“No way… Cedric, that bastard….”
[Exactly. That ‘no way.’]
Yuri bristled with fierce defiance.
“Don’t you dare lay a hand on Marie-Rose!”
[Huh?]
Cedric’s voice sounded surprised.
[Marie-Rose, you say?]
“She’s the only woman for me.”
Yuri gripped her sword, Guilty.
“How dare you try to touch her—I won’t forgive you!”
She swung at the knight possessed by Cedric.
But another imperial soldier standing nearby stepped in front and took the blow instead.
[Damn, I almost got you.]
“What do you mean, ‘got me’?”
[No matter how precious Ekaterina is, toying with a mage’s heart goes against the code of chivalry, doesn’t it, Yuri?]
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Yuri quickly mentioned Marie-Rose to hide Ekaterina’s existence.
It was a long shot, but if Cedric fell for it, his target might shift. Since Marie-Rose was fighting alongside the Anti-Imperial Alliance, she could be protected.
Of course, Cedric wasn’t that careless.
[No need for that.]
“What are you talking about?”
[Tsk, tsk. I’m disappointed, Yuri. If the mage knew this, how crushed would he be?]
“You talking about disappointment is laughable.”
Yuri had no intention of continuing the conversation. She raised Guilty and swung again.
The knight possessed by Cedric staggered back, taunting her with words meant to provoke.
But Yuri brushed it off without a second thought.
[Yuri, what you just did—that was a pretty trashy move, wasn’t it?]
“Yeah, I’m trash.”
[You’ve gotten pretty shameless. If the mage found out…]
“Then you shouldn’t have liked trash like me in the first place!”
[Wow…]
“Of course, you’re the biggest piece of trash here, you bastard!”
[No, I’m not trash—I’m the janitor who cleans up trash. Because this whole world is garbage.]
“So everyone but you is trash?”
[I’ll make an exception for you, Yuri.]
“Who the hell gave you the right to decide that?”
Yuri kept talking while watching the knight controlled by Cedric.
The knight was linked to Cedric through dark magic. From this, she could infer what kind of power Cedric had gained and how he was manipulating a distant human body.
Her eyes, now entering the realm of soul perception, scanned the enemy.
The knight was like a marionette, with what looked like a tentacle extending vertically from above his head into the sky.
Yuri glanced upward.
The dim sky showed nothing.
Only that invisible tentacle stretched down from the distant heights, connecting to the crown of the knight’s head.
The implication was clear.
Cedric’s power was so vast it covered the land without anyone noticing.
He had acquired godlike strength.
Yuri felt this truth deeply from the scene before her.
[Not looking so good, huh?]
Cedric’s voice carried a teasing tone. The knight’s body swayed like a paper doll.
There was no point in probing further.
Yuri asked, “Did you touch Ekaterina?”
[When did you two get that close? To win the heart of the continent’s most beautiful woman—that’s my little brother for you.]
“Cut the wordplay.”
[You started it. What about Marie-Rose?]
Yuri fell silent. Cedric laughed again.
[I sent troops. Not just Ekaterina, but all of Briol will burn. You could go back and save them, but you won’t, right?]
Yuri fell into thought.
There had been no reports of large-scale imperial troop movements. Even with Cedric’s newfound power, splitting his forces enough to face the Anti-Imperial Alliance seemed unlikely.
She had to believe that.
“Why do this?”
Yuri asked.
“You said you wanted to reshape the world. If I lose, Briol will surrender to you anyway. So why destroy it? No sentiment at all?”
[Answering your second question first. Sentiment is a major source of human inefficiency. We don’t need that. As for why I want to destroy Briol…]
Cedric laughed.
[Yuri, I just want to ruin what’s precious to you.]
“You talk about inefficiency, but do you think that twisted emotion is efficient?”
[I’m fine.]
“You’re only lenient with yourself.”
[That’s the difference between monkeys and humans. This kind of amusement is too much for monkeys, but unnecessary for humans.]
“Just die.”
A cold blade of spiritual energy soared high above Guilty.
Though she tried to appear calm, Yuri’s heart was unsettled, worried for Ekaterina and Briol.
That anger transferred into her soul slash, the blade flying toward Cedric like a starving wolf.
[I want to talk a little more.]
Cedric raised the knight’s hand and unleashed dark magic.
The manifested magic flowed like sticky sewage, spreading wide and wrapping around Yuri’s blade like a spider’s web.
Yuri gritted her teeth and increased the power of her soul slash. Guilty vibrated, radiating fierce energy. Cracks appeared in the clinging magic.
“Get lost!”
Yuri shouted.
The chaotic force from her core shattered the dark magic.
The sticky magic froze as if solidified, then shattered instantly, breaking down into tiny particles that scattered like dust.
Yuri immediately advanced and stabbed the knight’s body.
He bled from eyes, nose, and mouth, collapsing.
His lips moved as if to speak.
“I’m not listening.”
Yuri cut through the air again.
The invisible tentacle linking the knight and Cedric snapped.
The knight’s eyes blurred, losing focus.
That was the end.
Yuri didn’t stop—she sliced through his neck.
The severed head flew through the air and hit the ground.
She kicked the fallen body to topple it completely, then drove her blade into its heart once more.
The body controlled by Cedric was utterly destroyed.
Yuri lifted her gaze.
The tentacle that had connected to the knight’s head twitched in midair, its tip severed, then slowly retracted upward into the sky.
Up, up, endlessly ascending.
The true enemy she had to face was the presence lurking beyond.
Thinking of that immense power made her head spin, but Yuri forced herself to shake it off.
She couldn’t afford to think too much.
Forget Ekaterina. Forget Briol.
Kill Cedric.
Holding only that thought in her heart, she pressed forward silently.
There was no other way.
“Was that Cedric?”
Laurent approached, bloodied. Yuri nodded.
“What did you talk about?”
Yuri opened her mouth, then closed it.
“Not much.”
“Must have been serious.”
“I said not much.”
“If that’s true, you wouldn’t be so tight-lipped.”
“Don’t pry.”
Yuri reached out and tousled Laurent’s hair.
But Laurent wasn’t fooled.
“Trying to brush it off like that means you’re worried, huh?”
“No.”
“I know you’re trying to make me angry to change the subject.”
“I’m not.”
Yuri messed up Laurent’s hair even more, and he kicked her thigh.
“That hurts.”
“Is Briol in danger?”
“No…”
“That’s the only thing that could shake you right now.”
Laurent fixed his hair and said, “Yuri, don’t worry about Briol.”
“Laurent…”
Yuri looked at him, touched by his rare warmth since he had become so twisted.
Laurent continued, “There’s nothing you can do anyway. So don’t waste your energy on that—focus on the battle, got it?”
“Oh, that’s what you mean?”
“If we lose this fight, we all die. So are you going back to Briol now? No, right? Then stop worrying.”
“Got it…”
Yuri tried hard not to think about Ekaterina.
Though most of the troops had been pulled away, Briol wasn’t completely abandoned. Saned and the royal guards, along with a small number of knights maintaining order, remained.
It was time to trust them.
Yuri raised her eyes to survey the battlefield.
The Anti-Imperial Alliance was gaining the upper hand.
She wasn’t the only one throwing herself into this war. The Ten Strong—Moyongchan, Francesco, Jose, Inariel—and countless other talents were fighting with their lives on the line.
Her army was not weak enough to be defeated by the troops Cedric had used as bait.
In a way, it was strange.
There had never been a time with so many strong warriors.
The Ten Strong had reached even higher levels than before, and the knights’ skills had improved dramatically.
“They say the age calls for heroes…”
Yuri smiled faintly.
She had thought the world would be swallowed whole by darkness, but unexpected light shone from many places. Though sometimes dimmed by shadows, the light never disappeared.
All the allies fighting alongside her were that light.
The courage that Cedric had suppressed was rekindled.
Yuri wielded Guilty, cutting through the front lines with reckless abandon. The imperial soldiers couldn’t mount a proper defense.
She fought with the resolve to bring them peace, to take their lives thoroughly.
Soon, the first battle in this demon realm ended.
The ground was littered with corpses.
The mages began burning them all.
“Your Highness.”
As she watched the scene, a voice called from behind.
It was Marie-Rose.
Unlike her usual dazzling dresses, she wore battle gear and a robe.
Marie-Rose was clearly serious about this war.
Out of respect for her resolve, Yuri nodded with a solemn, businesslike expression.
“What is it, Marie-Rose?”
“I have something to ask.”
“What is it?”
“I heard a rumor that His Highness called me his woman. Is that true?”
“What!”
Yuri instinctively leaned back and avoided her gaze.
“What kind of nonsense is that?”
“Exactly. What kind of nonsense could it be?”
“In any case, it’s my fault that such a ridiculous rumor spread. I apologize.”
“There’s no need to apologize.”
“No, I must. The fact that this rumor got out at all is my…”
“No, it’s my fault for liking a scumbag like His Highness.”
Yuri swallowed hard and started coughing.
Marie-Rose crossed her arms and narrowed one eye.
“So it’s true?”
“W-who on earth…?”
“One of the Empire’s soldiers suddenly started relaying His Highness’s words like he was possessed.”
“That damn Cedric…!”
“To think you’d treat my feelings for His Highness like a joke…”
Marie-Rose no longer bothered to hide her feelings. Yuri was even more flustered.
“No, Marie-Rose, that’s…”
“I’m sorry, right?”
“Huh?”
“If you forgive me, come with me to burn some corpses.”
Marie-Rose linked her arm through Yuri’s. Yuri tried to pull away, but the next words made it impossible.
“We don’t know when we’ll die. At least grant me this wish.”
Marie-Rose tilted her head and gave a faint smile.
Yuri sighed.
“Just a moment.”
“Yeah. Burning corpses doesn’t take that long.”
Holding Yuri’s arm with one hand, Marie-Rose tossed fireballs onto the bodies with the other.
Though the two stuck close together, no one really paid much attention. Compared to the battles ahead, everything else seemed trivial.
Yuri suddenly looked up at the sky.
“Towards Briole, isn’t it? Are you worried?”
“Yes.”
“Let’s worry about ourselves, then.”
“We have to…”
At the border of Briole, in Saidore.
Due to the recent increase in orc raids, the soldiers of Saidore kept a vigilant watch on the distant horizon.
Suddenly, a cloud of dust rose.
“Orcs?”
One soldier brought a telescope closer.
But beyond the lens, it wasn’t orcs—they were people.
An unknown army was approaching Briole.
The sound of a horn echoed from the walls of Saidore.