Yuri clutched his abdomen and plunged Guilty into Laurent.
Cedric, who had taken over Laurent’s body, didn’t dodge. After all, it wasn’t his own body to defend. Instead of blocking, he drove the sword deeper, focusing on wounding Yuri.
“Ugh!”
Yuri groaned, a searing pain rising through him. Unable to endure it any longer, he dropped to his knees.
A voice called out from behind.
“Yuri!”
“Your Highness!”
His consciousness began to fade.
Unable to stand any longer, Yuri knelt.
Cedric smirked.
“I always knew Laurent would come in handy someday.”
“You bastard…”
“Did you think I tormented Laurent without a plan? Well, maybe I did, but…”
When he twisted Laurent’s body with dark magic, it seemed he’d secretly set up a way to seize control whenever he wanted.
Cedric’s voice came from Laurent’s lips.
[Your friend is putting up quite a fight. He’s still thrashing about.]
“What did you do to Laurent…?”
[Don’t worry, I just pushed him back for a moment.]
Cedric grabbed Yuri’s shoulder, lifting his upper body slightly, then roughly yanked the sword out. The wound inside Yuri tore open again.
He coughed up blood.
“Ugh…”
He struggled to stay conscious, but it was no use. The blow had been too severe. He had to find a way out of this, but his thoughts kept slipping away.
Everything was hazy.
His mind and body felt like they were melting.
[Just rest for a moment, and everything will feel easier.]
Yuri forced his eyelids open.
But he couldn’t hold on.
Everything slipped downward.
His eyelids, his body, and his very spirit.
His vision darkened.
Far off, he faintly sensed the battlefield’s atmosphere trembling.
It seemed Cedric, still inhabiting Laurent’s body, was fighting the others.
Jose’s agitated voice, Moyongchan’s furious shouts, incomprehensible Eastern tongues, and chaotic cries brushed past his ears.
Darkness surged.
Silence fell.
Stillness.
Nothing could be heard or felt.
Far from the chaos outside, his mind and body drifted toward a calmness bordering on peace.
He had always been on edge.
For a very long time.
Since when?
Before his life began anew.
No, before he became a mercenary.
Even before the empire attacked Briol.
From the day he met her, when the world seemed to shift into different colors.
Though he was a prince of a nation, Ekaterina was a princess, and the anxiety about the future always lingered in his heart.
He was always trying to do something.
His body and mind never stopped moving.
Then the war broke out, and from that moment on, it was a relentless sprint.
He fought against the empire, became a mercenary after Briol’s fall, plunging himself into pain, and after Laurent’s death, he struggled to prevent tragedy.
“Then I got stabbed.”
Yuri touched his abdomen. It was intact. This meant he wasn’t in reality.
He saw nothing.
It would be nice to just lie here a little longer.
“Haah…”
He exhaled deeply.
Despite the urgency, his heart felt strangely at ease.
He knew it was Cedric’s trickery, but there was nothing he could do.
Lying still, many memories passed through him. Only when he let everything go did he realize what he had forgotten.
One by one, forgotten things surfaced.
Things he hadn’t understood then, now made sense in hindsight.
“That happened too…”
Yuri recalled the days spent with Ekaterina.
There were good times and bad.
They had even fought over foolish reasons. Back then, he couldn’t understand why she got so angry.
There were mistakes on both sides. They were both inexperienced.
Then, suddenly—
Yuri shot upright.
“…”
He stared into a patch of darkness.
From his hazy memories, something was slowly coming back.
He remained frozen in place, silent for a long while.
Then, he slowly reached to his chest.
Once, a necklace had hung there so naturally. A keepsake from his mother. He had given it to Ekaterina as a symbol of giving her everything.
“…”
Yuri blinked.
Then, he rose fully to his feet.
He stood tall.
The comforting darkness surrounded him.
As he took a step, his body began to float. The darkness seemed to urge him to linger in this peace forever, gently buoying his form.
It was like being underwater.
Drifting in the darkness, Yuri thought again.
And murmured,
“I’m going out.”
At some point, Guilty was once again clenched in his hand.
This companion was always there when needed.
Suddenly, the darkness around him grew heavy. It pulled his body downward.
Yuri descended, bearing the crushing weight of the darkness across his entire body.
He couldn’t even twitch a finger.
If he tried to move, the darkness grew heavier and more solid.
If he tried to stay still, it softened, caressing his skin.
An ordinary person would have collapsed.
But Yuri gripped Guilty tightly and summoned the power of chaos.
The extreme chaos he had faced battling gods from other realms had elevated him to a deeper plane.
Lying down, he slashed with his sword.
That was enough.
The darkness was cut away, thick chaos flowing down. Bathed in it, Yuri straightened his body.
The darkness Cedric had conjured was shredded away with ease.
Yuri pushed through and stepped outside.
In a corner of the battlefield, Laurent lay collapsed. It seemed Cedric had abandoned the body.
Yuri turned his gaze.
“Cedric.”
He was still moving about, sowing chaos among the Anti-Empire Alliance.
Some were controlled by his tentacles, fighting their own allies; others flew at Cedric to capture him; and Cedric spread dark magic and tentacles.
Under the black sky, blood flowed, turning the scene into a hellscape.
Yuri raised Guilty.
The chaos coursing through his hand orchestrated countless possibilities.
And then, suddenly—
Yuri pinpointed Cedric’s location.
His entire body was engulfed in chaos.
Moments later, Yuri appeared right beside Cedric.
[Huh?]
Cedric uttered a dumbfounded sound.
Without hesitation, Yuri stabbed Guilty in, twisting the blade as he pulled it out. Cedric’s chest split open, and instead of blood, thick black darkness gushed out.
[How?]
Cedric still sounded stunned. Yuri swung Guilty again, severing his neck. His head and body separated.
Yuri’s sword cut his head in half, his body in half, creating four pieces in total.
Darkness billowed out.
An enormous amount of darkness poured forth, hard to believe it came from a human body.
Yuri planted Guilty upright.
The spirit blade’s energy, baptized by chaos, blazed with light.
Yuri’s sword, which could cut even formless things to death, obliterated Cedric’s remains.
The darkness was torn apart.
At that moment—
[Divine Word of Power (Kill).]
Suddenly, a massive force lunged at Yuri’s back. He felt death’s sudden approach.
The cause was unknown.
Simply a Word of Power pushing everyone toward the inevitable end.
Yuri raised his blade, spinning to slash in all directions.
The spirit blade raged wildly.
Amplified by chaos, its power even erased the concepts embedded in the words.
After several sword dances, a small figure in a hood stood dazed before him.
“Kori.”
“D-Die!”
Kori spoke again.
This time, death struck more fiercely. But the chaos flowing through Yuri’s body waited for his decision, delaying the death sentence.
When Yuri resisted, the Word of Power dissolved into meaningless noise.
“Your Highness!”
Jose rushed in and beheaded Kori, who stood right in front of Yuri.
As the hood fell away, a grotesquely twisted face spun in the air before collapsing to the ground.
The world fell silent.
Everyone on the battlefield stared at Yuri.
Then, someone murmured,
“It’s over.”
Raising both hands, they shouted,
“We won!”
“We are victorious!”
“Long live Your Highness Yuri!”
“Hooray!”
“Long live Yuri Briol!”
Where moments before there had been screams and despair, now roared hope and joy.
Everyone shouted Yuri Briol’s name. Some wept, bowing before him; others ran up to kiss his feet.
The Anti-Empire Alliance had won.
Cedric was dead by Yuri’s hand, and the treacherous dark sorcerers who followed him were slain.
Now, it was truly over.
Yuri stood on a balcony, looking down at the throng.
Everyone reached out toward him.
“Phew…”
“Your Highness.”
Behind him, Jared approached.
Though Jared had been possessed by Cedric and bore a scar on his cheek from the ordeal, he had recovered well and was moving about normally.
“I never thought this day would come. I mean it. Phew…”
“Enough.”
After killing Cedric, much had happened.
Chaos had descended upon the empire.
The citizens, bewitched by dark magic, finally came to their senses and belatedly realized the empire’s shattered state.
The only remaining member of the royal family was Ekaterina, who had become the empire’s leader, tasked with managing the aftermath of the war.
The empire bore the burden of defeat, losing countless territories and privileges.
Yet, despite everything, it remained an empire.
What kept the empire from completely falling apart, what preserved even its bare bones, was ultimately Yuri.
“Your Majesty.”
“Yes?”
“Congratulations on your marriage.”
As the sole royal, Ekaterina had taken her place as the empire’s emperor.
And her husband was none other than Yuri Briol—the leader of the Anti-Imperial Alliance, the hero responsible for both the beginning and the end of this war.
No one on this continent dared to cross him.
“Thank you.”
And so, their wedding was about to begin.
“I just came from seeing Lady Ekaterina.”
“Oh?”
“I thought my eyes might fail me. Truly, congratulations.”
Yuri chuckled softly.
Leaning against the balcony railing, he smiled down at the countless people calling his name.
Since Cedric’s death, everything had gone smoothly.
Nothing but happiness.
Had there ever been a time like this before?
Soon, the orchestra began to play, and the master of ceremonies raised a wand enchanted with voice amplification to speak.
[The bride of this blessed wedding is about to enter…]
Yuri reached to his waist.
Dressed in formal attire, he naturally carried his Guilty.
“Your Majesty, what are you doing?”
“Wait.”
“Lady Ekaterina is entering now. Look—she’s so beautiful…”
Jarred’s words trailed off.
“Your Majesty?”
Before anyone could react, Yuri’s hand gripped the Guilty once more.
“What…?”
“Thanks for the rest.”
Yuri thrust his sword forward. The Guilty pierced Jarred’s chest.
Jarred stood silently, mouth agape, before collapsing, black blood spilling from his wound.
Even as he fell, he spoke.
“Why now?”
“I was going to wait a bit longer. But this isn’t right.”
Yuri shook his head, back still against the railing.
“We’re not even married yet. It’s bad manners to see the bride in her wedding dress before the ceremony.”
Jarred laughed.
“Is that so?”
“It is.”
Yuri raised the Guilty.
“Then let’s end this.”
[Since when did you know?]
Jarred’s voice shifted, now sounding like Cedric’s.
“From the start.”
[From the start?]
“There’s something you don’t know. And because of that one thing, you’re going to lose to me.”
[Is that so…]
Jarred chuckled low, then suddenly stood up. His chest wound had healed.
He faced Yuri, perfectly whole.
[Even if I know this is a lie, it doesn’t mean you can wake up.]
“Is that so?”
[Destroying one life is like shattering a whole existence. Can you break this happiness? Yuri, why not stay happy here?]
“Happiness?”
[Look behind you. There’s your bride—the most beautiful in the world. I won’t touch a thing. This life, happy with her…]
Suddenly, Jarred fell silent.
He stared deeply into Yuri’s eyes.
After a long pause, he spoke again.
[How?]
Now, Jarred had taken on Cedric’s form.
[How did your soul…]
“My soul?”
[Like this…]
Cedric’s expression was one of confusion.
It was rare to see him like this. Yuri smirked.
“Finish your sentence.”
[For so long…]
“Long, huh?”
[Far longer than a human lifespan.]
“I dream every day.”
The world began to dissolve.
The blessed wedding, the castle balcony where he stood—everything vanished.
Yuri smiled wryly and stabbed Cedric’s chest.
“I’ve had enough of waking up in the middle of happiness, thanks to you.”