, but it was the bird brushing against it.
Sybilla greeted him.
“Hello. It’s been a while.”
“Sybilla. Since when did you become a bird trainer?”
“Somehow it just happened. And you—since when did you start pretending to be a rat?”
She acted as if she had known about Yuri’s presence from the start.
“You hid pretty well.”
“You’re the one who’s good at pretending to be a king.”
“Pretending?”
Sybilla lifted her head.
“I’m not pretending. I am the real king.”
“Doesn’t seem like it.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Just what I said. Doesn’t seem like it.”
“What are you trying to do right now?”
Sybilla looked at Yuri, then sighed.
“Ah, I shouldn’t get involved. Yuri Briole. You’ve always been like this.”
“Now you’re pretending to be calm? So you’re not just good at playing king?”
“Get to the point. Stop playing word games.”
“This is my point. Why are you pretending to be king?”
“I told you—I am the king.”
“The king was Larson.”
“He’s dead.”
Sybilla glared at Yuri.
“Did you sneak in here like a rat just to pick a fight? You should be grateful I’m even talking to an intruder.”
“Fine.”
Yuri immediately conceded. It was his habit to test the waters with words when at a disadvantage.
“Let me ask you something. Why are you attacking Bursen?”
“Oh, that’s why you came?”
“Not exactly. My friendship with you and my concern for you are much bigger reasons, but I’m asking while I’m at it.”
“Yeah, right.”
While they talked, Gultenstein crouched in a corner. Sybilla shot him a sharp look before speaking.
“Alas is our land.”
“That’s all?”
“Then what other reason could there be?”
“For example, the Empire might have proposed that someone assassinate Larson in your place, take the throne, and then attack Bursen.”
“Hah…”
“You’re not answering. Was it true?”
“I’m too stunned to respond.”
“That’s unlike you.”
“What nonsense are you spouting now?”
“Did you decide to cut out that guy’s tongue?”
“That went too far. I just did it.”
Sybilla glared at Gultenstein.
“This is all his fault.”
“Yeah.”
Yuri crossed his arms and approached the iron bars.
Sybilla looked the same as before. Just as he remembered her. But somehow, there was an unsettling feeling.
Deep in Yuri’s eyes, something wavered.
His vision slipped into the realm of the soul. This place was no longer a dim prison. Bathed in a brilliant white light, Yuri could see their true forms.
Faint images of Sybilla and Gultenstein shimmered.
Soon, Yuri’s eyes returned to reality.
“What did you just do?”
“Huh?”
“You just… something…”
“What do you mean? I was just staring because you two are pathetic. You and that dwarf…”
Yuri clicked his tongue.
“Sybilla.”
“Yes?”
“I feel sorry for your situation, and your revenge is your business, but my enemy is the Empire. To stop the Empire, your kingdom’s alliance must not break. There can’t be any excuse for the Holy Kingdom to attack Bursen over Alas.”
“Then what are you going to do?”
Yuri recalled the first time they met.
She was no different now than when she wore the armor of her heart to inflate herself.
“I’m going to stop you.”
“How?”
“You’ll find out soon enough. And…”
Yuri crossed his arms and stared intently at Sybilla’s face.
“…”
Caught in that unwavering gaze, Sybilla faltered.
“Why are you staring like that?”
Yuri said nothing, just kept looking. As silence stretched, her face flushed.
“If you have something to say, say it.”
“Sybilla.”
“Yeah?”
“Remember the wish token?”
Before, Sybilla had taken a wish token from Yuri in exchange for pretending to be his lover. Several had already been issued, and Yuri was at a loss about how to retrieve them.
“Use it now.”
“Huh?”
“It seems our fates have diverged. The wish token’s expiration has come. You won’t be able to use it later, so if you want to, use it now.”
Sybilla quietly looked at Yuri.
Their eyes met.
She didn’t say a word.
Yuri nodded.
“Alright. This ends here.”
With that, Yuri turned and began walking up the stairs.
Sybilla spoke.
“Did I say I’d let you go willingly?”
But her words lacked conviction. Yuri just waved his hand dismissively.
Gultenstein, who had been silent, started making noises again. He seemed to believe Yuri would save him.
“Ugh ugh! Ugh ugh!”
“Shut up. That dwarf’s on his own.”
After Yuri failed to persuade Sybilla, the plan moved forward more quickly.
Yuri took Jared, Simon, and Guiness along with the secret society toward the place where the dwarves’ treasure was hidden.
It was a mountain not far from the castle.
Holy Kingdom soldiers were already guarding it, but their numbers were small, so sneaking in wasn’t difficult.
Inside was a cave.
“You don’t seem like you came to persuade.”
“Huh?”
“From what I heard, you just picked fights.”
Francesco said this to Yuri, who was spying on the cave entrance from hiding.
“What do you mean?”
“You two just exchanged barbs without sincerity. No real feelings.”
“I don’t understand what you mean.”
“That’s not how conversation works. Neither you nor that queen have much social skill.”
“Me?”
Yuri chuckled.
“Then how would you have persuaded her, Francesco?”
“Oh, Sybilla. I understand your feelings. I’d have done the same in your place. Anyone would.”
“Huh?”
“I’m saying you should at least say that.”
“What good would that do?”
“Sigh…”
“Sigh…”
They both sighed together.
“By the way, are you sure Sybilla will come here?”
“She’ll come herself. She doesn’t trust others.”
Yuri nodded.
“I’m curious about this treasure.”
“You’ll see when we get there.”
The cave entrance was also guarded by Holy Kingdom soldiers. But Umstein knew of another tunnel leading inside.
Yuri’s group squeezed through a narrow passage barely wide enough for one person and finally entered the cave.
There was something inside.
“This is…”
Yuri raised a torch.
A massive, house-sized chunk lay there, its surface smooth. It shimmered with mixed colors—sometimes dark, sometimes silver, with occasional hints of red.
Looking closely, it resembled the night sky.
“What on earth is this?”
Yuri had imagined a tremendous weapon when he heard it was a dwarf treasure. But this was just a beautiful rock.
Umstein answered.
“A meteorite.”
“Huh?”
Yuri’s eyes widened.
“A meteorite. When one is spotted, we dwarves go find it and retrieve it. It contains minerals not found in this land.”
“You mean this is it?”
“Yes. And this was an unexpected find for us. Who would have thought our most precious metal would be found in such a large lump?”
“What is it?”
“The legendary metal. We call it orichalcum.”
“Ah…”
Yuri had heard the name before but thought it was just a myth.
“The dwarves discovered this?”
“Yes. Our ancestors hid it here, and my brother and I found it. But that foolish brother of mine tried to trade it to the Holy Kingdom’s king. That queen, you know.”
“Ah…”
“Truly foolish…”
Yuri stared blankly at the orichalcum.
“What can you make with this?”
“Anything.”
Jared, standing nearby, spoke up.
“Even weapons?”
“Of course. Weapons made from this can cut through the toughest steel with ease.”
“Wow…”
Judging by the size of the meteorite, they could make quite a few weapons.
Yuri muttered.
“If we make weapons from this, even the Empire…”
At that moment, a commotion arose near the cave entrance. Yuri and his group looked around and hid behind a rock outcrop.
“Isn’t today the day the queen is supposed to come?”
“Exactly.”
The day they expected was still ahead. Yet Sybilla suddenly appeared.
She led a group of knights into the cave. Behind her, Gultenstein was being dragged along.
Umstein clenched his fist.
“Ugh…”
Sybilla looked up at the meteorite in awe.
“So this is the meteorite?”
“Ugh ugh…”
Gultenstein nodded.
Sybilla placed her fingertips on its surface.
A strange glow shimmered from the meteorite. Yuri and even Umstein, standing nearby, widened their eyes in surprise.
Sybilla stroked the meteorite, then nodded with a smile.
“Just right.”
She then ordered her men.
“Everyone out.”
“Huh?”
“I’ll be alone here. Stay outside until I call you back.”
“Yes, yes.”
“Oh, you stay.”
Sybilla left Gultenstein behind.
Once the other knights had left, Sybilla spoke to Gultenstein.
“You can smelt this?”
“Ugh…”
“Alright. So, can you make it exactly the way I want?”
Then Sybilla reached out her hand.
What happened next was astonishing. A dark energy spread from her fingertips like mist, forming an indistinct shape in the air.
It was a monster with writhing tentacles.
“You’re asking if I can make something like this?”
Gultenstein nodded, too terrified to even get a proper look at the figure.
“Yeah.”
Yuri, who had been watching silently, muttered under his breath.
“Shall we do it now?”
“What?”
Francesco asked, confused.
They hadn’t come here to start a fight today. Their mission was to scout the cave entrance and plan their next move.
They weren’t prepared to take on Sybilla head-on.
“Francesco, it’s not like we can’t fight at all, right?”
“Well, yes, but…”
Though he’d lost much of his strength since his days as a Paladin, he still retained some combat ability.
Yuri spoke up.
“Sybilla is tainted by dark magic.”
That day, through the realm of souls, Yuri had seen a black core growing inside Sybilla’s body. She was already corrupted by dark magic.
And all of this was ultimately the doing of his own brother, Cedric.
“If we leave her be, she’ll only grow stronger. And who knows what she’s planning to do with that meteorite? We can’t just wait for her to make a move. We have to stop her now.”
Sybilla was trying to craft some bizarre statue using that meteorite.
Her intentions were completely unfathomable.
That’s why Yuri wanted to act quickly.
“It’s dangerous…”
“And a few more knights won’t change anything.”
With that, Yuri summoned his Soul Slash. Mana began to whirl around him.
Francesco’s expression shifted.
“No… you…”
Though he’d lost his former power, he was once a Paladin of the highest rank. He immediately recognized Yuri’s strength.
“You’re far stronger than I thought.”
“Yes. Let’s go.”
Sybilla must have sensed Yuri’s energy as well.
Suddenly, a dark aura filled the entire cave.
Yuri rose to his feet.
As the Soul Slash surged forward, the oppressive black energy that had surrounded them scattered.
“Sybilla. Hello. Fancy seeing you again.”
“Yuri Briole.”
Sybilla scowled.
“Hiding there all this time? I never expected you’d come all the way here, dragging those little rats with you.”
Yuri shrugged.
“Looks like your tastes have changed. Planning to make such a grotesque statue? Why not use me as a model instead? I think my face used to be more your style.”
“Nonsense.”