Dawn broke.
Sunlight pierced through the lingering fog, barely touching the ground.
Everyone opened their eyes.
Today was the day of reckoning.
“Prepare for deployment.”
The troops of the Anti-Empire Alliance hadn’t bothered to tidy their barracks.
For them, there was no tomorrow.
Everything would end today.
Either they would die, or they would kill.
So there was no need to pack anything.
[Did everyone sleep well?]
All eyes from the gathered forces across the continent focused on one man.
Yuri Briol.
Riding on the magic of Marie-Rose standing beside him, his voice echoed to the very end of the formation.
[Hmm…]
Uncharacteristically, Yuri hesitated for a moment. The silence that followed sparked laughter from the Briol camp. It was amusing to see the usually eloquent Yuri suddenly at a loss for words.
One of the knights from the Vengeance Order shouted out.
“Are you shy?”
Laughter burst forth.
Yuri couldn’t help but smile.
Though they were probably the most nervous of all, their support felt like a comfort, making him a little embarrassed.
[Well, um…]
After a brief pause, Yuri cleared his throat and spoke.
[Let’s all survive and meet again tomorrow.]
He said it calmly, but with genuine sincerity.
Whether the Anti-Empire Alliance would have a tomorrow was uncertain. Most, perhaps all, would die today.
Yuri’s own safety was far from guaranteed.
[Understood?]
It was too brief to be called a speech.
But unexpectedly, a tremendous roar followed.
Not just Briol’s troops, but soldiers from Liberta, Bursen, and the Holy Kingdom—all nations united—strained their voices until they nearly tore their throats out.
It was a declaration of their will to survive.
They had no retreat.
If they failed here, the continent would fall into the grasp of dark magic. Their families and loved ones would become puppets, losing their identities, or be sacrificed as offerings.
They had to win. No matter what.
That shared conviction made them roar as one.
The voices of the Anti-Empire Alliance thundered across the horizon.
Eventually, breathless and unable to shout any longer, the cheers died down.
Yuri smiled faintly.
[Let’s go.]
Without hesitation, he stepped forward. Tirbo, holding the flag, followed closely.
Until the two of them reached the front of the legion, the Anti-Empire forces remained motionless, as if frozen.
At last, no one stood before Yuri.
Tirbo raised the flag high and waved it.
Bound by a single will, the Anti-Empire Alliance began to advance as one body, like a colossal organism rising to its feet.
Yuri moved forward with a resolve more solemn than ever.
The wind that met him felt heavy.
The fog thickened, blurring the path ahead, and the muddy ground made it hard for horses to walk properly.
But still, he had to be at the very front.
Why?
‘Briol never abandons honor.’
The voice of his father had awakened him the day he returned to the past.
Yuri believed that the unknown force that sent him back wanted him to hold onto that very principle.
“Honor, huh…”
Yuri muttered.
“Hm?”
From behind came Tirbo’s hoarse voice.
“What did you say?”
“Nothing, just talking to myself.”
“Oh, okay. Hehe…”
Yuri glanced back to see Tirbo’s face tense with nervousness. He could feel the man’s anxiety.
“Hey.”
“Yes, Your Highness?”
“Come here.”
“Uh, but I’m supposed to hold the flag…”
“What good is that now?”
Yuri threw an arm around Tirbo’s shoulder and pulled him close. Wrapping his arm around Tirbo’s neck, he said,
“What’s there to worry about when I’m here?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Hand it over.”
“Uh…”
Yuri snatched the flag from Tirbo and waved it high into the sky.
“We are—”
Gripping the pole tightly, Yuri leaned back and hurled it forward like a spear.
The flag trailing behind fluttered wildly as the pole shot through the fog like a bullet.
A sickening sound of flesh tearing echoed.
“Huh?”
Tirbo’s eyes widened.
Yuri released his shoulder and smiled.
“We didn’t come here to wave flags. We came to kill them.”
A massive shadow began to take shape in Tirbo’s vision.
A gigantic monster staggered out from the fog, then collapsed as if falling.
The pole Yuri had thrown was embedded in its forehead.
“This is just the beginning.”
A strange, eerie howl echoed from the front.
Monsters, humanoid but twisted and malformed, surrounded them like a wall.
The war had begun.
The Anti-Empire forces roared in unison.
The ground seemed to tremble beneath their feet.
No matter how much preparation or resolve they had, the moment blood was spilled, all plans faded away. Only the primal instinct to kill the enemy to survive surged through their veins.
Yuri was no different.
“Die!”
The giants that appeared were twice the height and several times the bulk of an average human, meaning they wielded far greater strength. There was no need to clash head-on.
Yuri dodged their attacks with ease, climbing onto one’s body and driving his blade, Guilty, down into its skull.
The head shattered, and the body crumbled.
Pulling out Guilty, blood splattered.
A sharp metallic scent filled the air.
“Ha…”
Just before the giant’s body fell, Yuri glanced over its shoulder.
Far ahead, countless giants were marching toward the Anti-Empire Alliance.
Their grotesque forms, somewhere between human and monster, were enough to inspire revulsion.
Yuri twisted his lips into a grim smile and shouted loudly.
“Cedric!”
He infused his voice with mana so it would carry far.
“I’m here!”
Announcing his presence, Yuri leapt down, blade in hand. Several giants charged at him.
They seemed slow, but their speed was deceptive.
Still, Yuri was faster.
Slashes appeared across their bodies.
At first, faint cracks, but soon red blood seeped out as their bodies split and slid apart.
In an instant, Yuri bisected the giants and pushed forward.
His comrades couldn’t keep up, but he didn’t care.
He would go as far as he could.
Like a razor-sharp spear, he would pierce through to where Cedric waited.
He shouted again.
“Cedric! I’m here!”
Then, swinging Guilty in a wide arc, a fan-shaped wave of sword energy spread out, cutting down all the giants caught in its path.
Blood poured out, staining the surroundings red.
Because the enemies were so tall, there was no avoiding the spray.
Yuri simply let the blood soak over him.
Brushing the crimson hair from his face, he smirked.
He’d thought a lot on the way here.
But now, he was ready.
His mind sharpened, a thrill coursed through his body.
The task ahead was clear.
Kill the enemies and clear the path to Cedric.
And he was a master of slaughter.
The memories of an ancient hunter, gained from the ruins, drove him.
His mission had been to slaughter orcs—humans corrupted by dark magic.
And these giants?
Though different in appearance and size, they were very similar creatures—shaped by dark magic, born from innocent humans.
In essence, these monsters were no different from orcs.
“Cedric!”
His voice rang out.
Yuri squinted, trying to spot Zbeta beyond the giants, but the fog tainted by dark magic made it impossible to see the city clearly.
At that moment,
A light flared behind him.
Yuri instinctively turned.
From the rear of the Anti-Empire forces, a flash shot up into the sky, melting the surrounding fog.
Yuri murmured,
“Inariel.”
A dispel magic that disrupted the concentration of mana, preventing others from casting spells, filled the area.
In this environment, the only one able to wield magic freely was Inariel, master of the ‘Immutable Mana Formula.’
His miracle purified the atmosphere.
Only then could Yuri see far ahead.
But it wasn’t entirely welcome.
“Damn…”
Spinning Guilty in the air, Yuri watched as the fog cleared.
The imperial army stood densely packed.
Not only the giants blocking their path but unknown creatures coiled, waiting their turn.
Their numbers were staggering.
Seeing the scale, Yuri let out a hollow laugh.
“They really prepared well.”
He killed a giant approaching him with a single slash, then beheaded it.
One of the giants, enraged at losing its head, charged Yuri again.
Yuri killed it too, then checked the status of the Anti-Empire forces.
“Ha…”
He cloaked his sword in the power of chaos.
Fighting normally was hopeless.
The enemy’s numbers were overwhelming.
Killing them one by one would take too long to reach Cedric.
He decided to use the power of chaos to thin their ranks all at once.
Yuri drew up his mana.
Blazing white-hot mana flashed threateningly at the giants.
Then,
[Long time no see.]
A familiar voice echoed suddenly.
Yuri looked up.
Among the towering giants ahead, a lone figure was slowly approaching.
On closer look, it seemed to be a woman.
Yuri immediately recognized her and called out.
“Katrina?”
She was Katrina—the royal and Cedric’s lover.
I knew I’d see her again, but I never expected it to be here, in the middle of the battlefield.
She spoke.
“That’s right. It’s me. Been a while, hasn’t it?”
Tentacles rose from Katrina’s back, writhing and twisting as if commanding the giants around her.
Every time her tentacles moved, the giants responded.
Yuri realized—he had to kill Katrina.
“I never thought we’d meet like this again,” she said, her expression calm and composed. But before she could finish, she surged forward.
“Is that how it is?”
Her tentacles shifted, and the giants standing between them formed a living wall.
Yuri swung his sword, Guilty.
The sharp blade sliced through them all, clearing a path straight to Katrina.
Beyond the fallen monsters, she was smiling.
Just as Yuri reached her, her eyes curved gently.
“Too eager.”
A massive shock slammed into him, sending him flying backward.
Tentacles burst from the ground, lashing his body.
Dazed from the sudden blow, Yuri leaned on Guilty to pull himself up, spitting out blood tinged with red.
He took a deep breath, sharpening his senses. Guilty hummed with power.
This was what war was supposed to feel like.
It made him want to fight even more.
Muttering this to himself, he pointed his sword at Katrina again.
In a way, she might be a victim of dark magic herself.
But there was no time to debate that.
If she stood in his way, she’d die.
Responding to his will, the sword’s energy flared wildly.
Chaos surged through it, exponentially increasing its destructive power.
Just as Yuri lunged toward Katrina—
She called out to him.
“Yuri Briol.”
Her voice was so calm, so ordinary, it was like the time they met in the imperial city long ago.
“I have a favor to ask.”
“What nonsense are you talking about?”
“Oh my, why so sharp?”
Katrina smiled, tentacles writhing around her.
“You’ll do it for me, won’t you?”
“What kind of nonsense…”
Yuri shook his head.
But then, inside his mind, her voice continued—soft, secretive, like a whisper in his ear.
“Kill Cedric for me.”
The unexpected request made Yuri’s eyes widen.
Katrina smiled again.
“Of course, I’ll do the same.”