Yuri had no intention of dragging out the fight.
Once his resolve was set, there were only two possible outcomes: kill or be killed. Refusing to die, he unleashed every ounce of his power to kill.
Mana swirled atop the Guilty.
It grew larger and larger, until the entire cavern was swept up in a massive current.
The moment Yuri took a step forward, Sibylla’s eyes darkened to black.
The tendrils that had been swaying behind her shot upward and plunged into the vortex. This unexpected intrusion shattered the fractal structure of the whirlpool, causing it to rupture.
The spinning blade of the vortex broke apart.
Yuri bore the full brunt of the aftermath.
Countless scratches appeared across his skin, scorched by the mana explosion.
“Ugh…”
Inside, things were even worse.
But Sibylla wasn’t unscathed either. The tendrils she wielded like blades were torn to tatters, writhing like ragged scraps.
Without hesitation, Yuri charged at Sibylla.
A tendril blocked his path.
He slashed it with Guilty, breaking it into dozens of pieces, then aimed beyond at Sibylla. But the shattered fragments twisted into a wedge shape and stabbed into Yuri’s back.
Startled by the sudden pain, he faltered briefly—but didn’t stop swinging Guilty. His strength waned, and Sibylla’s blade intercepted his strike.
Her eyes, black even in the whites, glared fiercely at him.
Yuri smirked.
“Let’s just stop at the wings. Those aren’t so great.”
“I told you to stop.”
Sibylla twisted her sword aside and jabbed her elbow into Yuri’s chest. Having grown thinner, her elbow bone felt sharper than before.
Taking advantage of Yuri’s stagger, she swung her sword again.
Yuri ducked low, spun, and swept the floor with his leg.
Sibylla stumbled.
Yuri immediately drove Guilty down.
She couldn’t react in time, but the tendrils on her back shot up and wrapped around Guilty like serpents, squeezing tightly. Yuri’s hand trembled.
In that moment, Sibylla kicked him in the stomach.
Barely holding onto Guilty, Yuri fell backward.
Sibylla sprang up and swung her sword toward him.
Yuri adjusted his stance and slashed through the air. The precision of his strike targeted Sibylla’s neck.
But it was shallow.
Though it drew blood, it was only a scratch.
As Sibylla touched her neck, tilting her head in confusion, Yuri took a deep breath.
From sparring with Moyongchan, Yuri had gained insight into the power of chaos. Though it robbed him of restful sleep, he accepted the cost.
The more Shimma threatened him, the higher his mastery of chaos grew.
The Mana Method called Simhoncham and the chaotic power it unlocked combined within Yuri’s body, amplifying each other.
A murky mana swelled uncontrollably.
Now, the energy he radiated was as dark as the black magic Sibylla wielded.
Yuri burst forward explosively.
His speed was far greater than before.
Chaos pushed him from behind. Time seemed to slow, and his accelerated thoughts sharpened. Using every trajectory he could imagine, he attacked Sibylla.
To kill her.
That was his sole focus.
Whatever their relationship had been, whatever feelings lingered between them—none of it belonged on the edge of a blade.
Yuri shed everything but his will to kill.
His sword energy turned fierce and ruthless.
He was filled with a determination to kill at all costs, even if it meant sacrificing himself.
That murderous intent alone was a pressure on the enemy.
Sibylla, overwhelmed by Yuri’s ferocity, became more defensive.
Clutching Guilty tightly, Yuri advanced. The core of black magic coiled inside Sibylla, visible in his eyes, but it hadn’t yet consumed her entirely.
Still, the longer the fight dragged on, the more the tendrils spread in all directions. What had been thin moments ago had thickened.
Black magic was always like that—growing stronger with time.
“Phew…”
Yuri glared at the tendrils approaching him.
There was more than one now.
“Three? You sure like your wings.”
The three tendrils, like snakes, lunged forward.
Yuri twisted Guilty at various angles, blocking and slicing through them.
But the tendrils grew longer with each cut.
Attacking was pointless.
He had to kill the core.
Yuri’s gaze shifted past the writhing tendrils to Sibylla.
Chaos surged violently within him. His whole body was overloaded. But he didn’t care.
He closed his eyes, then opened them again.
Suddenly.
That moment stretched out.
The time between his eyelids closing and reopening felt long.
Beyond that long pause, Yuri dodged the tendrils, twisted his body sideways, then stepped forward and blinked.
As his eyelids closed—
A vast darkness unfolded.
Yuri saw the vision of Shimma again.
The land formed beneath him, a blue sky hung overhead. Mountain ranges rose, and the sun traced its path across the sky.
The world was assembling.
He experienced this every night, but now was no time for it.
Yuri reached for his waist. Guilty hung there, exactly where it should be.
Time to do what needed to be done.
He stepped into the world created by Shimma.
It didn’t take long.
“…”
Yuri’s eyelids lifted.
Shimma was over.
Sibylla and the three tendrils advanced toward him.
Time hadn’t passed at all while he slipped in and out of Shimma, as if the world had paused and resumed.
There was no time to think deeply.
Feeling the familiar grip of Guilty in his hand, Yuri took a step forward.
The chaos infused in his sword was stronger and fiercer than before. Even facing the three tendrils, he felt no tension.
He swung Guilty immediately.
The tendrils shattered into dozens of pieces.
Passing through the scattering flesh and debris, Yuri closed in on Sibylla’s throat in an instant.
Before she could react, he stabbed her in the stomach.
He felt the blade pierce through flesh.
Not stopping there, he twisted the sword to deliver a harsher blow.
Sibylla’s body trembled.
Yuri relentlessly searched inside her for the core of the black magic.
This sinister, tenacious creature seemed immortal, but the sword technique his ancestor left behind—Simhoncham—held the power to cut even this evil.
After scanning her insides, he found the black magic.
Yuri subtly pulled Guilty back, then swung it again with force toward that spot.
He intended to tear apart Sibylla’s body along with the black magic core.
Simhoncham opened its maw, ready to devour the enemy.
But her body split only halfway before stopping.
She lifted her eyes.
Sibylla glared at Yuri with bloodshot, tear-filled eyes.
“This isn’t enough.”
Yuri looked down.
Guilty, piercing through her body, was gripped by a black, sticky substance. It clung tightly, preventing his sword from moving further.
“Try harder.”
“Is that so?”
Yuri unleashed a burst of chaotic energy. Guilty vibrated, shaking off the black magic aura surrounding him.
Her body lifted slightly.
The crack widened.
The sword that had pierced her stomach slowly rose to her solar plexus, now cutting through ribs.
The black magic core was fully fused with Sibylla’s heart. The more she wielded the dark magic, the more tightly they intertwined. Her insides were already consumed.
Each time Yuri unleashed Simhoncham, the black magic core retreated bit by bit.
But there was nowhere left for it to run inside her body.
Yuri pressed on, cutting upward through Sibylla’s flesh as far as his strength allowed. Her organs fell away with soft thuds.
Finally, his blade touched her heart.
The black magic core contracted sharply.
Yuri didn’t stop. The malevolent will trapped inside thrashed violently, but Guilty remained steady, steadily dismantling the black magic.
Soon, her heart was severed.
At the same moment, the black magic exploded.
The tendrils on her back crumbled to dust and fell away, turning into a black mist that swelled and filled the cavern.
The death throes of the black magic core were thick and acrid.
“Sibylla.”
Yuri looked up.
Despite the tenacity of the black magic, Sibylla was still alive. She quietly met his gaze.
Yuri asked,
“Did I do it right?”
Sibylla smirked and nodded.
“Yes.”
He remembered the first time they met. She’d put on a tough act to hide her vulnerability, but Yuri saw through it immediately. That’s why he’d felt drawn to her.
They’d grown closer fighting orcs together with the Alliance army.
Between people close like that, words aren’t always necessary to understand each other.
“Remember the wish token?”
When they met in the tower’s prison, Yuri had asked Sibylla about the wish token.
“It seems our fates have diverged. The token’s expiration has come. You can’t use it anymore—if you want to, you have to use it now.”
Sybilla could say anything she wanted—tell him not to stop her, or to leave the Holy Kingdom behind.
Yuri must have guessed why she appeared before him, yet she never used her wish token.
She said nothing.
That was her answer.
And so, Yuri understood the truth she couldn’t bring herself to voice.
He whispered softly.
“If only you’d asked me for help before all this…”
“No means no.”
Sybilla smiled faintly.
“Yuri.”
“Yeah?”
“Is your wish token still valid?”
“It is.”
“I’m going to use it.”
“For what?”
“Lean in close.”
“I’m really ticklish, you know…”
“I’m sleepy now. So no messing around, okay?”
“Alright.”
Sybilla whispered something into Yuri’s ear. His expression darkened for a moment, then he broke into a smile.
Yuri and his group were running down the mountain.
In the end, Yuri had killed Sybilla and destroyed the core of the dark magic. The knights of the Holy Kingdom all lost their strength and collapsed.
Their seemingly fearless power had stemmed from the dark magic Sybilla had harbored.
With the situation clear, Yuri laid Sybilla’s body on the ground and fled immediately. They had to leave the mountain before more troops arrived.
“This should be far enough, right?”
“No sign of any pursuers.”
“By some stroke of luck, we pulled it off. Well done, well done!”
Francesco celebrated their victory.
But Yuri’s face was somber. Their triumph had come at the cost of him killing his own friend.
While the others rested, Yuri stood alone a little apart, gazing up at the sky.
Jared approached.
“Your Highness, are you alright?”
“I’m fine.”
“If you need a broad shoulder to lean on…”
“No, thanks.”
“If you want to cry…”
“That won’t happen.”
“Understood.”
Jared stood beside Yuri, then reached out to put an arm around his shoulder—but hesitated and withdrew it.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
Jared cleared his throat.
“Are you really okay?”
“I said I’m fine.”
“Then… can I ask you something?”
“Go ahead.”
“Sybilla… she actually wanted you to stop her, didn’t she?”
“Yeah. Foolish girl.”
“You two were just friends, right?”
“Right.”
“But earlier…”
“Hm?”
“At the end, I saw something. Was there really nothing between you two?”
When the thick, acrid fog rolled in, Jared had moved closer to protect Yuri.
That’s when he saw them.
Through the smoky haze, the two were talking quietly, sometimes laughing.
They didn’t seem like people facing death and delivering it.
Eventually, they whispered something to each other, and Yuri kissed Sybilla.
The kiss was brief, yet lingering.
And then, Sybilla’s head fell.
That was the last thing Jared witnessed between them.
“You saw it.”
“Yes.”
“Keep it a secret.”
“Of course.”
“Jared.”
“Yes?”
Jared looked at Yuri, who gave a bitter smile and gazed up at the sky.
“There’s no such thing as just friends between a man and a woman.”
Yuri tapped Jared’s chest lightly and turned away.
“Uh…”
Jared watched Yuri’s heavy silhouette for a long while.