Chapter 248: If I Meet a God, I’ll Kill Him (2)

A single ray of light cut through everything Sidherst had created.

The arrangement of mana, the structure of the magic, the blazing mana flames, and the illusions that deceived the eyes—all were split cleanly in two as if they were a single mass.

The world tilted from the fissure, wavered, and then slid downward.

Sidherst’s eyes went wide.

“Ah…”

He couldn’t comprehend what he had just witnessed. The magic had been severed from its root—from its very origin.

Was something like that even possible?

As he watched in shock, seeing his world shatter, his domain slowly dissipated.

Now he was standing in darkness.

“This is…”

In front of him, the prince of Briol held his sword at a diagonal.

“How about it, Sidherst? Is the fear starting to work now?”

“Who are you…?”

“Oh, good. At least you’re starting to sound a little more decent.”

Sidherst instinctively reached toward where Yuri’s gaze was fixed. His proud, full white beard was no longer there.

Instead, his fingers found only the cloth of his robes.

Just as he had announced, Yuri had cut his beard.

“T-this…”

A spark of fury lit in Sidherst’s eyes.

“My beloved beard!”

He summoned mana again.

A violet magic circle glowed beneath his feet and began replicating upward, forming dozens of magic circles spinning around him in a cylindrical formation.

Sidherst spread both arms.

“I will not forgive you!”

But Yuri simply swung his sword calmly. That was enough.

The energy of the Cut of the soul and the heart technique brutally destroyed Sidherst’s mana.

“By the heavens…”

Though it resembled a Dispel, its principle was completely different. Dispel interfered with the arrangement of mana and dispersed it, but Yuri’s sword simply severed the mana itself.

Could this even be called swordsmanship?

Sidherst felt an instinctive fear toward Yuri.

“Don’t tell me you…”

He swallowed hard.

As Master of the Tower, Sidherst had reached unparalleled heights.

He was a great mage who ruled the Magic Tower, and also a Grand Sorcerer like Inariel and Hernando.

His unique sorcery was the Complete Separation Technique—a spell that allowed him to create his own dimension and isolate it from the outside world.

When Sidherst willed it, no one could find him.

That was why he had always felt secure, no matter the situation.

Even with the threat of black magic, he had never felt at risk.

But this sword was different.

Sidherst instinctively stepped back. He could feel it clearly—Yuri Briol’s sword, the prince of Briol, could cut through everything.

Even his complete separation technique would not emerge unscathed against that energy.

“Yuri Briol.”

“Already afraid?”

“Don’t tell me… can you cut black magic?”

Yuri, Guilty resting on his shoulder, smiled at Sidherst.

His black hair melted into the darkness around him, but his eyes—just as black—shone with a fierce light.

Yuri replied.

“Yes. I cut it.”

“Ah…”

Sidherst understood.

At last, he understood.

He was nothing more than a bubble appearing and vanishing briefly in the flow of the world.

The title of Master of the Tower, his unique sorcery, the height of his magic—none of it meant anything.

He had believed humanity had been dealt a punishment.

But it was the other way around.

It wasn’t a punishment—it was an opportunity.

Now he understood why Hernando and Maryrose, those two geniuses, followed this young man.

Shivering, Sidherst spoke.

“That edge that can even cut black magic… what is it called?”

“Cut of the soul and the heart.”

“The sword that cuts the soul and the heart…”

The heart—and the soul.

If a sword that cuts the body can also cut those… isn’t that the same as cutting a god?

Sidherst closed his eyes.

Even now, he could feel them—beyond this dimension, unknown entities continued to watch this world. They were like natural disasters.

When a storm comes, humans can only hide and tremble until it passes.

But now there was someone capable of facing them.

“I see.”

Sidherst spoke.

“What you’re attempting… will surely not be easy.”

“I don’t care.”

“Many enemies will stand in your way.”

“I just have to cut them down.”

“And your brother?”

“I’ll kill him.”

“And if a god tries to stop you?”

Yuri Briol, smiling without a shred of doubt, answered.

“If I meet a god, I’ll kill the god.”

Sidherst let out a laugh.

Yuri frowned, puzzled.

“And why’s this guy suddenly laughing like an idiot?”

Though the statement was bold, Sidherst didn’t flinch and laughed for a good while.

“Yuri Briol. It’s likely even you don’t yet understand the true meaning of your sword…”

Sidherst lowered his staff and stepped toward Yuri.

With each step, his shoulders felt lighter. The burden he had carried for so many years was gradually dissolving.

Perhaps it was a hasty decision.

But the sword the prince of Briol wielded was worth it. Even if it failed, he would not regret this moment.

“Having come across that sword, I have no other choice. From now on, I will fully cooperate.”

“And now you say that? You’re making me feel bad for speaking informally to you—uh, I mean, to you, sir.”

“Speak however you like.”

“No… I can’t. You’re already advanced in years.”

“Bwahahaha…”

“Now that we’re on the same side, I must treat you with respect.”

“You’re shameless.”

Sidherst said.

“Let me warn you now. You will face an enemy far greater than you imagine.”

“I’m ready.”

“Never forget that resolve. Only a stronger soul can cut down another shrouded in darkness.”

Suddenly, the space around them shifted.

The darkness vanished, and the two now stood inside an old wooden cabin.

“And this place?”

“My home.”

For the home of a great mage, it was quite a humble place. There were hardly any objects, and through the window, a thick forest could be seen.

Yuri looked around.

“And this? If you’re going to cooperate now, let’s just go back already.”

“Just wait a moment.”

Sidherst stood in front of the wall mirror.

“Do you know why I let my hair and beard grow so long?”

“Because you were too lazy to cut them?”

“No. It’s exactly the opposite. Do you have any idea how hard it is to maintain long hair and a long beard? In truth, I wanted to cut them every single day.”

“Then why did you grow them out?”

“So I wouldn’t forget.”

Sidherst picked up a dagger from the table.

“So I wouldn’t forget that I’m already an old man. So I wouldn’t get stupid ideas and would simply let time flow, as an old man should.”

Then he removed his robe and stripped his upper body bare.

Yuri let out a sound of surprise.

“Oh…”

The body revealed could hardly be believed to belong to an old man. He wasn’t bulky, but his firm frame was marked with defined muscles.

Sidherst smiled at himself in the mirror.

“But there’s no need for that anymore.”

With those words, he moved the dagger.

His long white hair fell to the floor. He cut his hair down to a soldier’s crop, and shaved his beard clean, leaving only a faint gray shadow on his face.

A single lock, left uncut, fell across his forehead.

“Si… Sidherst… you…”

Yuri called out in a trembling voice.

At first, he had only seen him as a wrinkled old man with white hair.

But now, with the hair and beard gone, before him stood a mature man with such an intense, masculine air he looked like he had stepped out of an Imperial stage play.

“How is it? Do I look different now?”

“You look like a revolutionary fighting against the Empire. Before, you looked like a greedy mage serving the Empire for riches.”

“Hahahaha…”

Sidherst let out a laugh and waved his staff.

“Let’s go back.”

In an instant, they were back atop the cliff. Hernando and Maryrose, who had been sitting silently, stared at them, mouths agape.

Sidherst ignored their probing stares and turned toward the vast lands beyond the cliff, throwing an arm around Yuri’s shoulder.

For his age, he was tall enough to wrap Yuri’s shoulders with ease.

Sidherst and Yuri, arm in arm, silently took in the land stretching before their eyes.

From behind, Hernando and Maryrose murmured.

“W-where did that hair and beard go?”

“Bet the prince cut them off, and he had no choice but to tidy up.”

“Did he lose the fight?”

“Obviously. How’s a mage going to beat one of the Ten Great Swordsmen?”

“I thought Lord Sidherst would do something.”

“Yeah, right… And now, what’s this, hugging like they’ve been best friends for life?”

“It’s one of the prince’s skills. He hits you, then acts all warm, and turns you into an ally. That’s how everyone ends up as his loyal subordinate.”

“Hernando, is that how you ended up under his command too?”

“Of course not! I saw the prince’s potential from when he was young and have been with him since then.”

“Uh-huh…”

After sharing that moment, Yuri and Sidherst returned to the table.

The ones who had been talking about punishments and beard-cutting were now looking at each other warmly.

“Lord Sidherst. I’ll be counting on you from now on.”

“The honor is mine for having met you.”

Hernando and Maryrose were so perplexed they didn’t know what to say.

Yuri continued.

“Could you condemn the Empire and black magic?”

“Of course. But before that, there’s something you must know.”

Sidherst, out of habit, touched the place where his beard used to be, then lowered his hand.

“The Empire has probably already completed the ritual they’ve been aiming for.”

“Excuse me?”

“I have also been observing black magic. That Cedric as well.”

Yuri’s expression hardened.

“He wielded black magic with great skill. That power, which produces miracles using human life and soul as fuel, is not limited to our world alone. There are entities that worship it.”

“You mean…?”

“He has already summoned an entity from another world. Terrifying beings that feed on the human soul and human suffering. To be clear…”

Sidherst swallowed and said.

“The Empire has summoned a god from another world.”

***

Cory took Laurent to a village in the Union of Small Kingdoms and admitted him there.

It was a small temple, so there was hardly any space for patients to rest.

To make matters worse, upon seeing Cory and Laurent’s faces, the priest demanded an additional hefty sum.

Cory had no choice but to pay all of it. It was nearly all the money they had saved together.

Laurent lay in the room, covered in bandages from head to toe, while Cory stayed at his side, tending to him without rest.

Each time he passed, the priest would scold him.

“Hey, you. Are you going to keep standing there?”

“He’s bleeding…”

“If you’re going to stand around, you should also pay for lodging.”

“Please, have some consideration. I have to take care of him.”

“And who are you to take care of him?”

“I beg you, sir… haha…”

“Bah, pair of filthy lepers…”

The priest muttered those despicable words as he turned away.

Until now, every priest Cory had met at least pretended to follow divine will, but this one was nothing more than a greedy merchant disguised as a man of faith.

Even so, they had nowhere else to go.

Cory looked at the unconscious Laurent.

“Haa…”

Meanwhile, the priest’s loud voice could be heard speaking to a visiting villager.

“Admit him?? Impossible. Two horrible pests came in here. What do they look like? Better not see them—they’re hideous. I, as a priest, had to make a charitable act to take them in. Tsk tsk…”

Cory lifted his eyes toward the symbol of the deity hanging on the wall.

That priest who claimed to practice divine compassion despised them solely for their appearance.

The priest’s voice, now barely audible, went on.

“Not one, but two monsters! What bad luck, don’t you think?”

The priest kept talking.

“They’re both monsters. Monsters…”

Cory lowered his gaze to Laurent’s face.

Since he had removed his hood for treatment, his deformity was fully exposed.

No trace of his former attractiveness remained. In fact, he looked even more deformed than Cory himself.

“Sir Laurent.”

He called him, but there was no answer.

Only the sound of his rough breathing came, escaping from his broken, flattened nostrils.

Cory remembered what Laurent had once been.

A brilliant man.

For his looks, his character, his lineage, and the gifts he possessed. But that was no longer so.

Now, he was an even greater monster than Cory, despised by all.

Cory placed a hand on his cheek. Then he curved his lips into a smile.

Trying to stifle the laughter welling up, his rough breathing echoed for a long while in the room.

Cory murmured in a low voice.

“I will never betray Sir Laurent. Hehehe…”