Cedric couldn’t make sense of the situation.
The Otherworldly God had betrayed him.
It was unthinkable.
They had forged a contract, one sealed with their very existence. It was a bond that couldn’t be broken.
The god, drifting endlessly through the void, had greedily craved human life force. In return, Cedric had promised to offer as many lives as the god desired.
That was why Zbeta was established.
Humans were driven into pits, sacrifices made to feed those lives.
The god’s demands were met without a single shortfall.
So why—
“Why the hell did it betray me? And why is it still fine?”
He couldn’t understand.
If the Otherworldly God had betrayed him, it should have paid the price. Yet it returned to the outer cosmos without a scratch.
It was infuriating.
There was a time when this feeling felt fresh, even thrilling.
But now, it was pure annoyance.
“Yuri Briol.”
It had to be because of that bastard.
Everything went wrong whenever he was involved.
Before, it was still manageable. Cedric had even been pleased to face an opponent who didn’t bend to his will.
Everything had been easy for him—so easy it was boring.
Yuri was like a game given to him.
But now, his patience had run dry.
Not only was Yuri disrupting part of the plan, he was overturning the whole thing.
From the moment the Anti-Empire Allied Forces formed, the atmosphere had been tense.
Cedric had never believed such a ragtag army could hold together, so he was caught off guard.
From Cedric’s perspective, these human-shaped monkeys lacked the intelligence and unity to pull it off.
But Yuri had done it.
So Cedric had unleashed an even greater weapon—the Otherworldly God.
And now, even that had crumbled.
“Yuri Briol!”
Cedric clenched his teeth and shouted. He rarely showed emotion, so Eugen, standing nearby, was visibly startled.
“Se-Cedric-sama?”
“Damn it.”
“How could the Otherworldly God…?”
“It’s gone.”
“Can’t you summon it again?”
“No.”
“Has the god not revealed its true name yet?”
“No.”
“Ah…”
Connecting with a being drifting in the void was nearly impossible. Even Cedric, a master of dark magic, had to craft an orichalcum statue and perform a long ritual just to barely succeed.
To summon such a being again, one had to know its true name.
Because a true name holds immense power over a being adrift in the void.
But the Otherworldly God refused to grant that.
Had the contract been fulfilled and Cedric received all its power, he might have learned it. But since the contract was broken, that was out of the question.
In other words—
“There’s nothing left to expect from the Otherworldly God.”
Cedric rose from his seat.
He was sitting in his own underground palace, where he kept what mattered most to him.
“But it doesn’t matter. I only summoned it for overwhelming victory. I can win on my own.”
The Devil’s Grimoire.
It existed.
Though he had used its pages to sow chaos across the continent, the magic within the original book remained undiminished.
If anything, it had grown darker, absorbing the flood of pain and hatred that swept through Inse.
The very acts of destruction across the continent had nourished the Devil’s Grimoire.
Heir to dark magic and master of the Devil’s Grimoire—
Cedric Briol.
He had never once thought he would lose.
Not even now, with the Otherworldly God gone.
He held the most dangerous power in human history.
“Those who possess it all become mad.”
Cedric left the battlefield and approached the Devil’s Grimoire, kept at the heart of his underground palace.
A thick, pitch-black tome.
It rested atop a bone altar, draped with a cloth patched together from human-faced skins.
The magic radiating from it was so dense that the bones of the dead rattled and shifted.
The human-faced skin beneath was pierced where the eyes, nose, and mouth should be, as if silently screaming.
Eugen couldn’t bear the presence any longer and stepped back.
But Cedric approached quickly, as if greeting an old friend. His expression softened.
“Ah…”
When he first discovered the Devil’s Grimoire beneath the Briol royal palace, he had been ecstatic.
If sacrificing these human-shaped monkeys could create a more perfect world, he would gladly do so.
Cedric grasped the Devil’s Grimoire with both hands.
Madness surged.
His mind flushed red.
“Haa…”
Ordinary humans would go insane the moment they touched the Devil’s Grimoire, but he was different.
Because he fully understood it, he didn’t lose himself—instead, he evolved into a higher being.
Gathering the overflowing magic, Cedric turned and saw Eugen prostrated before him.
“Eugen.”
“Yes.”
“Come here.”
“I-I dare not…”
Even the crown prince of the empire bowing before him stirred no emotion.
The power struggles of these monkeys meant nothing to him.
He would set everything right.
“Hurry.”
“Yes.”
Eugen approached cautiously, still deeply bowed.
Cedric placed a hand on his head and spoke in a soothing tone.
“You’ve done well.”
“Huh?”
“I will reward you.”
“Thank you.”
“Raise your head.”
“Yes.”
“The reward I give you is…”
Cedric smiled.
“The right to serve me forever.”
“Huh?”
Eugen’s eyes widened, and at the same moment, Cedric’s hand closed around his throat. Startled, Eugen tried to push the hand away but froze, trembling as if he’d committed a grave offense.
“Ah…”
“Grateful, aren’t you?”
“P-please, Cedric-sama.”
“Eugen. For a monkey, you were useful. That means you were stupid enough to be manipulated.”
Black mist rose from Cedric’s hand, beginning to corrode Eugen’s body.
Eugen opened his mouth wide to scream, but no sound came out.
He writhed helplessly.
“Offering the soul of the crown prince is a great help.”
Not just a healthy body or exceptional swordsmanship, but the symbolic status of crown prince made him a valuable sacrifice for dark magic.
Cedric felt the densest magic he’d ever sensed and offered it to the Devil’s Grimoire.
The book rejoiced, converting the energy into magic.
Cedric lifted the Devil’s Grimoire reverently with both hands.
Black magic flowed into him.
Dizziness hit briefly, then subsided.
He smiled. This sensation was all too familiar.
“Good.”
A smile returned to his voice.
The Otherworldly God might have left, but that didn’t change the outcome.
He had only borrowed the power of the outer cosmos for overwhelming victory and total control. With the Devil’s Grimoire alone, he could annihilate the monkey horde called the Anti-Empire Alliance and forge a new world.
Cedric murmured the name of his beloved younger brother.
“Yuri Briol.”
There was no warmth left in his voice.
It was a form of acknowledgment.
Until now, Yuri had been a dear little brother. But now, he was his one and only nemesis on this land.
He would kill him without fail.
“It’s time to settle who’s right.”
Cedric spread his arms.
The Devil’s Grimoire floated before him, stopping at his chest. Then, as if intangible, it seeped through his clothes and into his body.
Black mist poured from every orifice on Cedric’s body.
[Ha ha…]
His voice twisted into something grotesque.
It sounded like two voices overlapping—one his own, the other rough and coarse.
Cedric’s body began to rise.
Just as he was about to soar toward the underground ceiling—
“Cedric-sama.”
A voice called out.
Cedric turned his gaze.
“I—I will join you.”
[Kori.]
Cedric’s lips curled into a smile. His body settled back down.
[What were you doing?]
“W-well…”
[I see.]
Cedric nodded.
[Were you in the lab again during all this?]
“Hehe…”
Kori scratched her head.
“Yes…”
[Right. There are no rules in play. Pleasure is to be taken whenever you want.]
“Yes.”
His eyes scanned Kori up and down.
Small body. Limping leg. Ugly face.
But inside her was a dragon’s organ.
If he could obtain that, what kind of magic could he gain?
Cedric, who had been eyeing her like prey, turned his head.
Unlike Eugen, she was useful.
Now that her inner self was as twisted as her outward appearance, she held endless potential.
[Kori.]
“Yes?”
[When this fight ends and a new world opens…]
“Yes. Hehe…”
[You will become my loyal subordinate. Ruler beneath the heavens, above all men.]
“R-really?”
[Yes. I will grant you whatever you desire.]
“T-thank you.”
Kori bowed deeply.
Watching the back of her small head, Cedric continued.
[But first, we have to clear out the trash on the surface. Kori, will you help me?]
“Yes!”
[Will you help me kill Yuri Briol?]
“Of course!”
Kori showed no hesitation.
Cedric smiled with satisfaction. Since arriving at Zbeta, Kori had been completely swallowed by darkness.
[Good.]
Cedric reached out his hand.
[Take my hand, Kori.]
“Ah…”
Grasping Cedric’s hand held profound significance for those tainted by dark magic.
Cory’s eyes darted around, overwhelmed, before he hesitantly bowed and reached out his hand.
“T-thank you.”
Cory’s hand, exposed beyond his robe, was twisted and scarred as if burned, a stark contrast to Cedric’s pale, pristine hand.
Two hands—so different—met and clasped.
[Cory.]
“Yes?”
[This world must have tormented you.]
“I… I…”
[Creatures no different from you hated you simply because your appearance was ugly.]
“Yes…”
[The world I will create will be different.]
A thick, black darkness soon enveloped them both.
[I will give you a magnificent new world.]
And then, their forms vanished.
Yuri approached the black core revealed within the melted monster’s remains.
A dark energy radiated from it.
“That is…”
Using her guilt energy, Yuri cleared away the partially melted debris, then skewered the core on the tip of her blade and flung it to the ground beneath her.
Inside the core was a piece of parchment.
“A demonic grimoire.”
Yuri summoned the power of her Soul Slash and drove the blade straight through the parchment.
The black energy writhed as if struggling, then, unable to withstand the Soul Slash’s force, it dissipated.
The anguished wails of the lingering grudge echoed faintly around them.
“Ugh…”
Those nearby stepped back, covering their ears.
“Are you startled by this?”
Yuri tore the parchment to shreds and said,
“Soon, you’ll have to face something far worse—right before your eyes.”
“My ears—no, my head feels like it’s splitting. Is this really a demonic grimoire?”
“Yes.”
Yuri lifted her gaze.
“That’s right, Cedric.”
At her words, everyone jumped, drawing their swords.
Suddenly, Cedric appeared.
He looked exactly as he had in the Briol royal palace—wearing glasses, a gentle smile on his face, standing upright.
[Indeed.]
Cedric glanced around.
The knights from Briol flinched reflexively the moment their eyes met his.
Despite everything, he was exactly as they remembered—making it all the more chilling.
[Ha ha…]
Cedric laughed aloud, removed his glasses, carefully folded them, and tucked them into his chest.
[Yuri.]
“Cedric.”
[I truly cared for you.]
“I truly respected you, too.”
[It’s a shame.]
Cedric spread his hands wide.
[That I must kill you.]
“I’m not so sorry about that.”
As if perfectly in sync, they moved simultaneously.
Cedric clasped his hands together, forming a seal, while Yuri sprang forward, pushing off the ground.
A deafening roar shattered the air.
The world itself began to crack.