A small, pitiful creature—lame, hideous to the point of being hard to look at.
A half-orc scorned by all.
He kindled a tiny spark.
With every inch it climbed higher, it grew larger, until now it filled the entire sky.
Since the dawn of civilization, had there ever been such a colossal light created by mortal hands?
So bright it was mistaken for the sun rising in the heavens.
Yet, it did not blind the eyes.
At this moment, every human gazed directly into that radiance.
The darkness began to scatter.
The core of the shadow that had swallowed the sun trembled violently, as if refusing to vanish, shaking its very body and unleashing one last surge of madness.
Darkness surged upward.
Tendrils of shadow spewed forth.
The gates of the sky were breaking apart.
Beyond them, a glimpse of an existence utterly beyond human comprehension flickered.
Cedric looked up at the sky and spoke.
“Foolish monkeys, making their final desperate stand.”
Unaware that his hands were trembling, he clenched his fists.
“When I crush even your last hope, it will be undeniable proof that I was right.”
Cedric spread his hands toward the heavens.
He squeezed out every last ounce of malice, resonating with the darkness in the sky.
Light and shadow pushed against each other.
Cedric wagered everything.
Even the spare mental capacity he had always reserved, he poured it all into the calculations of dark magic.
A man who might be the greatest genius in human history was sacrificing everything he had for humanity’s destruction.
Darkness surged.
The hole in the sky grew larger.
The core of the darkness, tentacles raised, throbbed as if glowing, pounding against the walls of the sky.
Cracks appeared.
But the light did not yield; it burned away the darkness.
A scene from myth was unfolding.
Though the darkness faded, it fulfilled its purpose until the very end.
“Ugh…”
Bloodshot, Cedric’s eyes blazed.
His veins swollen, blood dripping from his seven orifices, he poured his magic toward the core of darkness.
The cracks widened.
The light drove the darkness back with greater force.
Still, the gate to the outer cosmos was slowly opening.
Cedric smiled faintly.
“So, this is all you’re capable of…”
He trembled as he spoke.
“I will win. I will win…”
Someone approached him.
Yuri Briol.
Dragging his sword, he walked unsteadily.
Yuri passed by the unconscious Cory and stood before Cedric.
“This ends here, Cedric.”
“No, it’s just beginning.”
Cedric forced a smirk, wiping the blood that clouded his vision, eyes wide open.
“I’ve already won.”
Then he unleashed his magic.
Suddenly, darkness exploded outward, distorting the light and spreading through the cracks, momentarily staining the entire sky.
But darkness could never invade the light.
The shadow was swallowed by the light and vanished completely.
The sun.
The clear blue sky.
They had returned.
But then—
“Hahaha…”
Cedric laughed.
“This is my victory, Yuri.”
He pointed upward.
At his fingertip, a small, black crack marred the blue sky.
Through that fissure, the void seeped in.
The outer cosmos.
It was descending to the earth.
From beyond the void, a massive form briefly appeared, then vanished.
“All it takes is a small crack. The void cannot be stopped. Like humanity’s fate. This fragile species called human is born with holes in its nature. Every minute, every second, it inevitably rushes toward self-destruction. I’m trying to stop that. To create a new world where everything runs efficiently.”
Yuri lifted his gaze.
Darkness and the void spread across the blue sky.
Cedric stretched his hands toward the crack.
“Now, the void descends…”
But suddenly—
The crack that had shimmered with movement emptied out.
Cedric fell silent.
The void that had poured toward the earth, the entity that had stretched its tendrils—both vanished without a trace.
The hole now looked simply empty.
After a brief silence—
A massive eye appeared.
A familiar shape.
The otherworldly god Cedric had tried to contract with, the being that had fought Yuri for so long in the void before retreating: Krupfuk.
The three locked eyes simultaneously.
Blink.
Krupfuk’s eye, visible through the tiny crack, quickly closed and opened.
Then—
The hole leading to the void shrank instantly.
The crack healed.
The rift to the outer cosmos contracted to a pinpoint.
And then disappeared.
The sky.
The dazzling sun and the deep blue heavens stretched wide, as if about to pour down.
Clear and blue.
That was all.
No trace of darkness remained in the sky.
“Ah…”
Cedric sank to his knees.
“Ahh…”
Then he began to laugh.
“Ahahaha…”
His whole body shook with laughter.
After a long bout of chuckling, he turned his head to look at Yuri.
Nothing remained in Cedric’s jet-black eyes.
“How did you do it?”
Yuri said nothing.
Dragging his battered body, he stood before Cedric.
Looking at his brother, he wore a calm smile.
“Yes. You won, Yuri.”
Cedric admitted defeat.
Strangely, he didn’t feel bad.
He analyzed the situation out of habit.
He had lost everything and was about to die.
Yet why did he feel so peaceful?
Yuri asked with an emotionless expression.
“Do you cry too?”
Cedric was startled.
Only then did he realize tears were streaming down his face.
He couldn’t explain why.
No matter how much he thought, he couldn’t understand why he was crying.
Yuri Briol.
His beloved brother who had shattered all his plans.
He should have known from the start.
Why he had let this kid live.
Why, despite the uncertainty Yuri brought, he had kept him around as a plaything.
The first time his predictions failed.
The growing unease as Yuri matured.
The instinct that one day Yuri would become his rival.
Even knowing something was going wrong—
He felt a strange joy.
Now, he finally understood the truth hidden deep within himself, a truth he hadn’t even known.
“Yuri. The monkey inside me… I think it wanted you to stop me.”
“I’m not a monkey. I’m human.”
“Human…”
Cedric laughed aloud.
Yuri raised his sword.
The blade gleamed brilliantly, reflecting the sunlight above.
Cedric saw the mark of sin engraved on it.
“Guilty.”
What feelings drove his brother to raise that sword?
It didn’t matter.
“Yuri, my brother.”
The sword’s light slowly tilted.
Cedric confessed.
“I still despise human imperfection.”
And closed his eyes.
In the darkness, something appeared.
The first time he met Yuri Briol, his brother.
Small, tiny, wriggling.
Even repulsive.
His noisy little brother.
When that kid clung to him, begging to learn swordsmanship with a wooden stick, Cedric had smiled and played along.
Yuri had talent with the sword.
He might even surpass Cedric.
For the first time, Cedric thought he might be outmatched in swordsmanship by this tiny creature who lacked nothing compared to the monkeys.
It was fascinating.
So he lifted the little brother awkwardly swinging his wooden stick.
Yuri burst into a clear, bright laugh.
There was a day like that.
That day, too, the sky was this blue.
Now he understood.
Cedric smiled brightly with his eyes closed.
“Even so, you still bring me joy.”
That was Cedric’s final moment.
Yuri’s sword pierced Cedric’s chest.
He smiled faintly, then collapsed.
The blood Cedric shed spread and darkened.
Within it, black tendrils writhed and burst forth, gnawing at Cedric’s body.
As not a single fragment of bone remained, the tentacles stretched out in all directions, glowing as if alive, before suddenly collapsing and scattering into ash.
And then—
In the place where his corpse had faded away, a single black book lay abandoned.
Yuri, who had been about to swing his sword again, paused.
He recalled Cruar’s warning.
She had said never to strike the demon’s grimoire.
Now, he understood why.
The demon’s grimoire was a thing both material and immaterial—a concept condensed from centuries of lingering grudges and hatred, wandering the earth like a dark idea made flesh.
To slash it with a sword was to add yet another layer of hatred.
You might be able to halt it for a moment, but sooner or later, it would resurface in the annals of human history.
To truly destroy that monster, something else was needed.
“Kori.”
Yuri called out to the collapsed Kori.
Still dazed, Kori stirred only when Yuri grabbed his shoulder and shook him roughly.
“Uh, uh…”
“Kori, get up.”
“Y-Your Highness… hehe…”
Kori scratched his head as if waking from a deep sleep.
Yuri smiled faintly and pointed at the demon’s grimoire.
“Tired, aren’t you? Let’s just get rid of that thing and then rest.”
“That thing…”
Kori hesitated, standing before the black book.
“You’re the only one who can destroy it.”
“N-no, even if it’s not me…”
“You can do it, right?”
“Hmm…”
Scratching the back of his head, Kori cleared his throat and raised both hands.
“I’ll try.”
[Authority of the Word Spirit (情).]
A small, pure white light emanated from Kori’s hands, flowing gently toward the demon’s grimoire.
Like a leaf drifting down on the breeze.
It settled atop the black book.
That was all.
The demon’s grimoire turned to white ash.
Even that vanished, carried away by a sudden soft wind.
“It’s over.”
“Good job, Kori.”
Trying to erase black with black only makes the darkness spread.
To annihilate the demon’s grimoire, something completely opposite was required.
Pure goodness.
No one had found this simple answer.
Perhaps it was impossible for others.
But Kori—
This small half-orc—was a miracle born from the human heart.
Yuri placed a hand on Kori’s shoulder.
“Kori. You did well.”
“N-no, Your Highness, you’re the one who truly, truly suffered…”
“Yeah, I did my part too.”
Yuri patted Kori’s shoulder and smiled broadly.
“See? I was right.”
“Huh?”
“You said people need to learn skills. Magic, right? Glad you learned it.”
Kori looked up at Yuri, dazed.
The man who had taken in someone everyone scorned.
Who had even taught him magic.
Like the sun itself.
The heart isn’t something you can hide just by wanting to.
So Kori smiled so brightly it almost made his face scrunch up.
“Yes, that’s right.”
Yuri smiled back.
“Let’s go home now.”
Yuri lifted Kori into his arms.
“Uh, uh?”
“Walking’s hard, isn’t it?”
“I’m f-fine…”
“You’re trembling all over and you say you’re fine?”
“I have acrophobia…”
“Getting jokey now, huh?”
“Hehe…”
Carrying Kori, Yuri walked beyond the place where the black veil had been.
Most of the Anti-Empire Allied forces sat dazed, exhausted from having poured their ‘vital energy’ into Kori’s Authority of the Word Spirit.
When Yuri and Kori appeared, they all staggered to their feet.
Yuri Briole.
His return meant one thing clearly.
Victory.
“Ah…”
They had won.
“Ahhh…”
Their cries soon turned to cheers.
Everyone raised their hands high, shouting with joy.
Yuri was no different.
From a body on the verge of collapse, strength suddenly surged.
With a sword in one hand and Kori lifted in the other, he shouted with them.
“We won!”
“Uh, uh?”
“We won!”
“Y-Your Highness, please put me down…”
“Kori, shout with us!”
“Huh?”
“We won!”
“W-we won…?”
“Louder!”
“We won!”
“We won!”
“We won!”
“We won!”
“We won!”
“We won!”
“We won—ack! cough hack cough cough gag ugh…”
“We won… y-yeah!”
The war was over.
It had been a hard, grueling ordeal.
Much blood was spilled, many lives sacrificed.
But in the end—
They had won.