As soon as dawn broke, Yuri was summoned by his father.
He sat on the throne, his forehead resting on his hand, lost in thought.
“Yuri.”
“Yes, Father.”
“You left the palace without permission?”
“I’m sorry.”
“But you found the ancestor’s dungeon in Geomsan?”
“That’s right. And what I saw there was…”
“A Death Knight?”
“Huh?”
“Hernando told me everything.”
“That bastard…”
Could he have spilled everything so quickly?
Come to think of it, Hernando hadn’t even explained what he saw in the vision.
I’ll have to question him thoroughly later.
With that thought, Yuri began to speak.
“Yes. Not only that, I learned the Mana Method.”
He explained the Soul Slash technique he had acquired.
Fiore showed interest upon hearing that the Mana Method and swordsmanship were one and the same.
“An intriguing coincidence. Though the kingdom was founded by the ancestor, there aren’t many records about him.”
“Is there really no way to find out more?”
“If we search the royal archives, we might find something.”
“Understood.”
“Did you get the sword there as well?”
“Yes.”
“Will you use it?”
“That’s the plan.”
“It’ll be tough.”
“I’ll probably get hit eventually.”
“Hmm…”
Fiore rose from his seat.
“Yuri, my son.”
“Yes?”
“I told you not to cause trouble.”
“Yes, yes…”
As Fiore approached, a heavy pressure weighed down on Yuri’s shoulders.
Is there anyone else in the world who could radiate such killing intent at his thirteen-year-old son?
Yuri stepped back, but Fiore grabbed his shoulder.
“Listen to me, okay?”
“Of course.”
“Explain everything.”
“You just heard it all, didn’t you?”
“Not that.”
He lightly tapped Yuri’s head with his palm.
“You know what I mean.”
Though it looked like a father’s affectionate gesture, Yuri broke out in a cold sweat.
Why the murderous aura?
It felt like that hand could choke the life out of him at any moment.
“F-Father.”
“Yes?”
“I’ll confess everything.”
“Good.”
Yuri steeled himself.
He had to say it sooner or later.
To crush the empire’s ambitions, cautious preparation wasn’t enough. He had to give his all without rest.
Storms would surely come his way.
He needed to explain in advance.
“I had a dream…”
“A frightening one?”
“No.”
“A sad one?”
“No.”
“Then why do you look so tense?”
“Well…”
Yuri took a step back, freeing himself from Fiore’s grasp.
“Because Your Majesty clenched your fist.”
“Oh, is that so?”
Fiore opened his palm. Though open, Yuri still worried about a slap.
“Go on.”
“Actually, it was a terrifying dream. The capital of Briol was burning, and the people were being slaughtered.”
Fiore’s nodding stopped abruptly.
“It was so vivid that even after waking, I couldn’t clear my mind. In the dream, I…”
Half of it was true.
Who could say whether the life he’d lived was a dream or reality?
Maybe this very moment was the dream.
Maybe someone was burying him, unconscious, saying, “Look, he’s smiling,” or “Let him be; he’s having a good dream.”
With that in mind, Yuri spoke sincerely.
“I committed a grave sin. I tried to atone, but in the end, I could only watch the kingdom fall. I survived alone, abandoning my honor, living miserably until my final moments.”
“Is that why you’ve changed recently?”
“Yes.”
“Because you think what you saw in the dream will actually happen?”
“No, not exactly…”
Yuri took a risk.
“I believe it was a kind of warning from Mother.”
“Why?”
“Because after that dream, the necklace disappeared.”
That was true.
The necklace that had shone brightly at the end of his past life vanished without a trace when he returned to the past.
“You didn’t lose it?”
“Father.”
Yuri frowned.
No matter who he was, he wouldn’t lie about a keepsake from his mother.
Fiore chuckled and ruffled his son’s hair.
“I see. So you want to change because of that dream.”
“Yes.”
“Lily will be pleased.”
Lily was his mother’s name.
“So, what exactly in your dream destroyed the kingdom?”
Yuri hesitated.
He wasn’t sure if mentioning the empire was wise.
Maybe, if he changed the past, the empire’s invasion might never happen.
“I don’t really know.”
After some thought, he answered.
If the day came to warn about the empire, he could do so then.
“It was an unknown black army. They were stronger than our knights of Briol.”
Fiore nodded.
“Understood. Whether it was just a bad dream or Lily truly warned you of the future, I’m glad you’ve come to your senses.”
Well, was that really true?
Yuri shook his head inwardly.
He wasn’t clear-headed—he was just struggling to be forgiven for his sins.
But one thing was clear.
The voice of the Death Knight, bound to the dungeon and saying that the heirs of Briol never abandon their honor, echoed in his ears.
“Is that enough explanation?”
“No.”
“I’ve told you everything…”
“One more thing.”
Fiore made an unexpected request.
“Bring your sword.”
The training hall was vast and silent.
Apart from the lights shining from the ceiling, nothing else filled the space, making it feel barren.
Yuri knew his father had a private practice room beneath the palace, but this was his first time visiting.
Massive cracks, too large to be caused by ordinary sword strikes, scarred the floor and walls.
His father was always here when he wasn’t seen elsewhere.
How far did he intend to push his strength?
“Have you come?”
Turning around, Yuri saw his father standing there.
Fiore Briol.
A prodigy who had held a sword since he could walk.
He won the Empire’s knight tournament at a young age and made a name for himself on the continent by displaying astonishing skill in the allied forces formed to repel the orc invasion.
Now, he was considered the strongest among the continent’s top ten warriors.
“This is your first time here.”
“I thought none of my sons had any talent with the sword.”
“Hmm…”
Yuri disagreed with that.
Though he often caused trouble and neglected training, he had always been respected for his martial talent.
For his father to say he had no talent—was his standard really that high?
“You don’t accept it?”
“No. I believe I have talent with the sword.”
“Talent, huh…”
Fiore raised his sword.
His beloved blade, ‘North Wind,’ gleamed under the lights.
“What is a swordsman’s talent?”
Yuri hesitated to answer such a question.
Fiore gave examples.
“Natural strength? Speed? Reflexes? Or exceptional perception?”
“Isn’t it all of those?”
“Which of those do you have?”
“I think I have them all.”
“Then will you become a great swordsman someday?”
Yuri was about to say yes, but stopped himself.
In his past life, he wasn’t a proper swordsman.
He had clung desperately to rusty talent to fight the empire’s invasion, but he was no better than other knights.
“If it were me before the dream, probably not.”
“How about in the dream?”
“I was pitiful.”
“There are many like that. Those who were brilliant as children but ended up ordinary.”
Fiore traced a sword in the air. Even the smallest movement was extraordinary.
“I’m not talking about surface things. If you keep training, sooner or later you’ll reach a certain level. What matters is something that drives a person beyond that.”
“Beyond that…”
“You’re very lazy. Physically talented, but lazy.”
“So it all comes down to effort?”
“More than effort. Something beyond urgency or duty.”
Fiore gazed at his sword.
A shadow flickered in his eyes.
Suddenly, Yuri found the sight strange.
He was just looking at his sword, yet he seemed like a man possessed, as if he’d lost his reason and been hypnotized by the blade.
In that brief moment, Yuri felt a strange distance from him.
Without realizing it, Yuri gripped his own sword.
“I don’t know how to put it. Maybe it’s like being called by the sword.”
He thought he understood, vaguely.
He muttered, “Like fate.”
“I don’t like passive ideas like that, but maybe it’s true.”
In his past life, Yuri was talented but never devoted himself to swordsmanship.
In other words, he wasn’t drawn to the sword.
He wasn’t destined to walk the path of the blade.
What about now?
Yuri stared at ‘Guilty,’ the sword he had inherited from the Death Knight.
“…”
Though buried underground for a long time, the blade was flawless and smooth, reflecting his eyes.
The Briol royal family’s distinctive black eyes were calm and steady.
That was all.
“How do you feel, son?”
Fiore whispered in his ear.
“Should you be holding a sword?”
Yuri didn’t know.
To him, the sword was just a tool—no destiny or strange phenomenon attached.
Even if he lived his life again, he might never become a man obsessed with the sword like Fiore.
“Do you hear the sword’s call? When you meet death someday, will there be a sword in your hand?”
He didn’t know.
He had resolved not to repeat his mistakes, but that didn’t necessarily mean becoming a great swordsman.
Yuri slowly shook his head.
“I don’t feel… anything.”
He looked up at Fiore.
Startled, he stepped back from those blood-red eyes staring down at him.
Shadows rose from all around.
Thousands, tens of thousands of eyes glared at him.
The Briol of that day—the city burning under the imperial boots—came alive again in his mind.
“Ah…”
Flames of destruction surrounded him on all sides.
Despair and sorrow blanketed the land.
The imperial army marched forward, trampling over corpses.
He had no strength left to stop them.
A crushing helplessness settled over his entire body.
The emotions of that day surged back.
Watching the Briol banner hanging in the royal palace fall, Yuri had foreseen an inevitable, powerless downfall.
But—
“Never fear the enemy.”
The voice of a fellow sinner echoed in his ears.
Yuri gripped his sword.
Winning or losing didn’t matter.
Living or dying wasn’t the point.
He didn’t care about the fate laid out before him.
“Do what you believe in.”
That was all there was to it.
Even if he were to roll naked atop a spear’s blade, he had to swing his sword.
The imperial forces advanced like a tide of black armor.
Without hesitation, Yuri charged.
He killed, he was wounded, and he cut down enemies on every side, pressing ever forward.
Soon, his body was tossed about like a paper boat caught in a storm, sinking between the black-armored ranks of the imperial army.
Death.
“Fulfill Briol’s duty to the very end.”
Feeling his body shatter into pieces, Yuri laughed with exhilaration.
“Yuri?”
He opened his eyes again.
His father was looking down at him.
What had he just seen?
“You are…”
The hand clutching the guilt trembled.
Yuri blinked.
His vision flushed red, then cleared.
He took a long, steadying breath to calm his nerves.
How much time had passed?
On Fiore’s face was a faint smile shadowed by deep worry.
“Looks like I was wrong after all.”
Fiore patted Yuri’s shoulder.
He always felt uneasy when his father raised his hand, but this time, it didn’t bother him at all.
Instead, it felt warm, peaceful.
“Yuri.”
“Yes?”
“You will take up the sword.”
Yuri nodded.
“That’s my decision.”
Displeased by Fiore’s bitter expression, Yuri grinned and gave his father’s backside a playful pat.
“Don’t worry. I’m a genius, after all.”
He got a light tap on the head in return.