Yuri quickly pulled back his foot. Instantly, the tentacle that had wrapped around his leg was sucked back underground, vanishing from sight.
“What’s down there?”
Yuri raised Guilty and aimed it at the ground.
“It’s not just corpses down there. I think that tentacle monster is hiding too.”
“Under the earth?”
“Yeah.”
Both Lorant and Jared tensed, keeping a wary eye on the ground below.
“What are you going to do? We could just ignore it and move on.”
“Hmm…”
Yuri’s gaze sharpened as he entered the realm of his soul’s perception, scanning the surroundings.
The dark magic’s energy was seeping into the land.
The Empire had sacrificed the villagers here, using them as offerings to create a being born of black magic. Or rather, considering they had summoned a god from another world, it might have been a creature from a different dimension altogether.
Yuri made up his mind.
“Let’s catch it.”
“Are you sure that’s necessary?”
“It’s good to get a feel for the kind of enemy we’ll be facing from now on. And…”
Yuri’s eyes turned cold.
“This thing devoured all these people. I don’t want to leave it behind.”
“Understood.”
Jared nodded, while Lorant said nothing, staring down at the earth.
Yuri’s anger flared again, directed at his brother.
“Cedric…”
He recalled Cedric’s plan—to manipulate the world with his own hands, crafting an ideal utopia close to a dream.
But all of it was just a beautiful facade.
Beneath the picturesque surface lay countless buried corpses.
To Cedric, humans were nothing more than resources to be used and discarded as needed.
This village felt like a grim omen of the future Cedric envisioned.
“They won’t be weak. Everyone, get ready.”
Once the decision to fight was made, Yuri’s mind raced.
This monster was summoned by sacrificing so many lives. There was no way it would be weak.
Yuri placed his hand on the ground, waiting for a tremor. But nothing came.
Jared spoke up.
“Wouldn’t it be better to just wait for the main force?”
“No need to waste time. I’ll call it out.”
Yuri infused Guilty with sword energy and stabbed it into the earth. Just beneath the surface, the blade caught on a buried corpse.
“Damn it…”
Muttering under his breath, Yuri shifted position and plunged the blade deeper.
Then he began to spread his mana.
Thanks to his exceptional control, Yuri’s energy radiated outward in a tightly woven net, like a finely meshed web.
In his mind’s eye, the underground scene unfolded as clearly as if he were seeing it with his own eyes.
The sight of the buried villagers’ mangled bodies filled him with rage, but for now, facing the unknown monster was the priority.
He forced himself to calm down and focus.
Soon, he detected movement.
Yuri sent a pulse through the mana web.
“Uh, what?”
The ground trembled. Lorant and Jared braced themselves.
As Yuri’s mana touched it, the creature moving below finally revealed itself.
A shrill screech echoed.
Its head was covered in tentacles like an octopus, while its body had long arms resembling a monkey’s. Tentacle-like appendages appeared and vanished repeatedly, as if it had no fixed form.
“That’s it.”
“Ugly.”
“They all look like that.”
While Yuri and Jared exchanged jokes, Lorant charged forward first.
Having returned from the curse of dark magic, he no longer wielded the pure white sword energy he once did. Now, a black aura streamed from the tip of his blade.
His hatred for Cedric and the dark magic rivaled Yuri’s own.
Lorant swung his sword without hesitation.
The monster stretched out a long arm.
Metal clashed.
“…”
The creature caught Lorant’s blade as if it were a mere stick, unharmed.
Lorant twisted his sword irritably.
A piercing screech burst from the monster.
The sound turned into a sonic attack aimed at Lorant. He tried to retreat, but the creature held onto his sword.
“Ugh…”
Lorant twisted his body and shook the monster off, stepping back several paces.
He realized that a careless attack could cost him his weapon.
Yuri said, “This isn’t normal…”
This was a creature summoned by sacrificing an entire village. To kill a being born from the buried villagers’ remains, they had to steel themselves.
Yuri stepped forward, gripping Guilty.
“Lorant, draw its attention.”
Without looking at Yuri, Lorant twisted his mouth in response.
“Don’t order me around.”
Still, he moved forward, circling to the side as Yuri had hoped, drawing the monster’s focus.
Jared dashed out.
“Let’s attack together, Sir Lorant!”
“I told you, I’m not a ‘sir.’”
Lorant and Jared split to either side, each provoking the monster. Every time a tentacle lashed out, they dodged without hesitation.
Now, the enraged creature began targeting them directly.
Yuri judged it wasn’t very smart.
If it had any sense, it would have been wary of Yuri lurking behind, waiting for an opening. But the monster acted on pure instinct, focusing its hostility only on the two clinging to it.
Thanks to that, Yuri could wait calmly.
He gripped Guilty and slowly drew sword energy from within. Then, he infused the blade with the chaotic energy that had become his norm.
Those who recognized this power warned him to beware of his soul, calling it dangerous. But to Yuri, who was about to wage war against Cedric with the fate of the continent at stake, it was the most efficient method.
He had already accepted the sacrifices it entailed.
“Good thing I came.”
Yuri glanced at the fractal whirlpool patterns glowing along Guilty’s blade and took a step forward.
His decision to fight this monster wasn’t just pride.
Cedric would sacrifice countless people in the future.
When the war truly began, he might slaughter all the citizens in the palace to use them as ingredients for dark magic.
If Cedric had truly allied with a god from another world, the enemy they’d face would be on a whole different level.
That’s why Yuri wanted to experience it firsthand.
Was this monster, born from so many sacrifices, truly worth it?
“Move aside!”
Yuri shouted and charged forward.
His new form surged with power.
As Lorant and Jared split to either side, Yuri’s blade sliced into the monster’s front.
In response, dozens of tentacles sprang up, merging into a shield that blocked Yuri’s path—a reaction they hadn’t seen before.
It seemed to instinctively sense the power contained in Guilty.
Yuri’s blade slashed through the tentacle mass.
They burst apart, blood splattering everywhere.
Ignoring the torn flesh, Yuri stepped closer and locked eyes with the octopus-like face.
Its alien appearance triggered a primal revulsion. It was so grotesque he didn’t want to stare at it up close for long.
But Yuri didn’t back down. Instead, he leaned in, staring into its two eyes.
A tentacle shot toward him, but at that moment, his blade passed between their faces.
The strike shattered all the tentacles on the monster’s face.
Covered in its blood, Yuri grabbed its neck.
“Can you speak?”
The creature only emitted a strange groan.
Yuri stabbed Guilty into its abdomen again.
The monster collapsed to the ground.
Bubbles formed in its oozing fluids.
“Your Highness.”
“Hm?”
“Something’s wrong.”
Having subdued the monster, Yuri looked at Jared.
Jared’s eyes had turned pitch black.
“This is…”
Jared touched his head and shook it, as if dizzy. He staggered a few steps, then bowed his head deeply.
Rough breaths escaped him.
Soon, a dark aura began to flow from his body.
“Jared?”
Jared gripped his sword.
At that moment—
Lorant struck Jared’s face.
A clean uppercut.
“Ugh!”
Jared’s head snapped back, his body lifted briefly before collapsing to the ground.
Lorant dusted his hands off and looked down at Jared with a cold expression.
“Foolishly getting possessed.”
“Ugh…”
Jared groaned, clutching his jaw on the floor.
His eyes had returned to normal.
“Still, hitting me…”
“If you hadn’t, you’d have swung your sword at us.”
“Hmm…”
“Yuri.”
Lorant turned and called to Yuri.
No longer using honorifics, he sometimes just called Yuri by name. Others might see it as rude, but Yuri felt it was a sign of friendship—and he welcomed it.
“What is it?”
“Don’t you feel it?”
“Feel what?”
“That guy’s emitting a mental wave. If we stay still, he might really get possessed and start swinging his sword at anyone.”
“You okay?”
“This much, yeah.”
Lorant had endured dark magic enough to be immune to most of it. His body had been twisted by its power before.
Yuri called out to Jared.
“Jared, is it that bad?”
“I got distracted for a moment, and it burrowed in before I knew it.”
“Is that so?”
“My jaw hurts, but I’m fine for now.”
Yuri sank down, staring at the convulsing monster. Foam kept bubbling up from the creature’s oozing fluids.
She was just about to finish it off completely.
The foam piled upward, gradually taking the shape of a human figure.
Yuri’s eyes widened.
[It’s been a while.]
Since following Cedric, Kori had been dedicating himself to mastering the Dragon Words. Cedric wanted him to, after all. His own Dragon Words were incomplete—only half-formed—making them difficult to use effectively.
“Kori.”
“Yes?”
“Could you go to a place called Zbeta?”
“Huh?”
“There are plenty of test subjects gathered there.”
Cedric smiled—a gentle smile reserved only for his allies.
“Practice as much as you want there. Especially that ‘Power Word Flesh’—it’s quite fascinating. You should try it on a person, don’t you think?”
“On a p-person?”
“That’s the plan, right?”
Cedric’s smile deepened as he looked steadily at Kori. Hesitating, Kori finally nodded.
“Alright, I’ll do it.”
“Once you master it, Kori, you’ll become even more important to me.”
And so, Kori set off for Zbeta.
There, a massive detention center had been built, housing countless prisoners. Most were foreigners, but some were imperial citizens accused of subversive acts.
Because Kori was one of Cedric’s trusted men, he was treated with great respect.
Everywhere he went in Zbeta, soldiers escorted him, and the locals dared not even meet his gaze.
It was treatment he had never experienced before.
But the prisoners looked at him with eyes full of hatred.
“Kori-sama.”
One of the knights accompanying him spoke.
“How many do you need today?”
“Huh? Um…”
“I heard you’re testing magic. We can provide as many people as you require.”
“Uh…”
Flustered, Kori answered, “I think one person will be enough.”
“Just one?”
The knight nodded.
“That might not be enough, but if you need more, we’ll get them.”
“No, one is fine for today. I’m still not skilled enough.”
“Understood.”
The imperial knight nodded expressionlessly and left the room.
Then he returned with a woman.
“I’ll take my leave now.”
After the knight left, Kori looked at the woman, who kept her head bowed low.
There was something strangely familiar about her.
Frowning, Kori studied her face.
“Have we met somewhere before…?”
“You are…?”
The woman looked up at Kori, her eyes wide with surprise.