Chapter 161: Demonic Heart (1)

Yuri was dreaming.

He realized it because something impossible was happening.

Just when Briol had been surrounded and was on the verge of annihilation, his father, who was thought to be missing, returned and massacred the imperial army.

Yalta was sliced in two, the Black Knight admitted defeat and retreated. Ogger was so terrified he didn’t even dare attack.

Briol was safe.

The Empire declared the war over, and the continent returned to peace.

After the war, Cedric inherited the throne and ruled Briol wisely. Thus, everyone reached a happy ending.

It would have been nice if that were true. But since it was impossible, Yuri understood it was a dream.

“Ah.”

However, he didn’t wake up.

“What’s wrong, Yuri?”

“No… it’s nothing.”

Cedric, seated on the throne, looked down at him and tilted his head in confusion.

Joshua, standing next to him, let out a snicker.

“Is this idiot thinking about something else? In front of His Majesty?”

“Joshua.”

“How bold, Yuri. That’s treason, treason.”

“Eh…”

Yuri tilted his head for a moment. It was too real to be a dream.

“What’s with that dumb face? Did you just wake up?”

“No.”

“You look like you don’t even know where you are. Come on… guess where we are?”

“Well…”

Yuri couldn’t answer. Even Cedric became serious and adjusted his glasses.

“What’s wrong, Yuri?”

“It’s nothing.”

“Yuri, what’s going on? Tell us. Where are we now?”

“…A dream?”

“What?”

Yuri paused. In a dream, the world doesn’t appear this vivid. But he could see even the pupils in Cedric’s eyes and the slight glimmer of worry.

He closed and opened his hand. The sensation was vivid.

“Are you saying we’re characters in a dream? Eh? Did this idiot go crazy or what?”

“Joshua, enough. He’s joking, right?”

“Did you see his eyes? He’s serious.”

“Joshua…”

They both looked at him. Joshua with suspicion, Cedric with concern.

Yuri looked at the two of them and said,

“This is a dream, right?”

Cedric and Joshua answered at the same time.

“No.”

“No.”

Yuri nodded.

“Then it is a dream.”

There was no way those two would say the same thing in unison.

“Then, I have to wake up.”

Yuri closed his eyes. Normally, in a situation like this, if he tensed his whole body while closing his eyes, he would usually wake up.

“Ugh!”

Joshua mocked him.

“Are you taking a dump or what?”

“Wha…”

Yuri opened his eyes.

“Is it really not a dream?”

“Is he treating us like dream characters? Hey, brother… I mean, Your Majesty, shouldn’t you do something about this?”

“Are you alright, Yuri?”

The three voices mixed. Yuri felt like the two of them were acting in a play.

Otherwise, something like this wouldn’t be happening. But he didn’t wake up.

Yuri had to admit it.

“It’s not a dream.”

After all, he had already returned to the past once. It wouldn’t be so strange if he was now in the future, or even in another world.

Then Joshua asked,

“If this is a dream, what is your real reality? What kind of beautiful dream were you having to confuse it with reality?”

“Well…”

It definitely seemed like he had arrived in the future. Everything around him suggested that.

It was too vivid to be just a simple dream, so Yuri decided to accept this as his new reality.

Still confused, he asked,

“What happened to the Empire?”

“Huh?”

Even Joshua became serious. Cedric asked,

“Did you really dream?”

Yuri reflected. Maybe he did dream.

Everything he fought to prevent—seeing Briol in flames, the mistakes made in his past life—now felt very distant.

He looked closely at Joshua’s face, then said,

“Maybe I did dream.”

“What kind of dream was it? Come on, tell us already. Now I’m curious.”

“Hmm…”

Yuri spoke.

“So, the Empire…”

He briefly explained the situation. Cedric and Joshua looked at each other.

“You only dreamed about the past.”

“The past?”

“Did you really lose your memory? You dreamt way too deeply.”

Joshua spoke.

“So in the end, Father stopped the Empire, and now the Empire is completely fractured.”

“What?”

“Do I have to explain everything to you?”

Cedric intervened.

“That’s enough. Yuri, go rest. You don’t seem well.”

To Yuri, those were welcome words. He wanted to leave that place as soon as possible and calmly analyze the situation.

Joshua looked annoyed, but he nodded at Cedric’s words.

“Then…”

Yuri bowed to Cedric, just as he used to do with his father.

It felt awkward, but since he had imagined it before, the gesture came naturally.

Leaving the two behind, Yuri headed straight to his quarters.

“Ah, Your Highness.”

Ena appeared. Although she had aged a bit and looked more mature, she was still the same as always.

“You’re walking really fast today. Did you get into trouble?”

“Ena.”

“Yes?”

“I have something I want to ask you.”

Yuri brought her into his room, sat her down, and began asking her several questions.

From just before his arrival in the future to what had happened since then. Ena explained everything calmly.

Everything Yuri desired had been fulfilled.

The Empire’s advance had been stopped, dark magic was finally purified, and the continent now enjoyed peace and prosperity. All the problems that had weighed on him were resolved.

It was as if the world was perfectly prepared for him to enjoy life.

“This isn’t a dream, is it?”

“No. It is a dream, actually. In fact, I was just about to wake you up, Your Highness. You talk in your sleep, by the way.”

Yuri burst into laughter.

“I see. Then it’s not a dream.”

“Of course not.”

“Wow…”

“I’m busy, Your Highness. Are you going to keep talking about dreams?”

“No, you can go now.”

Ena stood up. Before leaving, she patted Yuri on the head like a child and turned around.

“Looks like our prince had a nightmare. Rest well.”

When she left, Yuri sat on the edge of the bed and looked at the ceiling.

“This can’t be…”

It was already enough to have returned to the past… And now also to the future?

What kind of strange phenomenon was this? And yet, it didn’t feel bad.

Everything that had always been stuck in his chest completely dissolved.

For the first time, Yuri felt total peace. He had always felt a weight in his heart, like carrying a stone, but now he felt he could truly do anything with complete freedom.

He lay down on the bed and rolled once. Then rolled twice to the other side.

Even that kind of meaningless action no longer felt like a waste in this new world.

“Hahaha…”

Yuri laughed softly. Several things he wanted to do came to mind. Maybe it would be a good idea to go on a trip with Laurent and Jared.

He could also go to Brusen to visit Sir Jose.

Or maybe to Joachim, to see the statues, or even journey to the Far East to discover a completely new world.

“Is Master Moyongchan alright?”

He still didn’t fully know what this future was like, so he couldn’t tell if everyone was okay. That was when Yuri sensed a presence in the corner of the room.

It came from the closet.

“Hmm?”

He stood up and approached. There was a strange sound, like something vibrating softly.

Yuri took a step back and stared at the closet door, which remained closed.
Even so, the humming didn’t stop.

He suddenly flung the door open. There was nothing inside but clothes.

“Hmm…”

Just then, something vibrated again. Yuri’s eyes focused on the inner edge of the closet.

There was something there.

“Ah…”

Yuri recognized it immediately. Although it was wrapped in a fine cloth that only revealed its outline, he couldn’t not know what it was.

Why was this here, stored like that?

He took it in his hands.

Guilty.

His sword. Carelessly abandoned.

Had peace lasted so long that he no longer felt the need to wield it?

With that thought, Yuri unwrapped the cloth. The word meaning “guilt” was still engraved on the blade.

And as soon as he gripped it firmly, Guilty let out a long and deep hum.

“Ah…”

Yuri understood. The instant he held that sword, everything he thought he had lightly left behind returned to weigh down on his chest.

The Empire. The war. Dark magic.

The deaths of so many people.

Anxiety and fear wrapped around him. He wanted to let go of Guilty immediately.

But the sword wouldn’t come off his hand, completely filling him with a sense of strangeness.

As he held the sword, Yuri felt disconnected from the world. The guilt swelled inside him.

Visions of a destroyed Briol, as in his past life, crossed his mind like ghosts.

The peace he had felt vanished. He gripped the hilt tighter.

Then, memories of the life-or-death battles he had endured came back to him.

From the fights against the orcs to the Empire, Adelein, and Joachim. The scent of blood brushed past his nose.

His chest throbbed. Tension coursed through his whole body.

Yuri could see how the scenery around him changed, with Guilty at the center.

As if the world were at war with that sword, the ground beneath his feet began turning into a wasteland.

Guilty trembled again. At that moment, Yuri recalled a devastated face he had forgotten.

The empty sockets of a dead man stared at him.

“Yes.”

Yuri’s heart calmed.

“I haven’t forgotten.”

He looked up.

Beneath his feet stretched a desolate plain, and just a few steps beyond, the peaceful scenery of the palace he had just seen shimmered like a mirage.

He raised Guilty. He still felt a faint echo of that peace in his chest.

He didn’t want to leave.

But Guilty urged him with urgency. It screamed that he had many things to do, that he had to open his eyes now.

Yuri nodded.

“How am I supposed to wake up?”

Guilty gave him the answer. It was always the same.

It was inevitable.

He had taken up the sword and engraved the oath of Briol. Therefore, the only option given to him was to cut down his enemies.

Yuri gripped Guilty tightly.

And he cut.

The world split in two.

***

Yuri opened his eyes.

He was breathing heavily. His heart was pounding.

“Haah… haah…”

“You’re awake?”

A voice spoke to him suddenly. Yuri turned to look.

“Ah…”

“Did you have a pleasant dream?”

Moyongchan was standing.

Yuri sat up and looked around. He was lying on the grass in the royal palace garden, and only Moyongchan was beside him.

“What…?”

“What did you just do?”

“Me?”

Yuri tried to remember.

“I was talking to Ena…”

“You haven’t fully woken up.”

“Was it all a dream?”

“That’s right.”

“And why am I here…?”

“Don’t you have any memory of this reality? Of what you were doing just a moment ago?”

“I… um…”

Yuri tried to remember. But it felt like something very distant.

“Ah…”

“Bernard.”

“Ah, right.”

He nodded.

“I was training with Bernard. And then, after finishing, I was heading back and…”

“You collapsed.”

“Yes.”

“And you dreamed.”

“Something like that. That was a dream?”

“Yuri Briol, listen carefully.”

Suddenly, Yuri noticed Moyongchan was speaking with perfectly clear pronunciation.

That meant he was being serious.

“The technique The Cut of the soul and the heart that you use… contains the martial power of the Heavenly Demon.”

“Yes.”

“What you just saw… is called a demonic heart.”

Yuri’s eyes widened.

“What’s that?”

“It’s the chaos contained in the power of the Heavenly Demon that’s trying to consume you.”

“Huh…”

“You see? You still haven’t regained your sanity.”

“It was just a dream.”

“It’s not that simple. In fact, it’s something very serious.”

Moyongchan sighed. The trial his disciple was facing was not light at all.

“Yuri Briol, listen carefully.”

He didn’t want to say this. But it was the only solution he knew.

“From now on… do not wield the sword again.”