Chapter 127: The One Who Was Not Forgiven (2)

“He sure can fight…”

Jared muttered.

Just moments ago, Yuri had charged forward shouting, “Can you really fight as well as they say?”

And right after that, he took a hit and was sent flying through the air again.

“That must’ve hurt…”

Every time Gert swung his sword, a shockwave strong enough to level a mountain swept across the area. If it hit you directly, you’d die; if you barely dodged it, you’d be sent rolling far away.

There was a massive power gap. But after all, he was the Third Prince.

Even though Gert was pummeling him mercilessly, Yuri got up again and again like a wobbly punching doll, charging in once more with fury.

That grit, that refusal to surrender, moved Guinness, who muttered in awe,

“Pure rage and guts…”

And then he shouted and charged in.

Following him, everyone in the Briol group except Cory surrounded Gert and began attacking.

It was many against one. Not honorable, but for them, it was a desperate fight.

Gert, as if irritated by the situation, suddenly released his energy. Everyone around him was blown away at once.

Only Jose remained standing.

“No wonder you’re one of the Ten Greats! Hahahahaha!”

Apparently, that only fired him up more, and he charged Gert with even more intensity.

Each time the bluish and black auras collided, thunder rumbled across the battlefield.

Laurent, after regaining his footing, looked for Yuri.

“Are you alright, Your Highness?”

“I’m fine.”

Yuri, catching his breath, watched the duel between the two knights.

“For now, let’s leave it to Jose.”

And together with Laurent, he approached Pierre. The latter tried to act friendly.

“Ah, I thought you were a knight, but turns out you’re a prince?”

“Shut up.”

While Yuri and his group were fighting Gert, they were preparing to flee.

Yuri had noticed. Pierre scratched his cheek with an awkward smile.

“Well, you see…”

At that moment, Jose was laughing loudly as he hit the ground. There was no time to waste.

Yuri called him.

“Hey, dark mage!”

“Yes?”

“Dark mage, short for darkness.”

“…Yes.”

“I’m Yuri Briol, Third Prince of Briol.”

“Eh…?”

The other man opened his eyes wide.

“From the Alliance?”

“Yes.”

Yuri approached Pierre and placed a hand on his shoulder. Then he stared at Ivan, standing beside him.

“If you try to run, I don’t care about Gert or anything else. I’ll come straight after you and pierce you with my sword.”

“What?”

“I’ll kill you. I hate dark mages. And there’s something I hate just as much—traitors. If a dark mage betrays me, believe me, I won’t hesitate to kill you. Got it?”

“Y-yes…”

“You weren’t planning on running, were you?”

“How could we? Gert already has his eyes on us…”

“Was it a misunderstanding?”

“Yes. A misunderstanding.”

“I knew I could count on you, Pierre. After all, we’re temporary allies, right?”

“Yes…”

“Act like a true ally.”

“Of course.”

“And you, Ivan.”

“Yes?”

“Are you really a mercenary?”

“I-I am.”

“Doesn’t seem like it. Are you registered with the mercenary guild?”

“Yes.”

“Then you know the mercenary code.”

“Yes…”

“I’m counting on you.”

Yuri patted them on the back and shoved them toward Gert. The other four mercenaries also advanced quickly, spurred by Yuri’s glare.

It was the moment when the seven from Briol and the six from the dark mage’s group formed an alliance to face the death knight Gert.

A battle of 13 against 1.

“There’s no other choice.”

No one felt pity for Gert. He was a criminal who had brought ruin to the country he once served.

Unlike the nameless ancestor they had found in Erich’s dungeon, or Yuri himself, living a second life in search of redemption, Gert continued wandering Adelein, killing the living.

Someone had to stop him.

As Yuri prepared to fight, Cory cast a support spell from behind. His body grew lighter.

Yuri gave Cory a thumbs-up and dashed back into the battlefield. Gert was launching indiscriminate attacks like artillery fire.

Only a few could withstand them — at most, Jose and Yuri. Maybe Laurent, Jared, and Ivan could hold on as well.

The rest could only dodge, and even then, a slight touch would send them flying.

“Jose!”

“Yes!”

“Hold him off!”

“Understood!”

Yuri approached from behind while Jose kept Gert busy.

“My turn now.”

Gert’s plate armor repelled almost all attacks. But Yuri had a technique to boost his offensive power.

Guilty began generating a whirlwind. It was Yuri’s first technique: the Spinning Whirlwind Sword.

Yuri twisted his mana, aiming at Gert. The energy spiraled and twisted over itself like a vortex pulling everything in.

That whirlwind, like a sharp gear, tore through everything within its radius.

The air around it began to warp.

“Jose, move!”

“Got it!”

As soon as Jose stepped aside, Yuri drove the whirlwind of energy from Guilty straight into Gert’s back.

A spiral-shaped crack began forming in the plate armor.

Gert finally took his eyes off Jose and looked at Yuri.

“You’re too late!”

Yuri drove Guilty in deeper, amplifying the mana pouring from his core.

A chain of explosions erupted. He finally felt he had landed a solid blow.

Even Moyongchan, who rarely praised, had acknowledged the power of that technique.

The whirlwind devoured Gert’s body. A massive dust cloud rose. Sounds of tearing and cracking filled the air.

Jose exclaimed in awe.

“Your Highness, you’ve definitely gotten stronger.”

Yuri smiled.

With that, even Gert must have taken significant damage. Maybe the fight could end here.

But it wasn’t that easy.

When the dust cleared, Gert was still standing, clutching his half-shattered armor, staring at Yuri.

The clash of auras had left spiral-shaped marks all over his armor. Some cracks revealed his interior, and black smoke leaked from them.

Gert’s bloodlust intensified.

“No wonder he’s one of the Ten Greats…”

“This doesn’t look good.”

“Jose, you just going to watch?”

“Of course not!”

Jose slashed at Gert’s head. But Gert dodged by leaning his torso and charged straight at Yuri.

He looked furious over the hit he’d taken.

“Ahh, dodge, Your Highness!”

“You think I’m not trying!”

Yuri gritted his teeth.

His energy flow was already disturbed, and using the Spinning Whirlwind Sword had worsened his condition. He couldn’t escape in time.

That’s when Simon and Guinness jumped in front of him.

“Your Highness, fall back!”

“We’ll hold him!”

“You damn fools…”

Yuri trusted them and stepped back. Simon and Guinness faced Gert.

They had grown a lot since last time, so they didn’t go down immediately.

They fought with all their might to deflect Gert’s sword, buying time. Cory constantly assisted with magic.

“Just a bit more!”

Yuri retreated briefly to stabilize his core.

But suddenly, a dark energy approached him. Turning around, he saw Pierre casting dark magic at him.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m helping.”

“Didn’t I say I hate dark magic?”

“Consider the situation. Whether it’s magic or dark magic, we need to defeat Gert first, don’t you think?”

“Damn it, fine.”

Until now, he had only fought against dark magic. This was the first time he let it enter his body.

As soon as Yuri let his guard down, the black energy was absorbed.

His heart began to race, and his mind sharpened. It was like when he had eaten mandrake. Yuri could sense the faint madness flowing through his meridians.

But his technique, Cut of the soul and the heart, was stronger.

The dark magic didn’t contaminate him at all.

“Not bad.”

Yuri curled his lips as he felt the added power surge through him. Though the sensation was unpleasant, he had undoubtedly become stronger. Several of his wounds had healed as well.

“Well done, Pierre.”

“Hmm…”

But Pierre didn’t seem too pleased.

“What, you got a problem?”

“No, sir.”

“Surprised I’m still standing?”

“A little…”

“You talk too much.”

Just then, Simon and Guinness were sent flying, and Laurent took their place.

Yuri stepped in immediately.

“Laurent!”

“Yes!”

“Let’s go together!”

“Understood!”

Yuri and Laurent faced Gert.

Both were so skilled they could understand each other just with a glance, and their mastery of the sword was outstanding.

Thanks to that, they could compensate for the difference in power with coordination.

Gert continued attacking fiercely, but they barely dodged and counterattacked, striking his body. The damage began to build up. Gert’s eyes glowed with rage.

Furious, Gert unleashed a wider attack.

But his sword only cut through air. The two split to opposite sides of Gert’s body and stabbed their swords into his abdomen.

Two swords pierced him like a skewer. Thick black smoke began to rise from the cracks in his damaged plate armor.

It wasn’t direct physical damage like tearing human flesh, but the dark energy forming his body began to weaken.

Yuri called out to Jose.

“Jose!”

“Yes!”

“Now!”

The moment Gert was paralyzed, Jose leapt high into the sky. Then, spinning with gravity on his side, he descended like a shooting star.

“Wahahaha!”

Amid shouts that were hard to tell if they were laughter or rage, he dove headfirst toward Gert, who was pinned in place by the swords of Yuri and Laurent.

The light emanating from his body illuminated the entire battlefield.

Just before impact, Yuri and Laurent pulled their swords out and scattered.

Gert and Jose collided.

There was an explosion, and rays of light shot out in all directions. The ground collapsed, earth flew, and a crater formed.

Yuri watched in awe.

“Sir Jose…”

Yuri had been searching for a third technique to follow the Spinning Whirlwind Sword and the Single Strike. Seeing that clash, he felt he might have found a clue.

He fixed his gaze on the point of impact.

It was spectacular, but taking a hit like that full-on must also cause major damage to the attacker. Yuri hoped Jose was okay.

“Ah…”

But then.

The one who emerged walking from the center was not Jose.

It was Gert.

His armor was completely destroyed. Only the left part covering his heart remained. He dragged his sword along the ground, his skeletal body exposed.

Behind the trail of his sword were bloodstains. It wasn’t clear exactly what had happened, but one thing was obvious.

Gert was still alive.

Although his armor was in tatters, his presence hadn’t weakened. On the contrary, it had become even more overwhelming.

The wind rose and cleared the dust. At the center of the huge crater, Jose lay bloodied, as if dead.

“Jose!”

A faint voice was heard.

“Sorry, Your Highness…”

Fortunately, he wasn’t dead.

In his previous life, Jose had managed to defeat Gert, but perhaps this time it was too soon. Yuri gripped Guilty tightly while watching Gert.

“There’s no need to apologize.”

Gert’s steps were heading toward Yuri.

Yuri didn’t back down. Laurent and Jared stood at his sides.

A little farther away, Simon and Guinness took their positions.

Even Ivan and his group of mercenaries, who had been watching, joined in, raising their weapons against Gert.

The two mages continued forming hand seals.

“Huff…”

Yuri felt the flow of Cory’s magic and Pierre’s dark magic simultaneously through his mana channels. With Guilty on his shoulder, he regulated his senses.

Two different energies mixed thanks to the mediation of the Cut of the soul and the heart.

“Gert.”

Perhaps because of that.

Maybe it was the slight influence of the madness from dark magic, but Yuri spoke impulsively.

“Aren’t you ashamed? You brought Adelein to ruin, and you’re not even trying to redeem yourself. Still wandering around hurting people? And you still call yourself a knight? Huh?”

Pierre looked at Yuri.

“Uh… if you provoke him, maybe…”

“People like this don’t understand even if you explain it.”

At this point, it was all or nothing. Yuri decided to vent everything he had bottled up.

“You’re trash who destroyed your own country. A murderer who killed innocents. That’s what you are. If you have any conscience left, justify yourself, skeleton!”

“Your Highness, please…”

“I’m not finished. They say you were a decent knight in life? How did you end up like this? Did dark magic blind you? Did you want to live so badly that you became that? Aren’t you ashamed?”

“I don’t think he understands…”

“Damn skeleton! Who are you to kill people? Is Adelein yours or what?”

“Your Highness. That’s enough.”

“I haven’t even started. Look at him! He can’t even answer. Everything I said is true. You’re a damned skeleton without conscience or dignity!”

“Ugh…”

“Hey, Gert! When your parents had you, I bet—”

At that moment, Gert’s mouth opened.

[You… talk too much.]