Yuri cut the cord that stretched out from the pitch-black mass. But before he could react, Okua’s fist slammed into him, sending him crashing to the ground.
The black sorcerer gasped in shock and shouted,
“What kind of sword is that?!”
Lying face down, Yuri smirked.
“Cool, huh?”
“You bastard!”
Yuri tried to get up, but his body wouldn’t obey. He swayed uncontrollably, and then suddenly, a dark shadow engulfed him.
When he looked up, Okua was standing there. His long, muscular arms were raised high above his head, fists clenched like iron hammers.
“Ready for your punishment?”
Okua didn’t wait for an answer. He brought his arm down in a crushing blow.
Yuri blinked as the fist hurtled toward him. He knew he had to dodge—but his body refused to respond.
Is this how it ends? Failing even in his second life?
Still, one thing comforted him: his honor.
He hadn’t sullied it.
In his past life, he’d survived disgracefully, but this time, he would die with dignity.
Forcing a smile, Yuri braced himself.
Then—
“Gah!”
A strange cry echoed sharply through the air.
His vision blurred, and something filled his sight.
A broad back came into view.
Yuri exhaled in relief.
He had been ready to die, yet here he was, alive once more.
Spitting out the blood rising in his throat, he muttered,
“Why so slow…?”
“Sorry.”
Moyongchan’s voice answered.
“That’s fine.”
“Now, step back.”
Yuri was about to joke but suddenly realized how perfect Moyongchan’s pronunciation was. When serious, his continental tongue was flawless.
“Yes.”
Shaking his head, Yuri crawled sideways, glancing back.
Okua scowled down at Moyongchan.
The moment had come—the face-off between Okua and Moyongchan.
The fate of the Alliance forces would be decided here.
“Your Highness!”
Loran rushed over and helped Yuri to his feet.
The black sorcerer shouted something, and Okua lunged after Yuri, but Moyongchan blocked him.
Okua growled,
“You’re mine.”
Moyongchan’s clothes fluttered in the wind. Despite facing the massive Okua, he didn’t look small or intimidated.
With Loran’s help, Yuri moved out of the immediate area.
“Are you alright?”
“I need to calm my mana method for a moment.”
“I’ll guard you.”
“Just a moment, please.”
Once away from Okua, Yuri sat down and began to steady his breathing. Orcbal approached but hesitated under Loran’s imposing presence.
Trusting them, Yuri closed his eyes.
The energy of the Soul Slash gently caressed his meridians.
Suddenly, the ground trembled.
Still with his eyes closed, Yuri murmured,
“Is it starting now?”
Moyongchan and Okua clashed. The waves of their energy rippled through Yuri’s body.
He chuckled softly.
“So, it’s come to this. One-on-one.”
Moyongchan glared at Okua, his anger tightly controlled.
He had fallen victim to the dark sorcery’s suggestion.
If the idea had been utterly ridiculous, it wouldn’t have worked.
But the notion that he must maintain perfect condition and fight one-on-one wasn’t entirely wrong—and it dominated his mind.
That hesitation was costly, allowing Okua to grow stronger.
Standing closer, Moyongchan could see more clearly.
Okua’s body had been altered by sorcery. Orcs were already unnatural beings, but Okua was something else entirely.
A monstrosity forbidden by the mortal realm.
“Today, I will destroy you and bring down the Black Star.”
He raised his sword, aiming at Okua.
A pure, serene energy shimmered.
The secret internal energy taught by the Blue Star Sect flowed solemnly, meeting the energy of Saihan.
Then something strange happened.
Okua straightened his back and stood tall.
[So you’ve finally come to your senses.]
Moyongchan was taken aback.
Okua had never spoken like a human before—only growls and roars.
He had assumed Okua was a puppet controlled by the black sorcerer.
But now, Okua spoke.
And in the continental tongue, no less.
His voice was soft, smooth, and precise. If you closed your eyes, you might imagine a handsome young man speaking.
“Okua. Were you pretending to be stupid all this time?”
[Pretending?]
Okua laughed.
[The fools are you humans.]
He raised his hand.
Black mist seeped from his fingertips. The black sorcerer standing nearby immediately prostrated himself before Okua.
Okua gently stroked the sorcerer’s head.
[You’ve worked hard.]
It sounded almost like comfort.
Then Okua spread his fingers wide.
His massive hand closed around the sorcerer’s head in an instant.
“W-wait! That’s not what I meant—”
[Rest easy.]
“Graaahhh…!”
The sorcerer screamed, but his voice was muffled beneath Okua’s palm. His body convulsed.
Okua opened his mouth.
The sorcerer’s blurry form began to be sucked inside.
“Ino-ohm!”
Moyongchan shouted in alarm, swinging his sword.
A blade of energy materialized and struck at Okua.
[You wait.]
Okua swung his arm.
Moyongchan’s blade was stopped by Okua’s palm. The skin tore, blood oozed, but it healed instantly.
Meanwhile, the black sorcerer was being absorbed into Okua.
Soon, only a shriveled, mummy-like corpse remained.
Okua dropped it to the ground.
Moyongchan shouted in fury,
“That is sorcery forbidden by the mortal realm!”
[The mortal realm?]
Okua advanced toward Moyongchan.
Until now, Okua had moved sluggishly, as if mindless, but now he was different. His movements carried a clear presence.
[Since when has the world belonged to humans?]
Okua clenched his fist and swung.
A massive force crashed down like a war hammer.
Moyongchan didn’t dodge. Instead, he pressed forward, entering the radius of the blow and stabbing Okua’s abdomen.
Thrust.
The sword sank deep.
It was a solid hit.
But Moyongchan immediately sensed something was wrong.
He couldn’t pull the sword back.
Okua’s muscles gripped the blade, drawing it in.
Okua spoke softly.
[Too hasty.]
Moyongchan blinked.
When his eyelids lifted again, he was flying through the air.
Pain hit him late. He crashed to the ground, consciousness returning.
He must have been kicked, but his memory was fuzzy. It had been a momentary blackout.
Blood rose in his throat.
“Hahaha…”
Moyongchan spat blood and laughed, muttering in the Eastern tongue,
[Yes, this is why coming to the Western lands was worth it.]
He reached out.
The sword held by a fallen Alliance soldier flew to his hand.
He closed his eyes.
Memories flashed by.
The Blue Star Sect had fallen.
His master and sworn brother had died fighting for a world that no longer cared.
The martial world no longer needed them.
So he abandoned everything and left.
He had come to the West in search of the Black Star that plunged the world into chaos. Evil was rampant.
There was still work for him here.
Moyongchan stood and raised his sword.
A blue aura shimmered around him.
“Okua. Today, you die beneath the sword of the Blue Star.”
Yuri calmed his breathing and rose to his feet.
A whirlwind blew from the distance where Okua and Moyongchan fought. The clash of their energies sent ripples through the air.
Yuri spat out the blood pooling in his mouth and looked around.
The atmosphere was tense.
The fighting had quieted, and even the orcs had stopped attacking, watching the duel intently.
Yuri called out to Loran.
“Loran.”
“Yes?”
“This is our chance.”
“Huh?”
Yuri had no intention of standing idly by while those two fought.
“This isn’t a fight between humans.”
If this were a human war, the outcome of Moyongchan and Okua’s duel might lead to negotiations.
But orcs were different.
They were not a party to be negotiated with.
The Alliance had come to exterminate every last orc.
“Understood.”
Loran nodded.
Yuri warmed up with quick jumps. Though Okua had taken a toll on his body, he was still capable of fighting.
Suddenly, an explosion echoed.
Okua and Moyongchan had begun their full-scale battle.
Yuri forced himself to look away.
He walked behind Orcbal, who was watching the one-on-one fight with a vacant stare.
Orcbal sensed his presence and turned.
“What are you looking at?”
Yuri swung his Guilty sword.
Orcbal raised his halberd to block.
Yuri pressed the attack. After a few clashing strikes, he thrust Guilty into Orcbal’s neck.
“Die.”
He twisted the sword left and right.
Orcbal’s head fell.
Yuri’s attack reignited the smoldering battlefield.
“Don’t stop!”
Yuri shouted.
Some knights looked at him in confusion. At this point, many thought they needed a moment to catch their breath.
But Yuri had his reasons.
“Okua is absorbing the orcs’ power.”
Loran looked at him.
“Huh?”
“It’s hard to explain. But it’s true.”
When Yoori entered the monochrome world where only shades of black and white existed, she could see the black cords connected by dark magic.
Besides the thick, sturdy strand linked to Moyongchan, countless faint, shallow lines stretched out in every direction.
She had a vague idea of what they were.
These were beings who sacrificed humans as offerings to fuel their own power.
Since they were born from the same dark magic and owed their loyalty to her, it would be far easier to drain the life force of the orcs.
After all, she had already absorbed the life energy of the black sorcerer.
Yoori muttered to herself, “We can’t let the orcs live.”
Even with dark magic, no energy could be drawn from orcs whose life had already been extinguished. So she killed them.
“I trust you, Prince.”
Laurent nodded.
In his eyes, Yoori saw absolute faith.
“I will simply follow you.”
“You little…”
Yoori smiled softly.
Laurent hadn’t been like this in his past life. But now, somehow, he seemed like a loyal hound who only listened to her.
“Laurent.”
“Yes?”
“There’s a lot to do ahead.”
Yoori reached out her hand.
“You’ll stay with me, won’t you?”
Laurent’s eyes widened briefly before he grasped her hand firmly.
Through the gauntlet, she felt the warmth of his touch.
“Of course.”
Yoori smiled at Laurent’s blue eyes, then turned back.
“Let’s start by cleaning up these brats.”
“Yes!”
Moyongchan and Okua clashed, shaking the ground beneath them. Thunderous roars echoed, unlike anything from the mortal realm. Occasionally, Okua’s signature thunderous bellow rang out.
But Yoori didn’t watch the spectacle.
She had work to do.
Dragging her sluggish body forward, she approached Orcpaw.
Seeing her exhaustion, Orcpaw lunged first, unleashing a fierce assault.
But Yoori dodged nimbly, slicing through Orcpaw along a clever trajectory.
The enemy’s blood splattered into the air.
Beyond that, Yoori kept her eyes fixed on Orcpaw.
His mind was foggy from accumulated damage, but his battle-hardened body instinctively hunted and tore into foes.
Her unconscious will guided him.
Even without deliberate control, the Soul Slash moved fluidly through her entire body like an extension of her limbs.
“This is the final battle!”
Yoori shouted.
“We all come back alive! Don’t die—kill!”
Her roar, charged with the power of the Soul Slash, shook the battlefield.
Yoori didn’t just shout—she stepped forward to face the orcs herself.
The morale of the allied forces soared.
Thanks to the knights’ efforts, the Ancient Worm and Wyvern, which had been tormenting the alliance, began to fall one after another.
Kraaaaah!
Suddenly, a scream pierced the air.
Yoori glanced back.
“Master.”
A smile tugged at her lips.
Moyongchan was slashing through Okua’s chest, sending a spray of blood into the air.