Chapter 280: Heaven Above Heaven (2)

For an instant, the battlefield stopped.

A terrifying monster, forged by amalgamating countless knights into a single mass of flesh.

And six members of the Ten Greats.

And, alongside them, dozens of knights brushing against the level of the Ten Greats.

When they began to fight, the rest didn’t even dare to approach.

Everything else became insignificant.

The rumble of lightning, the roar of explosions, and the screech of air being torn apart resounded without cease.

“That a human could come this far…”

Someone said it.

Everyone witnessing the scene thought the same.

Could a human become so strong?

The monster, after all, was a creation of black magic, so that could be understood, but the others, who were also human, fought on equal terms against their enemies with a strength hard to believe.

In particular, the violent bursts that exploded from time to time were like true natural disasters.

No one was unaware that this power, which drove back the enemies whenever an ally was in danger, was a technique of Yuri Briol.

Seeing the prince of Briol hurl himself at the monster regardless of his life, dodging every attack by a hair and sinking his cutting aura into its weak points, someone murmured.

“God of War…”

A man who had never been defeated.

And now, even against an enemy with no hope of victory, he displayed an absurd strength.

A true god of war.

Yuri Briol seemed like the embodiment the world had sent to save humanity.

The murmur spread.

“God of War—a nickname that suits him perfectly.”

Hernando, who was watching the battle, nodded.

He remembered that day at the betting table, when he lost money to that young third prince and was left speechless.

It had all started then.

“If he was the chosen of the Magician who Observes the Heavenly Mandate, at the very least he had to be like this.”

Yuri Briol had no destiny.

He had no mandate.

Much less a predetermined future.

On the contrary, his path had altered the course of the world.

Hernando looked up. He could see beyond the material plane.

At that moment, almost the entire world was shrouded in darkness. But suddenly, the sky began to brighten.

The light came neither from the east nor from the west. Dawn was beginning right here.

Hernando called loudly to his lord.

“Yuri Briol!”

Although he called him “Your Highness,” in his heart he had always seen him as a younger brother.

When this battle ended, he would no longer be a magician of Briol. Perhaps then he could speak to him with the familiarity he wanted.

It frustrated him not to be able to help him, trapped by the magical dispersion that blocked his spells.

With those feelings, Hernando raised his fist.

“Go. You are the true bearer of the Heavenly Mandate.”

***

At that moment, Yuri fought almost in a trance.

When this battle ended, his long pilgrimage would be coming to an end.

Cedric awaited him in Zveta. When he killed him and set everything in order, that journey would end.

A little more.

Just a little more.

The Cut of the soul and the heart, responding to his will, flowed like a river, and his blue aura cut through any opening it found in the enemy.

“Uwooo!”

Donchich, who had once been a coward, was now completely consumed by black magic. Even with blood streaming from his body, he kept charging at him.

In that case, he could only give him death.

Upon Guilty, a whirlpool pattern began to form.

His secret technique, the “Rotating Whirlpool Sword,” no longer had any preparation time.

When his will rose, the wind blew.

Then, his aura grew on its own, creating an infinite structure of fractals that spun like a gear in the shape of a vortex, biting and tearing at the enemy like a wolf.

Blood sprayed once more from Donchich’s body.

Even in that instant, Yuri’s level continued to rise.

Like a ship driven by the wind, he could not predict how far he could go.

But there was no fear. To kill Cedric, this was still not enough.

“Yuri Briol!”

Suddenly, a voice reached him.

“Can you hear me?”

It was Laurent. Fighting against Dan Socheon’s sword, he had called out to him.

“What is it?”

“Are you in your right mind?”

“Eh?”

“Just asking.”

“Yes, I am.”

“Then it’s fine.”

He seemed concerned to see him fighting as if he were possessed.

Yuri smiled. In the middle of such a fierce battle, there shouldn’t have been time to laugh, but he had it.

And if he wanted, he could shorten that time even more. Reduce it and reduce it until it formed a tiny instant.

And, in that instant, cut the enemy.

He suddenly turned and blocked Dan Socheon’s stealthy movement, revealing his position.

Surprise was reflected on his face.

“Where do you think you’re sneaking off to?”

“Damn…”

“Weren’t you the Heavenly Demon?”

Yuri extended his hand. With a simple grab to the neck, Dan Socheon couldn’t resist—he had lost his rhythm.

He pulled him in and drove his knee into his abdomen.

Dan Socheon spat blood.

“Kugh!”

At that moment, he felt a chill at the back of his neck—a sword was about to fall.

Dan Socheon burst his internal energy, pushing everything around him away.

Yuri momentarily lost his balance.

Taking advantage of the opening, Dan Socheon rolled across the ground, retreating.

“So now you’re in a martial trance.”

“I know very well who I am.”

“Incredible—truly incredible.”

Despite speaking, Yuri didn’t stop. He kept pursuing him, while his rival did nothing but flee.

“I didn’t think someone could become so strong so fast.”

“Everyone who dies by my sword says the same.”

“But!”

Dan Socheon extended both hands.

From them emanated a malignant energy.

“With the Secret Manual of the Celestial Evil Spirit unleashed, you will never be able to defeat us!”

A palm-shaped blast flew straight at Yuri’s chest. It was an extremely dangerous attack.

In his mind, Yuri considered several ways to respond.

And he chose the most appropriate—he ignored Dan Socheon and turned toward the monster.

The attack sliced the air in vain.

“Yuri Briol!”

“Yes, see you later.”

His gaze swept across the entire battlefield.

He wasn’t limited to a single enemy—he always went where he could inflict the most damage.

He saw Francesco rolling to evade a blow from the monster, attacking its legs.

“Sir Francesco!”

“Understood!”

“Draw its attention for a moment!”

Francesco, not quite sure what to do, looked around for a moment and then simply raised his sword energy with force and began attacking the monster’s ankle area while circling around it.

His cutting energy shredded everything around him.

The monster’s eyes shifted downward. Meanwhile, Yuri was rising toward the sky.

In an instant, his body overlapped with the sun above, casting a huge shadow over the battlefield.

The force of chaos, drawn from the Cut of the soul and the heart, pushed against Yuri’s back.

At a speed faster than gravitational acceleration, he plunged toward the monster’s head.

Guilty pierced through the creature’s head.

As usual, Yuri immediately used his secret technique, the Rotating Whirlpool Sword.

Inside the monster’s head, where his cutting energy was embedded, a violent vortex rose up, tearing its interior apart.

Through the thick skin came the horrible sound of bones and flesh being ripped apart.

Yet, the monster did not die. It was an existence beyond all common sense, capable of regenerating endlessly.

Yuri kept weakening it while searching for a way to eliminate it at the root, delving into the mental domain.

In that white, incandescent world, the figure of the monster shone in an intense black.

He had never seen such a dense concentration of black magic in an enemy.

Yuri murmured.

“You’ve risen in rank, Wayne.”

In the days of the alliance, he had been a comrade.

Under Commander Ragna’s command, they had fought side by side. Those were good times.

He felt no personal hatred toward Wayne.

When a tree burns, you don’t resent the firewood. You only seek the culprit who lit the fire.

Black magic.

And Cedric.

Because of them, an imperial knight like Wayne had ended up transformed into an abomination and, against his will, was wreaking havoc upon the world.

Yuri landed and stepped back while murmuring.

“So, you…”

He raised his sword and swung it.

Suddenly, Dan Socheon appeared out of nowhere, aiming at Yuri.

“Dan Socheon, whose side are you on?”

Their swords clashed in a fierce exchange.

Yuri’s speed and Dan Socheon’s were identical, maintaining a perfectly balanced fight.

Yuri asked again.

“Are you under Cedric’s spell, or do you follow him of your own will?”

“Naïve. Do you think this Heavenly Demon could be manipulated?”

“Then?”

“Through Cedric, I saw the sky beyond the sky. I’ve decided to cross it with him.”

“Hahaha…”

Yuri nodded.

“If there’s a sky beyond the sky, don’t you think there will be another beyond that one too?”

“What do you mean?”

“That height or lowness mean nothing.”

Guilty buzzed fiercely. The great chaos contained within began to take shape.

In the world of the minuscule, anything is possible.

Size doesn’t matter.

It doesn’t matter if, beyond the universe, there are monsters or how powerful they are.

They just have to be cut.

“I’ll pull you out of that foolish dream.”

Yuri suddenly accelerated.

Dan Socheon lost sight of him, his expression astonished.

“Where…?”

With each instant, Yuri was changing.

He had already crossed the threshold.

Now he was just taking a moment to adapt.

His mind and body were transforming to reach the pinnacle of the sword.

The more he did, the stronger and faster he became. Even Dan Socheon was beginning to have trouble keeping up with him.

“Incredible…”

When he spotted Yuri behind him, Dan Socheon quickly turned to block, but ended up with a long slash across his side.

“What are you? Are you human? How can you… without the help of the Secret Manual of the Celestial Evil Spirit…?”

“That again? I already told Wayne the same thing.”

Yuri swept his legs, knocked him down, and drove his knee into his face. Dan Socheon spat blood as he fell backward.

Yuri raised his sword to finish him off, but Dan Socheon awkwardly rolled across the ground to dodge.

In the Murim, this is called the lazy donkey roll, and it is considered a shameful move.

His face flushed red.

“Damn it!”

He barely regained his stance, sword raised, and pushed the Heavenly Demon’s Supreme Technique to its peak—

But Yuri was no longer there.

Startled, Dan Socheon looked around. Maybe he would appear behind him again, as before.

“W-where…?”

But Yuri had already left him behind and gone back to face Donchich.

Dan Socheon, tense from an absent enemy, ended up looking ridiculous.

To the side, Jose covered his mouth and let out a chuckle.

Furious, Dan Socheon rushed toward him.

“Then I’ll kill you instead!”

“Your pride hurts?”

“Shut up!”

“So you’re from the East, huh? Let’s see who’s better.”

They clashed.

Although Yuri had overwhelmed him, Dan Socheon was not an easy opponent.

Jose retreated, trying to counterattack, but ended up with a cut to his side after falling into a strange technique he had never seen before.

From Dan Socheon emanated such a malevolent energy it was reminiscent of black magic.

“In the East, a brat like you couldn’t even look me in the eyes, and you dare mock me!”

Dan Socheon unleashed his technique and executed the Demonic Cult’s secret art, Ashura Skybreaker.

A gigantic palm of energy hurtled toward him.

“Damn it…”

Jose couldn’t react in time.

The colossal force was coming straight for him, and if he took it, he would either die or be gravely wounded.

At that instant—

“And you say there’s no one from the East? You sure lie a lot.”

With that voice, someone suddenly appeared in front of Jose.

His back looked familiar.

“A worm who in the East would be treated as trash…”

It was none other than Moyongchan.

The very same who was said to have been injured on the Liberta front.

Dan Socheon’s eyes widened.

“Who are you?”

“Me?”

Moyongchan gave a sidelong grin.

“In the East, a demonic tadpole like you couldn’t even look at me. I am a master exorcist specializing in eliminating demons.”