The massive form of Okua, assembled from countless corpses, stood like a colossal target.
Facing him, Moyongchan left no room to dodge or evade.
“I can’t believe this.”
Okua’s voice echoed through the air.
Then, the sun’s rays struck him directly.
A blinding flash erupted.
Yuri, watching the scene unfold, raised a hand to shield his eyes.
Within the searing white blaze, Okua’s struggling figure flickered faintly.
“It was worth the effort…”
Yuri muttered under his breath.
Ever since Marilose’s fireball had swept across the battlefield, Yuri had been begging Hernando daily to cast magic.
He knew the dispel magic prevented Hernando from using spells, but he persisted anyway.
This was the moment they had been waiting for.
Hernando had gathered all his pent-up frustration and unleashed a spectacular offensive spell. Okua must have been completely roasted.
The flash subsided, and a shockwave burst outward.
Yuri was swept back, tumbling to the ground. Having exhausted every last drop of mana, he was utterly drained.
“Ugh…”
He rolled on the dirt before coming to a stop.
Lifting his eyes, he saw Okua standing dazed amid the black smoke, his body charred pitch-black.
He wasn’t dead—but the damage was severe enough to immobilize him.
Moyongchan and the knights who had been lying prone surged forward toward Okua.
Yuri was certain of victory.
But his joy was short-lived.
“Akukakkai?”
A strange voice sounded overhead. Yuri glanced back and saw an orc standing there.
The creature’s eyes narrowed.
“Uuk Akuma Kuku…”
Then, it raised its axe high into the air.
“No way… this bastard…”
Yuri fumbled to grab Gilty, but that was all he could manage.
He couldn’t even stand.
The hideous orc’s face reflected in his eyes.
Just as the axe blade was about to fall—
Someone charged in, colliding with the orc and knocking it down.
“Are you alright?”
“You’re…”
Yuri’s eyes widened.
“Sber Gain?”
“Yes. Sber—no, Sven Gain.”
It was Sven Gain, who had become friendly with Yuri after some backroom gossip.
Sword in hand, Sven kept a wary eye on the orc as he spoke.
“Get out of the way. I’ll handle this one.”
Yuri slowly pushed himself up.
“Thank you, Sven.”
Without looking at Yuri, Sven replied,
“This settles the debt.”
He was trying to sound cool.
But Yuri didn’t bother teasing him. Trying to be cool when your life’s on the line—that’s the real deal.
“Then I’ll forget all the gossip about Yohaim.”
“Huh?”
“There’s still plenty of gossip left about you—Briol, Bursen, the Holy Kingdom, the Empire, the Klein Duchy…”
“No, no…”
Meanwhile, the orc got back on its feet.
Sven smiled wryly and readied himself.
“Anyway, I’ll take care of this.”
“Think you can do it?”
“Even if I can’t, I have to.”
Yuri smiled.
The once reckless kid had grown a lot. At this rate, Wolf Gain should be bowing to him.
“I trust you.”
He stood up.
But several orcs, sensing Yuri’s weakened state, were closing in on him.
“Your Highness!”
Then Briol’s soldiers rushed in, surrounding Yuri as if to protect him.
“You guys…”
All familiar faces—those who had shared meals or card games with him.
“We’ll protect you.”
“Your Highness, please retreat.”
“Just trust us.”
Orcs were tough opponents for ordinary soldiers. Orc chiefs were even worse.
But these men stood their ground, weapons raised against the orcs.
Yuri said,
“It’s dangerous. You’re no match for them.”
“We’re fine.”
One of the soldiers who often played cards with Yuri spoke. Since he was from Yuzes, where Genard was lord, they always teased him as Genard’s lackey.
“You’ve always been at the front, Your Highness. Today, stay behind.”
Yuri felt a lump in his throat.
“I can’t believe you were Genard’s lackey…”
“No, I’m not!”
The orcs approached with grim faces, the orc chief among them.
No matter how strong their will, the soldiers couldn’t hold out long against such foes.
Yuri forced himself to lift Gilty.
“Your Highness!”
At that moment, several knights staggered in to join Yuri. Not just from Briol, but from other nations as well.
All had once been helped by Yuri.
“We’ll take care of the orc chief.”
Then the brutal clash began.
A fierce battle raged.
Yuri was overcome by a strange feeling.
In his past life, some had died fighting for him—but not for ‘Yuri’ as a person.
They fought simply because he was a prince.
But this time was different.
That’s why Yuri wished even more fervently that they wouldn’t die.
And someone answered his wish.
“Your Highness.”
Suddenly, someone appeared beside Yuri.
“Asana. I told you not to be here.”
“Then should I go back?”
“No…”
It was Asana.
Before the battle with Okua, Yuri had ordered her to return. But she had stayed by his side.
“You want them to survive, don’t you?”
“Are you sure it’s safe?”
Asana was skilled in assassination, not frontline combat.
“Of course.”
She nodded lightly as always, then vanished back into the shadows.
Then she appeared behind the orc horde and slit the orc chief’s throat.
Caught off guard, the orc chief clutched his neck in shock. His artery was severed, blood pouring out.
The orc chief staggered and collapsed.
“Hahaha…”
Yuri laughed.
“I haven’t lived in vain…”
He had wasted so much of his past life.
Sweeping his sweat-soaked hair back, he looked away.
Amazingly, despite the spell’s power, Okua was not completely dead.
But he was slowly crumbling.
The body, originally human corpses, had melted and fused into a single mass by the flames.
Moyongchan’s sword energy kept striking down relentlessly.
The output was absurd.
How many humans could fire sword energy like that in rapid succession? He was truly one of the Ten Strong.
And how monstrous was Okua to endure such attacks?
Okua, who had been retreating, suddenly swung a fist.
Moyongchan, focused on the attack, was flung far away. With him out of the fight, the other knights couldn’t stand against Okua.
The knight’s body flew through the air again.
Okua was still holding on.
But his energy was nearly spent. The faint black haze rising from his body made it clear.
Yuri suddenly looked into the air.
Magic was forming again.
After the fireball, a massive spear bristling with thorns took shape. It looked perfect for hunting a giant monster like Okua.
“Kraaaaah…”
As Okua struggled to fend off the knights, he looked up.
The spear flew straight at him.
Perhaps sensing his fate, Okua froze.
The spear pierced his chest.
He dropped to his knees.
“It’s not… over.”
With those final words, Okua completely collapsed.
The corpses bound by dark magic scattered. The melted, fused parts swung grotesquely.
With Okua’s fall, the remaining orc forces lost their will to fight.
Perhaps because they had been controlled by dark magic from the start, they offered little resistance and were wiped out by the allied forces.
Yuri collapsed where he stood.
“Hahaha…”
He burst into laughter.
He had done it.
He had destroyed the allied forces, killed Moyongchan, and slain Okua—the terror who had ruled the plains and struck fear across the continent.
He had saved countless lives.
He had changed fate.
“Waaaaaaah!”
The entire allied army erupted in cheers.
Joy filled the plains that had been soaked in sorrow.
“Your Highness!”
“We won!”
“Long live!”
Briol’s troops rushed to Yuri.
They collapsed on top of him.
“Ugh!”
More and more soldiers piled on.
They crushed Yuri beneath them, chanting his name. It was a time-honored celebration, akin to a human pyramid, known as the “hamburger.”
Yuri struggled, but the number of soldiers pressing down only grew.
“Yuri! Yuri! Yuri!”
“St-stop…!”
“Yuri! Yuri!”
One soldier, seeing Yuri’s pale face, pushed the others back.
“Hey, hey! The prince’s gonna die!”
The hamburger collapsed.
The soldiers gathered again and lifted Yuri up.
This time, it was a human pyramid.
Yuri was tossed high into the air and caught repeatedly.
Normally, he would have shaken it off quickly, but after the relentless battles and having used even rare mana, he couldn’t resist—flailing like a puppet.
Without mana, he was just an eighteen-year-old boy.
“Yuri! Yuri! Yuri!”
While Briol savored their victory, other nations cheered as well, each celebrating the allied victory in their own way.
Just before Okua fell, Hernando had been watching the battle.
The magic power contained within the fireball he had created was enough to destroy an entire city.
Aizen, standing nearby, had a drastically changed attitude after feeling its power firsthand.
“You’re incredible. You really are a master.”
“Did you doubt me?”
“No, no.”
Hernando didn’t take his eyes off the battlefield.
Even after such an attack, Okua hadn’t died. Though visibly weakened, he still survived.
He was a monstrous being.
“I’ll have to make one more.”
“One more?”
Aizen’s eyes widened.
“Can you really make another like that?”
“No.”
Hernando had also used a great deal of mana.
“Let’s connect our mana and cast the spell together.”
“Even that…?”
Mana connection is a technique where several mages join forces to create a single spell. The lead mage must be able to handle multiple types of mana simultaneously, requiring an advanced level of mana control.
The mages, sensing Hernando’s confidence, readily agreed to follow his lead.
After drawing the magic circle, Hernando positioned each mage in their designated spots and took his place at the center.
Before beginning the incantation, he called out to his apprentice.
“Kori.”
“Yes!”
Kori stood a little distance away, watching him intently.
“If any of us fall, make sure no one else gets near.”
“Yes.”
Mages often collapsed from mental exhaustion during intense spells. Even a small external disturbance at that moment could be fatal.
When Kori nodded, Hernando gave a faint smile and began chanting.
A strange, resonant sound filled the air.
As if echoing his voice, the other mages repeated the incantation a beat behind him.
The magic circle glowed brilliantly.
It was a breathtaking sight.
A massive magical spear, conjured by Hernando, materialized in midair. The force of it knocked down a couple of mages.
But Hernando didn’t stop.
The spear pierced straight through Okua.
Their enemy fell.
As the magic circle’s light faded, everyone standing on it collapsed.
“Hernando! Aizen!”
Kori called out, but no one regained consciousness. A few guards instinctively moved forward, but Kori stopped them.
“Hernando told me not to let anyone touch them.”
Standing guard over the magic circle, Kori watched the battlefield.
With Okua gone, the allied forces were overwhelming the orcs.
It seemed the war was finally ending.
Cheers of victory rang out.
Kori smiled.
“We did it.”
Then suddenly, she froze and stepped back in alarm.
Something was there.
“Uh…”
A dark, shadowy serpent slithered forward. It seemed far away at first, but in an instant, it was right in front of her.
Their eyes met.
Kori was gripped by intense fear.
The snake flicked its tongue a few times, hissing softly, then kept advancing—as if Kori didn’t even exist.
“Th-the snake…”
The guards ignored her warning. They couldn’t even perceive the serpent.
The snake passed through the magic circle and stopped before Hernando.
“No, no…”
Hernando had asked for one thing: that no one touch him.
But now, that black snake bared its fangs at him.
Kori clenched her fists.
Something inside her chest began to beat fiercely, pushing back the fear.
‘This is magic. It’s about making your wishes come true.’
Hernando had said that.
At this moment, Kori truly wished—
That the snake wouldn’t harm Hernando.
She took a step forward, ready to shield him with her own body.
Suddenly, something glowed in her hand.
“Huh…?”
The snake’s head snapped around sharply.
Instinctively, Kori realized this was her only chance.
Before the snake could react, she stretched out both hands.
A shimmering light shot toward the serpent.
A swirl of colors, undefinable and radiant.
It wrapped around the snake.
Like dawn pushing back the darkness, the serpent’s form vanished in an instant.
The snake screamed.
[Impossible…!]
With those words, it disappeared without a trace.
Kori gasped for breath and sank to her knees.
She had no idea what had just happened.
At that moment, Hernando stirred and sat up.
“Kori…?”
“Hernando!”
In her haste, her hood slipped off, but she didn’t care—she smiled brightly.
“We won!”