“No.”
Yuri lifted the corner of his mouth into a faint smile.
“Do you really think you can just die because you want to? You’ve got to say something first.”
There was no flicker of emotion on the man’s face.
His voice was cold, so much so that even Jared looked at Yuri with wide, startled eyes.
“Please… kill me…”
The King of Konzhed gasped out a plea, but Yuri shook his head.
“Did you think I’d just kill you because you asked? Tell me something that would make me want to kill you. Anything.”
Jared, repulsed by the king’s grotesque appearance, didn’t dare get closer, but Yuri leaned in toward the king as if it were nothing.
“Or you can just keep living like this.”
The king struggled to open his eyes buried deep in flesh.
His pupils were shrouded in a translucent film, no longer resembling human eyes.
He stared at Yuri with a cloudy gaze.
“You… Yuri, Briol, is it…?”
“Yes.”
“I heard you were coming…”
His voice was strange, somewhere between human and beast.
“Tell me.”
“I…”
“Just the essentials. Did the Empire do this to you? With black magic?”
“Ah…”
His pupils shrank. Though his eyes were fixed on Yuri, his focus seemed distant, as if seeing something beyond.
The King of Konzhed took a ragged breath and began to speak.
“I’ll… tell you everything…”
He recounted what had happened.
Years ago, as his throne was threatened, the King of Konzhed faced losing his crown. At that time, an envoy from the Empire came with a secret offer, and without hesitation, he accepted.
From then on, the king became entangled with the Empire’s dark powers.
Soon after, he became addicted to black magic. Repeating strange rituals, his body began to mutate, gradually turning him into a monster.
To suppress the side effects, he relied on drugs sent by the Empire, and eventually, the entire kingdom fell under the Empire’s control.
But only the king and a few trusted retainers knew the truth.
“When the Overlord Chronicles began, I contacted the Empire… and they sent a knight…”
The knight from the Empire looked unwell. Black magic radiated from within him.
Though the knight died shortly after arriving in Konzhed, the black magic inside him transferred to another knight, switching hosts to survive.
The Empire ordered that this possessed knight be sent into the Overlord Chronicles, calculating that he could kill a few weaker knights.
“But you saw through it all…”
Yuri listened quietly.
“It’s all my fault…”
The king exhaled deeply, a foul stench drifting on his breath.
Yuri asked, “Besides you, are there other countries in the Small Nations Alliance cooperating with the Empire?”
“I don’t know…”
“Not even rumors?”
“They didn’t mention anything else. That’s all I know. Please… just kill me…”
“What a useless bastard.”
But Yuri showed no sympathy.
“To be this far gone means you delved deep into black magic.”
He looked down at the king with a sneer.
“Don’t play the victim. Do you think I can’t guess how many lives you’ve taken? It’s more than double digits.”
“…”
“You sacrificed people, didn’t you? You deserve to suffer more.”
Yuri turned away. The king groaned in pain, but he ignored it.
A dying voice caught Yuri’s steps.
“P-please… kill me…”
“You want me to kill you?”
Yuri looked at the king’s hideous body from a distance and spoke.
“There’s one thing the Empire didn’t tell you. You think death will bring peace, don’t you? Those tainted by black magic find no rest in death. Instead, they suffer even greater torment. Remember this: your soul will never be saved.”
The king blinked.
“Suffer forever.”
With those words, Yuri left.
Behind him echoed a beast-like wail of agony, but he never looked back.
The two left the king’s chamber and climbed the outer wall to return to their quarters.
Jared scratched his head.
“Is it really okay to just leave like this?”
“They won’t bother us unnecessarily.”
“But… is what you said true? That even in death, they find no peace?”
“Yes.”
Those corrupted by black magic cannot find peace in death; their souls become fragments of the demonic grimoire’s original curse.
They are trapped in hellish madness, suffering eternally.
It’s a curse, plain and simple.
But there is an exception: the Soul Severing Blade can cut through the black magic’s taint. That’s how Yuri gave Sybilla rest.
Yuri himself is both the bane and salvation of black magic.
“Rest will come too soon for the King of Konzhed. Someday, when we destroy the demonic grimoire, he’ll be freed from his chains.”
All this tragedy stemmed from that cursed book.
So if they eliminate Cedric and destroy his demonic grimoire, the souls bound within will be freed from endless torment.
“I see.”
Jared nodded gravely.
He seemed shocked that the demonic grimoire could even steal the peace of death.
“What will happen to that king?”
“We’ll kill him quietly tomorrow.”
“Excuse me?”
“Of course, we won’t just stab him and let him die peacefully.”
Jared looked at Yuri.
“He’s basically a puppet of the Empire. Better to get rid of him.”
“And what about what you said earlier?”
“That was just to scare him. He’s insufferable. Besides, if he dies while we’re here, it’ll be a hassle. It’s easier to kill him after we leave.”
Jared nodded.
“Is that Rail fellow involved too?”
“He seems to know the king’s secrets but doesn’t use black magic himself. Why would he want to, seeing what happened to the king?”
“That makes sense.”
“We just keep doing what we’ve been doing.”
Yuri smiled faintly.
“So get some rest today.”
News of the King of Konzhed’s death spread, but since he had long been hidden away by illness, it caused little stir.
The funeral was quiet, and his son succeeded the throne.
People were more interested in the Revenge Knights.
Rumors began to spread that they were close to completing the Overlord Chronicles.
“Looks like they’re about to finish the Overlord Chronicles. Are you really not going?”
Kori asked Roland as they trudged along a remote mountain path, carrying their gear.
“I hear the prince—no, His Highness—is in the Small Nations Alliance…”
“Shut up.”
Roland snapped irritably.
“Don’t say another word.”
Grabbing Kori by the collar, he threatened him, and Kori immediately fell silent.
He used to be gentle, but now he didn’t hesitate to resort to violence.
Still, Kori didn’t shrink back. Seeing Roland’s twisted face, he even smiled.
“Alright. If Sir Roland doesn’t want me to, there must be a reason.”
“Don’t call me ‘Sir’.”
“Just ‘Roland’ then?”
“Don’t call me at all.”
They wandered through the Small Nations Alliance, taking on various jobs.
Though they always kept their faces covered and were treated with suspicion, their reliable work earned them some trusted clients.
They had just finished escorting a merchant and were now heading out to find new work.
As Kori followed Roland, admiring the scenery, he spoke again.
“What if we run into His Highness? I have a feeling we will. Then maybe we can return to Briol…”
Roland stopped walking.
Then he swung his sword.
The blade sliced across Kori’s forehead in an instant, leaving a shallow cut.
Kori stammered, “W-wait, you can’t just swing your sword like that…”
“I told you to shut up.”
“S-sword…”
Blood trickled down Kori’s forehead as he wiped it away repeatedly.
“Still, you could’ve just said something…”
Roland showed no remorse. Instead, he growled harshly.
“Stop following me and get lost.”
“Huh?”
“You were the one trailing me from the start. I’m sick of you and want you gone.”
“B-but my magic has helped you so far…”
“I don’t need it.”
Roland sneered down at Kori.
“Kori. You think I don’t know why you’re following me?”
“Huh?”
“Don’t play innocent. I’m becoming like you…”
Before he could finish, Roland suddenly turned around.
Kori, caught off guard, soon realized a group was approaching them.
Five knights on horseback.
They didn’t stop their horses even when they saw Roland and Kori standing in the middle of the path.
As they drew closer, Roland raised his sword, and only then did the knights rein in their horses.
The lead knight spoke.
“Move aside.”
Roland looked at them silently.
“I said move aside.”
The knight warned again, but Roland didn’t budge.
Kori approached, tugging at his sleeve.
“P-please move. There are five knights…”
Roland shrugged him off, and Kori fell to the ground.
“Ugh!”
Roland ignored him and addressed the knights.
“You lot… are you from the Empire?”
“…”
The knights remained silent, then suddenly drew their weapons.
Sunlight filtering through the leaves glinted off their blades.
Roland’s voice took on a mocking tone as he spoke again.
“Judging by that foul stench, it looks like you’re all tainted with that black magic or whatever it is. Here to stop Briol, by any chance?”
The atmosphere turned hostile.
The knights dismounted in unison.
The murderous intent radiating from them was so intense that the mountain birds scattered into the sky all at once.
Laurent kept smiling, almost amused.
“I have no desire to help Yuri Briol… but…”
He raised his sword, and a dark energy seeped out from the blade.
After what happened with Frances, Laurent had lost the pure, clear sword energy he once wielded. All that remained was a dark, oppressive aura—like that of knights corrupted by black magic.
“Looking at you all, I can’t help but want to kill you.”
Laurent advanced, his sword radiating a ferocious, wild energy.
The battle erupted.
Cory watched from behind.
Laurent fought with brutal tenacity. Once a master of clean, precise swordsmanship, he now charged recklessly as if his life meant nothing, trading flesh and bone with every strike.
For every drop of his own blood spilled, he made sure his enemies bled even more.
But even to Cory’s eyes, the five knights were highly skilled. Laurent was holding his own, but it looked dangerously close to the edge.
“M-Magic…”
Cory raised his hand, preparing to cast a spell.
But at that moment, the mana in the area froze.
“Uh…”
One of the knights behind glared at Cory.
Though not mages themselves, these black magic-tainted knights seemed to wield dispel-like powers.
While Cory was caught off guard, the battle intensified.
Laurent slashed through one knight’s chest, incapacitating him, but in the process, he lost an arm and bled profusely.
Still, Laurent laughed, almost as if welcoming death.
He looked like someone who wanted to die.
Suddenly, Cory recalled what Cruard had told him.
“If you come to understand why words become magic, Cory, you might truly be able to wield the Dragon Words…”
Cory hadn’t yet mastered the Words of Power.
Though he had the so-called Dragon Word organ inside him, he couldn’t control it at will, nor fully grasp how it worked.
But wanting to help Yuri, Cory had asked Cruard to teach him the strongest Word of Power.
“The strongest Word? There’s no such thing. It all depends on how you use it.”
“Then what’s the strongest Word you can use, Cruard?”
“The strongest Word I have…”
“I want to learn it.”
Cruard explained that each person’s ability to use Words was limited—there was a cap on what each could awaken.
Still, after persistent pleading, Cruard revealed to Cory the most powerful Word he possessed.
A merciless Word that annihilated life itself.
Cruard was immensely proud of it.
“Having mastered this, I was considered a prodigy even among dragons. They probably feared me in secret…”
Cory had never succeeded in using a Word before. But now, desperate, he summoned it to mind.
He set his will, and expressed it through the Word.
Watching Laurent surrounded by five knights, Cory awakened the dormant Dragon Word organ within himself.
A burning pain flared beneath his throat.
Following Cruard’s teaching, he channeled his will through the organ.
As Cory spoke, a massive shockwave rippled outward in all directions.
The air trembled, and his will spread through the medium.
The Word of Power.
The Word of Authority: Kill.