Yuri and his group cut down every orc they could see.
Orcs weren’t normally such easy prey. But with Yuri leading the charge and crushing them all, the rest of the orcs lost their will to fight and fled without putting up much resistance.
It took very little time to completely raze an entire orc settlement.
Yuri gathered the dead orcs in one place and set them ablaze. Thick, acrid smoke curled up from the burning corpses.
Just in case there were any captives or something else hidden, they conducted a quick search of the settlement.
But there was nothing of note inside the orcs’ buildings—only skulls of unknown origin occasionally rolling about.
There was also a place where meat was stored. This was something they found every time they raided an orc settlement. The meat was of various kinds, but Yuri was certain most of it was human.
Without a word, he burned it all.
Then, suddenly, something caught Yuri’s eye on the ground.
It was a crude wooden statue. The craftsmanship was poor, but he could vaguely tell what it was meant to represent.
A grotesque creature with tentacles.
Yuri had seen something like this before. After thinking hard, realization dawned on him.
It was the monster statue Sibyl had tried to create.
Of course, the material was different and the form clumsy, but there was no doubt it was the same.
Yuri tossed the wooden statue into the flames.
Jared approached him.
“Finished searching?”
“Yeah.”
Yuri stared thoughtfully at the burning settlement.
He wasn’t sure if the statue’s shape was a coincidence or if such a form was widely known among the orcs. But the feeling it gave him was unsettling.
He decided to abandon his plan to stop for the day and struck out to attack the orcs once more.
“One more round.”
“Do we have time?”
“As long as we finish before sunset, we’re good. Plenty of time.”
“Understood.”
They had been fighting orcs all day and were exhausted. Yet when Yuri said to go again, everyone rose without complaint.
Through battle, Yuri had become an absolute presence to his group.
They mounted their horses and rode out again.
Yuri checked the map. There was another orc settlement nearby.
“They might be prepared.”
“Yes.”
They had moved quickly to prevent the orcs from spreading word of the raids, but somehow the news had gotten through, and the orcs were ready.
“There it is.”
The target came into view. Yuri gripped Guilty tightly and eyed the distant orc settlement.
Weapons were mounted on the fence, and orcs who looked like guards patrolled the area.
“As expected, they’re on alert.”
“Shall we attack immediately?”
“Yes.”
The settlement was larger than expected, and the orc numbers were high. Normally, this wasn’t an enemy to rush headlong into.
But since it had come to this, Yuri decided to handle it himself.
He stepped forward.
“I’ll go first. Follow me.”
The moment he advanced, the orcs realized an intruder was present. With a clamor, they began preparing for battle.
Yuri lowered his stance.
His group, having seen him break through defenses alone countless times, followed silently behind.
Yuri summoned the energy of his Soul Slash. Then, he immediately called upon the power of chaos, channeling it into Guilty.
A spinning whirlwind of blades rose, swirling violently. It was a technique he wielded now as naturally as a part of his own body.
Watching the orc formation blocking his path, Yuri smiled faintly.
Then he unleashed the whirlwind.
With a thunderous roar, the orcs in his way were shredded to pieces, their remains scattering.
Blood sprayed everywhere.
The overwhelming disparity struck fear into the orcs. As the first line collapsed, those behind lost their will to fight. Some turned their backs and tried to flee.
But it was too late.
The whirlwind of sword energy swept up the next wave of orcs as well.
“Akuaaktar!”
Amid the gruesome tearing of bodies, that cry echoed.
Yuri smiled. He liked being called the Black Demon by the orcs. It was far better than being called a black dog.
He had become an unstoppable force to them. Yuri decided to live up to that title.
Dismounting, he charged at the orcs. Some of the larger ones blocked his path. They were strong, but compared to the orcs he’d faced in the last war, they were average.
Yuri swung Guilty in a wide arc.
The orcs backed off, dodging. Because his attack had been somewhat careless, gaps appeared here and there.
The orcs seized the opportunity and swung their axes. But that was exactly what Yuri had baited them into.
His speed increased, and he recovered every exposed weakness the enemies showed. What had seemed like openings were actually traps.
Yuri fixed his gaze on the flying axe blades. At a moment when his body could have been shattered, he moved between the weapons with no fear, just a hair’s breadth of space.
Barely brushing past, he slipped through the axes.
In an instant, all attacks cut through empty air.
A long moment of calm followed.
It was enough time for Yuri to slash through the hearts of every orc surrounding him.
Blood splattered in all directions.
The entire sequence happened so quickly that to others, it looked as if the orcs had been attacking normally one moment, then suddenly collapsed in a spray of blood.
“Impressive.”
Francesco, quietly following behind Yuri, muttered.
That guy was definitely a Ten Strong.
No, he had long surpassed even the threshold of the Ten Strong.
Even if he regained his strength, Francesco doubted he could match that level of skill.
“Sir Francesco.”
One of Valshad’s knights, who had started talking to Yuri during the battles, asked cautiously.
“Does His Highness Briole possess the power of a Ten Strong?”
Francesco looked at Yuri’s back silently, then nodded.
“Yes. And he’s in the upper-middle ranks of the Ten Strong.”
“Wow…”
Meanwhile, Yuri was already far ahead. Even if they chatted briefly, Yuri would push forward alone.
Screams of orcs echoed from all directions.
“Akuaaktar! Ammani Arkuta!”
“Ilai Akuaaktar!”
Yuri’s nickname, the ‘Black Demon,’ rang out everywhere.
Francesco chuckled dryly. As the orcs said, he truly was a demon to them—unstoppable and merciless.
They had already destroyed more than one orc settlement.
Yuri had killed every orc and burned the villages to ashes. This massacre repeated mechanically for two days straight.
Their bodies still reeked of orc blood.
Francesco said, “It’s hard to keep up.”
Yuri killed every orc he saw. Eventually, no orc dared to challenge him.
This settlement was one of the largest he’d seen so far, yet there wasn’t a single orc he needed to be wary of.
Suddenly, Yuri spotted a large building.
Though it wasn’t sturdy by human standards, it was sizable. Yuri sensed the presence of many orcs inside.
“A trap, maybe.”
He muttered as he approached.
If it was a trap, he should avoid it—but he didn’t. Instead, he chose to break through head-on.
As before, he simply flung open the door.
“Hmm…?”
But what he saw was unexpected.
The orcs inside weren’t resisting him.
They were all bowing toward something.
Yuri looked up.
There was a larger version of the strange statue he’d seen earlier. Though crude, it had tentacles and the same bizarre appearance.
The gathered orcs paid no attention to Yuri, continuing their bows. Occasionally, he heard them mention his name.
“Je Jevar Jugur Akuaakkai…”
“Je Jevar Jugur…”
“Irmathep Akuaaktar Jugur…”
The words sounded like a curse.
They were praying to that mysterious statue, seemingly asking it to stop Yuri.
Curious, Yuri entered his Soul Domain to scan the area. But he detected no trace of dark magic.
These orcs weren’t possessed—they were willingly relying on their faith.
“Did it spread during the Oqua era?”
The parchment contained the history of the demon’s grimoire.
When Oqua was alive, information about this unknown entity had leaked out, perhaps secretly taking root among the orcs.
If Kori were here, he might know more details. Yuri regretted his absence.
He raised Guilty.
“Let’s see if you want to get along.”
Without hesitation, Yuri cut down a nearby orc. Blood splattered.
A stir ran through the orcs, but they didn’t stop praying.
Instead, they muttered something and bowed even deeper.
They had lost their will to fight.
“Akuaaktar…”
Judging by the repeated word, the tentacled monster was their god, and Yuri was the demon in their worldview.
That wasn’t a bad thing for Yuri. Since they didn’t resist, it made killing them easier.
As he slaughtered the praying orcs, it almost looked like the orcs were pitiful victims and Yuri the villain.
But Yuri wasn’t fooled.
Every orc settlement they’d searched had human skulls. Their meat storage always held well-butchered human flesh.
At the start of this campaign, Valshad’s knights had even vomited at the sight.
“Akuaaktar!”
As Yura kept cutting down the orcs one after another, one of the orcs in front suddenly sprang to his feet and shouted. The others seemed about to stop him, but he ignored them and yelled something else.
Then, he dropped to his knees before Yura.
“Akuaaktar…”
Yura froze, dumbfounded. She wanted to understand what on earth that creature was saying.
But that wasn’t the end. The other orcs all stood up together and began bowing to Yura. Gradually, more and more joined in.
It was as if their worship had shifted—from that tentacled monster to Yura herself.
“Akuaaktar…”
“Akutaktar…”
They even called her by that nickname.
A few orcs shouted something at them, but those who worshipped Yura didn’t change their behavior. They just kept bowing.
“Seriously…”
Yura had no idea what they were mistaking her for, but she didn’t want to witness this any longer. Raising her sword—the swirling blade of the vortex—she swung it wide.
And cut them all down.
The fractal pattern of the spinning, serrated vortex teeth tore through the orcs’ bodies with sickening crunches. Those caught in its path were shredded into grotesque chunks of flesh.
The place where the orcs had once practiced their faith was now a slaughterhouse.
Yura even smashed the statue of the tentacled monster that had been enshrined in the center of the building.
“That’s better.”
The air was thick with the stench of blood.
After making sure no living orcs remained, Yura stepped outside.
And flinched.
The orcs had surrounded her.
“What the hell…”
But then, all the orcs simultaneously lowered their bodies in a bow.
The rest of Yura’s companions were stunned, unable to fight further, standing dumbfounded as they watched the orcs bowing to Yura.
“Could it be…”
The orcs bowed once more.
“Akuaaktar…”
Yura realized.
To the orcs, Akuaaktar was their enemy—the one who had slain their hero-like Oqua, the scourge who hunted down orc clans and brought massacre.
Their fear had gone beyond reason, and now they had chosen to worship Yura.
To them, Yura was no longer human.
She had become an unfathomable disaster, an unstoppable force.
A black demon.
A shiver ran down Yura’s spine.
She had subdued these orcs—who had long pillaged and tormented humans, hated by all—and even tamed their very spirits.
To them, Yura was literally a demon.
A demon beyond their power to defeat.
Her existence would be passed down among orcs as legend.
Until the orc race was wiped out, they would speak of the black demon, trembling in fear at the thought she might return.
Yura spread her arms wide.
And whispered,
“I am a legend.”