Chapter 249: If I Meet a God, I’ll Kill Him (3)

“A god from another world?”

“Yes.”

Sidherst replied.

“If I had to describe it, it’s a god. One that sees humans as insignificant creatures.”

“Could you be more specific?”

“I don’t know much myself. I can only barely sense its existence thanks to my magic, which deals with dimensions.”

“It can’t be…”

Yuri sighed.

Even though he had lived a previous life, he didn’t know every detail about the Empire back then. After Briol’s fall, he had only heard vague rumors while wandering as a mercenary.

From his experience in the Holy Kingdom, he knew Cedric had summoned an existence from another world.

But he hadn’t imagined it was an entity so powerful it could be called a “god.”

Thinking of Sybilla, who had died corrupted by black magic, Yuri clenched his fists.

“It doesn’t matter. Whether it’s a god or not doesn’t change what we have to do.”

“That’s right.”

Sidherst smiled.

“With that sword of yours, you just have to cut them all down.”

Sidherst’s sudden cooperation made Hernando and Maryrose glance at each other and whisper.

“Did they beat him up too much?”

“Looks that way.”

Unaware of what they were thinking, Sidherst nodded at Yuri.

“Yuri Briol. I’ll trust you.”

“Yes. Leave it all to me.”

“Hahahaha…”

Laughing together with Sidherst, Yuri rose from his seat.

“Then, shall we go? It’s time to leave the Magic Tower and denounce the Empire. With the acknowledgment of the Tower’s master, the Empire won’t have anywhere to hide.”

“Exactly.”

“Then only one thing remains to be done.”

Yuri said quietly.

“Everyone must be ready.”

The Empire wouldn’t have many options left. And with Sidherst’s help, that future would come faster than expected.

War.

Many would lose their lives.

Sidherst waved his staff, and the surroundings began to blur.

And in the blink of an eye, as if it had all been a dream, they were back in the Tower’s meeting room.

They opened the door and stepped into the hallway.

Yuri asked,

“What about the scholarship knights?”

“I kicked them out of the Tower. They’ve either left or are waiting.”

As they talked and walked out, they found the scholarship knights squatting in the street, arguing among themselves.

“Ah, there they are!”

One of them stood up suddenly upon seeing Yuri and company.

“Don’t tell me that old man is the Tower’s master?”

Yuri nodded for him.

“So what if he is?”

“Master! I was dying to meet you!”

He brushed past Yuri and threw himself toward Sidherst with open arms.

“Please, tell us the truth of the world!”

“Hm?”

“The true source of magic is born from the goodness in our hearts, right?! We know the Tower has been hiding that secret! All those complicated mathematical theories are just a trick to monopolize magic—tell us the truth!”

Yuri’s hand moved.

In an instant, the knight collapsed unconscious after a blow to the temple, eyes rolled back and knees buckling. Yuri picked him up and said,

“I felt it was the right thing to do.”

“Well done.”

Sidherst looked at the other knights.

“Hmm…”

Then he stepped forward and spoke.

“Very well. I’ll answer your doubts. Since it’s about magic, at least that much I can tell you.”

“Ohhh!”

“Listen well. Magic…”

The scholarship knights paid close attention. Even Hernando and Maryrose were watching Sidherst with tense expressions.

Sidherst spoke firmly.

“Talent.”

He tapped the ground with his staff.

“And effort!”

A light emerged from his staff, spreading like glowing fireflies through the area.

Sidherst smirked.

“When someone talented puts in effort, they become a great mage. There’s no other secret. So stop spouting absurd nonsense and work hard. Work hard! Work your asses off!”

“Ah…”

The moment they heard the word “effort,” the scholarship knights visibly deflated.

Sidherst pointed at Hernando and Maryrose.

“Look at these two. Do they look kind? In reality, they have flaws in their character.”

“What?”

“Why are you saying that?”

“But they were born with talent and brains. And with effort in the Tower, they became great mages. That’s the truth. You want to be recognized knights too? Then work hard!”

While Yuri nodded at the mention of character, Maryrose pinched his side.

“Agh, I knew it…”

“Knew what?”

“Nothing…”

After Sidherst’s scolding and speech, the scholarship knights turned and began to leave with their heads down.

Yuri commented,

“The truth is often cold.”

“Why act like that, even though they studied abroad?”

“The frogs in the well prefer to ignore the vast world when they first see it.”

Although Briol’s knights were capable, the Empire was still the most powerful country on the continent. And Parcent Academy was where the Empire’s brightest talents gathered.

Those knights, hailing only from a small region in Briol, surely felt that wall.

“Those who give up stagnate. Those who grit their teeth and push forward grow.”

“Hahaha…”

“I’m sure they got the message, so let’s go.”

With Sidherst joining them, Yuri returned to Matehorn Castle.

Ainzer Yustam greeted them with a splendid dinner.

The table was so well-prepared it looked like a small feast.

The group sat at the long table—Yuri at the head, Sidherst to his left, and Ainzer, Lord of Matehorn, to his right.

Ainzer addressed Sidherst.

“So you’re Lord Sidherst. An honor to meet you. I never thought I’d see the master of the Magic Tower…”

“This old man’s nothing special.”

“Hahaha…”

Yuri clapped Ainzer on the shoulder.

“I asked you to find the master of the Magic Tower, but in the end, I was the one who found him. You should reflect on that.”

“I’m embarrassed.”

Before leaving to complete the Chronicles of the Tyrant King, Yuri had ordered Ainzer to help search for the Magic Tower’s master. But in the end, it was he who had found him.

Ainzer scratched his head.

“I can’t compete with Your Highness.”

“I already knew that if I didn’t move myself, nothing would get done.”

“My apologies.”

“It’s not your fault. Not everyone can be great.”

“Excuse me?”

“Anyway, let’s prepare the next step.”

Yuri turned to Sidherst.

“How do you plan to announce the matter of black magic?”

“Let’s see…”

“Why not publish a formal statement in the media? If you like, I can draft it, and you just have to review it.”

“No need.”

“Oh, are you good at writing too, Lord Sidherst?”

“No.”

Sidherst shook his head.

“Why write?”

“Then?”

“Leave that to me, don’t worry. I’ll soon make my official stance on black magic clear. I’ll criticize the Empire as harshly as you want.”

“Perfect. And when will that be?”

“In three days.”

“Understood.”

Yuri smiled faintly as he looked at those present.

“Changing the subject a bit, in the Holy Kingdom things are also going well. The orichalcum-coated weapons will soon arrive in Briol. They have the power to resist black magic.”

Sidherst reacted immediately.

“You acquired orichalcum? Does that mean you met dwarves?”

“It was a fated coincidence.”

“Ha…”

“If we apply it as a metallic coating, we can produce a considerable number of weapons, and all the countries opposing the Empire will end up using them.”

“Indeed, if it’s orichalcum, it will work.”

“Additionally, through the Elaine Company, we’ll be importing warriors from the East.”

“From the East?”

“Yes.”

It was then that Jared, who had been sitting in silence, spoke.

“Are you thinking of a sort of ronin army?”

“No. We’ll bring even stronger warriors—true martial artists from the East. The equivalent here would be high-ranking knights.”

“And you think they’ll come? It’s not like they’re starving like ronin…”

“Sometimes there are values more important than material things.”

Yuri smiled and revealed something new.

“The Empire has a sworn enemy of the Eastern martial artists.”

“An enemy of the Eastern warriors?”

“They call him the Heavenly Demon. The Empire’s ‘Shadowless Swordsman’ is none other than Dan Socheon, the Heavenly Demon, sworn enemy of the Eastern Murim.”

“W-what?!”

“How can that be?!”

Jared and Sidherst shouted at the same time, then looked at each other.

“You know something about the Heavenly Demon?”

“No… I just felt like I had to react because no one else was going to…”

“I see. And you, Lord Sidherst, did you know?”

“I thought everyone knew, so I didn’t want to be the only one not reacting…”

“No one knows anything.”

“What a waste of time.”

In short, neither of them knew who the Heavenly Demon was.

Yuri continued.

“In any case, the Heavenly Demon is the leader of an organization called the Demonic Cult, and he’s the enemy of the entire Eastern Murim. If it’s confirmed that he’s been recruited by the Empire, that alone will be enough to draw Eastern experts here.”

Then Simon, from a corner, tilted his head.

“But Master Moyongchan is very pessimistic about the Murim. He always says it’s a corrupt organization. Will they really come?”

“Even if the Murim is rotten, there must still be heroes who know justice and honor. I trust in the Murim’s sense of justice.”

“Then convincing them will be an important task for the ambassador.”

“Exactly.”

“And currently, the only real connection to the East is exclusively held by the Elaine Company. We don’t know if they’ll cooperate.”

“They’ll cooperate.”

“How do you know?”

“Because I’m the honorary president of the Elaine Company… and also the main shareholder with equal stake to Elaine herself.”

“What?”

A new revelation. All eyes turned to Yuri.

He said,

“You could say eighty percent of Elaine’s growth is thanks to me.”

Everyone was left speechless, eyes wide open, while only Hernando seemed to know something, arms crossed and nodding.

He had accompanied Yuri in the past when visiting Elaine.

“You knew, Lord Hernando?”

“I didn’t know it was to that extent, but I did know His Highness had ties to the Elaine Company. After all, he was one of the first investors.”

Hernando stared into the distance as if recalling the past.

“Back then, Miss Iraine was barely holding together a company on the verge of collapse. And it was His Highness who deposited an enormous sum, predicting the rise in value of Mugranja.”

“No wonder he’s been so connected to the Elaine Company…”

“So His Highness is the power in the shadows behind the famous Elaine Company?”

“I thought it was just a baseless rumor…”

“They say he actually runs the whole company.”

“They say he can see the future!”

Yuri shook his head.

“I have been advising her all this time, but that rumor’s an exaggeration. We’re simply equal partners in this business.”

“I see…”

“Of course, Iraine’s obsession with Eastern trade is indeed due to my influence. I plan to send that Cheongun fellow, leader of the ronin group, as ambassador along with Elaine’s merchants. Being from the East, he’ll know how to navigate there.”

“Ah, that guy’s quite skilled.”

“The Empire isn’t just a problem for our continent. As Lord Sidherst said, the Empire is already ruled by black magic. And on top of that, they’ve summoned a horrifying entity from another dimension. If we let them advance, the whole world will fall into darkness.”

Yuri struck his chest with determination.

“So we’ll give everything, even our lives if necessary, to stop the Empire. Whether it’s a black army, unknown monsters, or a god from another world—we’ll eliminate them all. Be ready.”

His intense gaze made the atmosphere grow tense.

Yuri smiled.

“That’s why, eat plenty today. If you die tomorrow, you’ll regret not eating well today.”