Yuri spread his vital energy inward, toward the castle walls.
In response, the dark magic’s force pushed back against his energy, trying to penetrate his very core. Images of all manner of evil things clawed through Yuri’s mind.
But he did not waver.
Unshaken, brushing aside every interference, he located the monster’s core.
Pinpointing its position, he began to rotate his mana.
He had to shatter the core, bring down the walls. But subduing a creature forged from a blend of the vilest dark magics was no easy feat.
His keen senses registered every battle raging around him.
Laurent fell, Jared was wounded.
Eto and Oliver fought back-to-back in a desperate struggle.
Above, the Ten Strong held the legion’s firepower at bay.
Everyone fought with brutal tenacity.
Any ordinary knight would have collapsed from exhaustion just standing here for a moment.
The air constricted limbs and body; the ground trembled relentlessly without pause. The tangible hostility tore through both flesh and mind.
Amid such torment, Yuri focused solely on his target.
Even if one of his comrades here died—perhaps even if it was his responsibility—there was no time to hesitate.
He closed his eyes.
His eyelids fell like a curtain.
The moment he cut off his sight, it was as if a veil lifted—his other senses sharpened to a razor’s edge.
His soul companion, Simma, now a familiar presence, lingered by his side.
After a long moment, Yuri returned fully to the present.
The soul blade and the chaos stirring within no longer required delicate tuning; they delivered exactly what he desired.
Absolute control over mana.
Even the mana that had slipped from his grasp, drawn into an incomprehensible entity’s depths, now obeyed his will.
The monster’s core pulsed rhythmically.
Like a heart.
Each beat sent out waves resembling sorrow and screams.
Yuri vaguely sensed that all of this was connected.
The pulse’s rhythm from the monster’s core aligned with the cycle of an even more malevolent presence lurking beyond the walls.
Yes, that’s right.
Yuri muttered words he didn’t fully understand.
You would think so.
The Guilty in his hand, the mana flowing through it, the sword energy manifesting above—all were linked as one unified whole.
The chaos welling up from Yuri’s core ravenously burrowed into the enemy’s interior.
The soul blade seized the monster’s core.
It swelled monstrously, unleashing waves of grief and agony as if attacking.
But it was useless against Yuri.
A being born from human despair could never produce more than the raw materials it was made from; it posed no real threat.
In contrast, the chaos Yuri commanded transcended the physical realm.
A massive lever stretched between Yuri and the monster’s core.
Between two distant extremes, the fulcrum hovered dangerously close to the enemy.
Yuri waited until his mana engulfed the entire wall.
At last, the moment came.
He unleashed his mana.
Light burst forth.
Cracks spiderwebbed across the walls, and through them, Yuri’s energy, barely contained, seeped out.
His whole body trembled.
But he pushed the blade deeper, amplifying the chaos.
He would bring it down completely.
At the moment Yuri was certain the walls would fall, a crimson hue invaded his mind.
In an instant, his vision flooded with red. Screams echoed in his ears; he felt the claws of the dying clawing at his skin.
Yuri lost focus for a moment.
“Ugh…”
He opened his eyes.
Blinding light shone as the ground beneath him crumbled. Yet he sensed the dark energy attacking him was holding back the complete collapse of the walls.
He glanced at the adjacent walls.
The Murim Alliance’s defenses were the same. The breached walls slowly tilted, but the dark energy clung stubbornly to their surfaces.
Nearly destroyed, but not quite.
Literally.
They could have been broken, but only a tiny crack prevented it.
“Damn it…”
At that moment.
As Yuri lifted his head and glared into the heart of Zbeta, something shoved him from behind.
At first, he thought it was just a stray gust of wind.
But as his hearing sharpened, he realized it was the roar of an army.
Turning around, his vision filled with a sea of people.
Two elite groups had smashed the walls, and now the entire Anti-Empire Allied Army was charging madly toward the breach.
The intact walls tried to extend tendrils to block them, but the human tide surged like a tsunami, overwhelming everything.
They felt no fear. If comrades fell, they stepped over their bodies to advance; if they died, they cleared the way for those behind.
At the front, Ainger shouted at the top of his lungs.
“Break through!”
Armored knights cloaked in mana charged alongside Ainger, attacking the walls. Sometimes slashing with swords, sometimes ramming with their bodies, the walls that had barely held began to sway.
The Empire did not stand idle. Tentacles erupted from beneath the ground. Several soldiers were impaled and hung high in the air.
Some swung spears and blades at the tentacles; others hammered the walls.
Chaos reigned.
Yuri shouted, rallying those around him. Fortunately, all eighteen who had come to breach the walls were unharmed.
“Break it down!”
Soon, with a strange resonance resembling a dying creature’s final cry, the walls collapsed.
Tentacles crawled out from the broken edges, trying to repair the walls, but it was futile.
The Anti-Empire Alliance surged into Zbeta like a flood.
The end of this long battle was in sight.
“Keep pushing! Everyone must get inside!”
Before he knew it, Yuri was at the forefront.
It was strange.
Beyond the walls, there was nothing—only endless fog, barely allowing him to make out the faces of comrades nearby. Yet Yuri pressed forward without fear, encouraging those around him.
He felt certain they could win.
“There’s a chance.”
Jared responded to his words.
“Oh, that’s good news. But what makes you so sure?”
“They desperately tried to stop the walls from falling at the end.”
The walls were the Empire’s best defensive position. They would have done everything to hold it.
But in the end, it was breached.
If Cedric had some other plan, letting the walls fall wouldn’t have been something he’d expend effort to prevent.
The dark magic that surged at the last moment was threatening, but it also showed how desperate Cedric was.
“Master, please ask if the East is alright.”
“The Murim Alliance leader says it’s harder to fight freely now. They used up a lot of their reserves trying to hold the walls. The rest is fine.”
“Understood.”
Pushing through the fog, no buildings came into view.
Zbeta hadn’t always been like this.
Whatever had happened, everything had been razed, leaving a barren wasteland.
Far off, a vague shape appeared.
A tower.
And beneath it, countless cocoons.
Yuri sighed at the sight beyond the mist.
It was different from what he’d seen atop the walls. Back then, the tower hadn’t been visible.
As they drew closer, the towering spire loomed larger.
He had seen it before.
It matched the vision that had invaded his mind when he touched the demon’s grimoire.
At the tower’s dizzying peak floated something resembling an eye.
“Your Highness.”
“Hm?”
“That cocoon.”
Jared said.
“I don’t know what it is, but let’s destroy everything before anything hatches.”
“Agreed.”
Yuri said.
He didn’t know what the cocoons were for, but something ominous surely lay within.
Perhaps the process of birthing monsters.
Better to destroy them before they took form.
“Destroy them all!”
Yuri shouted.
The Anti-Empire Allied forces charged toward the tower, stabbing at the countless cocoons scattered around. As they split open, blood poured out.
Inside, the incomplete bodies of monsters were exposed.
Even battle-hardened soldiers grimaced.
“The situation’s good.”
Yuri muttered.
The lack of proper defenses was a boon.
He hadn’t expected the interior to be so vulnerable. After Inariel swept away forces with meteors and broke through the walls, there had been almost no resistance.
“Tell everyone to stay calm. There’s no need to rush now.”
“Understood.”
Having given his orders, Yuri looked up at the towering spire before him.
They had almost reached the end.
He clenched the Guilty tightly.
It was time to eradicate the dark magic and make Cedric pay.
Cedric’s eyes were closed.
“What should we do?”
Eugen bowed before him. Seated on the throne, Cedric did not answer.
“We must respond now…”
When Cedric raised his hand, Eugen’s mouth snapped shut. An invisible force pressed down on his facial muscles.
Unable to move his lips, Eugen immediately bowed his head to the floor.
“Ugh, ugh…”
Eugen whimpered, pleading, and Cedric waved his hand. The oppressive force lifted.
Eugen bowed again to Cedric before leaving.
Alone, Cedric rested his head against the throne.
“So, it has come to this.”
He exhaled deeply, and a red mist spread out.
His consciousness rose and fell, drifting far away.
“Not yet.”
Cedric muttered.
“Still not the time, huh.”
His gaze grew fierce.
Cedric gripped the armrest of the throne so tightly that his knuckles turned white.
Suddenly, the door opened again, and someone stepped inside.
A small figure, hood pulled low, limping slightly with each step.
Cedric smiled.
“Kori.”
“Lord Cedric.”
Kori bowed respectfully, then dropped to one knee.
“All preparations are complete. What are your orders?”
“For now, wait.”
At Cedric’s words, Kori fell silent for a moment, then hesitantly asked, “Are you still not fully ready…?”
“Yes.”
Unlike when he spoke to Yugen, Cedric’s voice was gentle.
“I accepted its power, but it hasn’t given me everything yet. I don’t know what whim it’s playing at. I’ve paid every price it demanded.”
“It’s the first time I’ve heard you say you don’t understand something, Lord Cedric.”
Cedric let out a short laugh.
“I’m not omniscient, after all.”
Just as Yuri had predicted, Cedric was not in full control.
He had fulfilled all the conditions to summon the otherworldly god, yet the god had not granted him everything he asked for. The contract was incomplete.
Kori spoke up.
“Do you really have to wait until you receive everything? Your power is already close to divine, after all. Hehe…”
“That’s true.”
As Kori said, though he hadn’t reached the full extent of his desire, Cedric had gained power close to that of a god.
He was simply lost in thought, unable to understand why the otherworldly god remained unresponsive.
“There’s a commotion outside.”
He was aware of what was happening in front of the tower.
The cocoons producing monsters were being slaughtered by the Anti-Empire Alliance.
They thought they had the upper hand, their faces alight with joy as they advanced.
Cedric looked on with disdain.
They were pitiful—unable to grasp the situation, reacting like monkeys, swayed by every fleeting emotion.
Humans were such imperfect creatures.
“Alright, it’s about time to make my move.”
Cedric said.
No matter how this otherworldly god operated, the contract would be fulfilled eventually.
First, he would deal with them.
The finale could wait.
Cedric rose from his seat.
“Kori.”
“Yes?”
“Let’s go. Shall we pay Yuri a visit first?”
At his words, Kori lifted his head.
Beneath the hood, his eyes—twisted and ugly—sparkled with renewed life.
“Yes!”