While the Anti-Empire Alliance was busy destroying the cocoons, Yuri stepped forward and stood before the tower.
“This is…”
A venomous aura, more intense than ever before, pierced his skin.
Even breathing felt like a struggle.
“Your Highness, it’s difficult to proceed any further.”
Laurent and Jared, who accompanied him, looked grim as well.
Even warriors of their caliber found it hard to approach—the tower radiated such a malevolent energy.
It wasn’t just that their bodies were under threat; their very existence was being tested.
Yuri curled his lips into a twisted smile.
This space, which barred entry to those unworthy, perfectly suited Cedric—the one who looked down on humanity and sought to create a new world.
“Having a hard time?”
“I can manage.”
Yuri reached out and touched Jared’s nape, noticing the cold sweat there.
“Doesn’t seem like it. You can’t come, right?”
“No, I can’t.”
“I’m going alone.”
“That’s not allowed.”
“Don’t worry. I can escape anytime.”
“But…”
Yuri looked up at the tower.
Despite its grotesque appearance, each floor had what could only be called windows.
“There’s no other way. If you two can’t do it, who else can?”
If Laurent and Jared were struggling this much, the rest of the Ten Greats would also face difficulties inside.
This was no place for a fair fight.
“I’ll try to lure Cedric out as much as possible.”
“Are you sure you’re okay, Your Highness?”
“I’m fine.”
From his shoulder, the aura of the Soul Severing Blade shimmered like a heat haze.
This mana sword, which could cut through anything, rejected black magic.
Even the incomprehensible poison that enveloped the tower couldn’t invade him.
Jared bit his lip.
“But…”
As Jared shook his head, Laurent pushed Yuri forward.
“Go.”
“Laurent?”
Yuri looked at him, and Laurent nodded toward the tower.
“Go and pull him out.”
“Understood.”
“Wait, sending Your Highness alone is…”
Jared tried to stop him, but Laurent chuckled.
“Isn’t it obvious? That bastard’s the one who brought all this to this point. He’s basically been doing this alone all along. What’s the point of worrying now?”
“Well, yeah…”
Jared glanced up at the tower.
“It’s seriously creepy up there.”
“That’s just you. Yuri Briol is fine.”
“Hmph, you keep calling me ‘Yuri Briol’ so coldly.”
“You just did it too.”
“Did I say ‘Yuri Briol’?”
Yuri stepped forward.
“Enough noise. Anyway, I’m going alone. You two wait here. Tell the others to break those cocoons well. Don’t let your guard down—who knows what might happen.”
“Yes, sir.”
“I’ll be back soon.”
Casting a quick glance at the Anti-Empire Alliance behind him, Yuri stepped forward. From behind came Jared’s solemn voice.
“No one expected this to be his last…”
Yuri laughed. It was a laugh born of disbelief.
“Not bad. We’ll meet again later.”
“Have a safe trip.”
“Yeah.”
Yuri walked into the tower.
As if welcoming him, the entrance was open, lined with countless grotesque statues.
Screaming humans, piled corpses, monsters he had never seen or even imagined.
His vision was filled with such horrors.
Yuri pressed his head.
“Ugh…”
It was the same as when he first faced the demon’s grimoire. A terrible madness seemed to pry open his skull and pour directly into his brain.
Beyond his eyelids, a crimson red light flashed and flickered.
Any ordinary person would have gone mad long ago.
“Seriously…”
Whether it was this tower or black magic, it was all disgusting taste.
Yuri gripped Guilty and swung it hard once. The horrific statues surrounding him split in half and crumbled.
The severed surfaces revealed the organs of humans and monsters.
Seeing that, Yuri realized—the statues were actually the petrified forms of those creatures.
“Disgusting.”
Overcome with revulsion, Yuri spat and walked past them.
Like the fortress walls, the tower’s interior was covered in flesh-like matter. When he approached the walls, they rippled as if threatening him.
Yuri reached the stairs.
As he stepped on them, the entire floor wobbled.
Standing still, the stairs undulated and pushed him upward.
Cedric was calling him.
Yuri could feel it.
Maybe Cedric was already watching him.
He muttered.
“So this is the new world you wanted? Truly disgusting. I never imagined you had such taste, Cedric.”
The flesh beneath his feet moved more violently, as if responding.
Yuri smirked and clenched Guilty tighter.
“Alright, let’s meet.”
Though outwardly calm, Yuri kept his eyes peeled.
He needed to memorize the location of the windows to escape at any moment.
As he told Jared earlier, his goal was to lure Cedric outside.
Because of the tower’s poisonous aura, he had no choice but to fight alone here. And handling a madman like Cedric solo wasn’t the best plan.
The stairs spiraled upward, guiding him higher.
How long had it been?
“Yuri Briol.”
Suddenly, someone called out to him.
At the same moment, the stairs stopped moving.
Yuri checked his progress.
There were no markers, but judging by the time, he must have passed the tenth floor. It was now too high to just jump down.
“Who’s there?”
Yuri stepped off the stairs and looked around.
The voice sounded familiar, but he couldn’t place it.
“Behind you.”
Yuri turned immediately.
A man in a black robe stood there.
Seeing his build, Yuri instinctively thought of a name.
“Danso Cheon.”
Danso Cheon was dead. Yet Yuri felt his presence from the man.
He wasn’t surprised.
After all, these were the kinds of things that resurrected the dead. He had fought copies of Hasan before; it wasn’t strange for Danso Cheon to reappear.
Yuri raised Guilty.
When someone appears and calls you while climbing a tower, the course of action is clear.
“You died, yet you come back to fight me? Is that what you want?”
“I never died.”
“You did.”
“No.”
Danso Cheon drew his sword.
The hem of his robe fluttered, revealing a grotesquely twisted body, modified by black magic.
Yuri said,
“Put some clothes on. Wearing just a robe over your naked body—are you some kind of pervert?”
Danso Cheon didn’t take the bait. He just kept advancing, staring at Yuri with a trance-like gaze.
He clearly wasn’t in his right mind.
Yuri took a step back and pointed Guilty forward.
“Fine, if you’re that eager, let’s fight again.”
“Because of you.”
Danso Cheon said,
“The millennium-long history of the cult has collapsed. I won’t forgive you.”
“The cult’s gone, so why blame me?”
“Because of you, the cult…”
Yuri looked at Danso Cheon and snorted.
“Me? Really?”
“Because of you.”
“You’ve really lost it.”
Yuri already knew the cult’s end. They had tried to strike Briol, fought the Martial Alliance from the East, and were ultimately wiped out by Croire’s spell.
So blaming him was nonsense. Even if Yuri bore some responsibility, it was self-defense.
“Because of you, because of you…”
Muttering to himself, Danso Cheon suddenly lunged.
Yuri nodded.
“Good thinking.”
Better to swing the sword than spout nonsense.
Danso Cheon radiated a stronger aura than before.
As expected, those resurrected by black magic had grotesquely modified bodies, and their combat power surpassed even their living selves.
“Danso Cheon is already dead. You’re a fake. A bastard fake. You’re a dead thing.”
Yuri struck at his very existence, but Danso Cheon didn’t care.
He only charged forward, burning with hatred for Yuri.
“I’ll kill you and comfort the dead Danso Cheon.”
Clenching Guilty tightly, Yuri summoned his will.
Since the battle was inside the tower, he tried to avoid unnecessary destruction…
No, he realized this was Cedric’s domain.
He could destroy as much as he wanted.
Yuri unleashed a powerful sword energy, indifferent to whether the tower crumbled.
The chaos responded to his will, radiating a force stronger than ever.
Lightning-like sword energy surged beyond Danso Cheon’s body, tearing through ceiling and floor alike.
Blood splattered.
The building was like a living creature.
“Ugh!”
The aftershock pained Danso Cheon as well.
Yuri swung again. Overwhelming sword energy targeted Danso Cheon.
Under the relentless assault, Danso Cheon kept retreating, wounded.
“You fake bastard, can’t even block this?”
Of course, the real Danso Cheon wouldn’t have fared better.
Yuri’s sword hacked wildly at both Danso Cheon and the tower.
The tower rippled, wary of Yuri.
He hadn’t intended to cause so much destruction, but it wasn’t entirely accidental either.
His reckless intent swept through Danso Cheon and the surroundings.
Danso Cheon collapsed.
“Is that all you’ve got?”
Yuri increased his output. He intended to finish this completely.
The chaos he wielded was more vivid than ever. It was almost unbelievable how strong he had become—he felt capable of anything.
Dansocheon was undoubtedly strong, and that thing resurrected by dark magic was even stronger.
But Yuri was far stronger still.
“Ugh…!”
Dansocheon, clearly taken aback, crawled backward across the floor. Yuri pushed off the air and kicked him square in the chest.
As Dansocheon fell, his robe flew open, revealing a grotesque form beneath. Yuri pressed the attack relentlessly.
“What’s Cedric doing, sending you out here?”
“Graaah…!”
“Die.”
As the sword descended, Dansocheon swung his body—twisted and altered by dark magic—in resistance.
Yuri sliced off his hand. From the severed stump, tentacles writhed out, forming a shape eerily similar to a hand.
This time, Yuri cut off the entire arm.
A scream echoed through the room. But it wasn’t enough. Yuri pressed further, aiming to pierce the heart and finish him completely.
“Stop.”
A single voice blocked Yuri’s advance.
At the same moment, the air around him tightened, constricting his skin.
The breath entering and leaving his lungs felt rough and abrasive, and everything he saw seemed to invade his mind, threatening to drive him mad.
The entire tower turned hostile against him.
Yuri sheathed his sword.
Immediately, all the oppressive sensations vanished.
He spat out the name with a bite in his voice.
“Cedric.”
He had arrived.
At first, Yuri felt a flicker of relief, but it quickly turned to a heavy weight in his chest. Cedric’s presence was overwhelming.
Even though Yuri had grown this strong himself, Cedric’s power eclipsed his own.
What kind of power had he gained?
Taking a steadying breath, Yuri turned to face him.
Cedric stood unchanged, just as before. His posture was straight and balanced, neither leaning nor faltering.
“Long time no see, Yuri.”
“Yeah.”
“Good to see you…”
“Cut it out. Don’t say you’re glad to see me.”
“Glad to see you.”
“Shut up.”
Meanwhile, Dansocheon, sprawled and defeated by Yuri, adjusted his posture and bowed deeply to Cedric.
Cedric ignored him completely.
Yuri stepped forward and crushed one of Dansocheon’s legs underfoot. Still, Dansocheon stifled any sound—likely out of respect or fear of Cedric.
Cedric spoke.
“Alright, enough tormenting this guy. Shall we talk, just the two of us?”
“Talk?”
Yuri summoned his guilt.
Facing the true enemy, the final opponent, guilt buzzed louder than ever before.
“I don’t think we need to talk.”
“Why not? We…”
Dismissing Cedric’s evasive words, Yuri took a deep breath.
He measured the distance between them.
The brief calculation done, before his mind could even decide, his body sprang forward.
Time froze.
Space folded.
In an instant, Yuri reached his target.
Guilty, with more fierce momentum than ever, surged toward Cedric.
The moment his sword made contact—
[Authority of the Word (Power of the Spoken Word) Kill.]
Yuri was flung backward.