Chapter 308: Demon (1)

Yuri expanded his energy into the interior of the wall.

Then, the energy of black magic tried to push its way in, following the current of his energy to penetrate inside him. Images of all sorts of evil things churned in Yuri’s mind.

But he did not waver.

Without allowing himself to be swayed, he rejected all interference while searching for the monster’s core.

Once he pinpointed its position, he began to rotate his mana.

The core had to be destroyed to bring down the wall. However, subduing this monster, formed from a mixture of all manner of vile spells, was no easy task.

His sharp senses picked up every battle happening around him.

Laurent was falling, Jared was injured.

Eto and Oliver were fighting back-to-back in a bloody struggle. Up above, the Ten Greats were withstanding the firepower of the legion.

Everyone was fighting desperately.

For an ordinary knight, merely being in this place for an instant would be enough to exhaust them completely.

The air pressed against their limbs, the ground vibrated without rest, and the palpable hostility cut both body and mind.

In the middle of that battlefield, Yuri focused on his goal.

Even if some of the allies he had brought died here, and even if it might be his responsibility—

This was no time to hesitate.

He closed his eyes.

His eyelids fell like a curtain.

In the instant he blocked his sight, his other senses sharpened as if a veil had been lifted.

Now, Chaos, which had become his companion, remained by his side.

After a long time, Yuri settled back into the present.

Within him, The Cut of the Soul and the Heart and Chaos gave him what he desired without the need to harmonize them.

Absolute control over mana.

Even the mana that left his hands to be absorbed by the strange creature ended up obeying his will.

The monster’s core beat periodically, like a heart. With each beat, it spread a wave reminiscent of lamentation and a scream of pain.

Yuri vaguely understood that everything was connected.

The rhythm of that core was linked to the cycle of an even more malignant presence, lurking beyond the wall.

Yes, that’s right.

Without realizing it, Yuri murmured,

“It will be the same for you.”

Guilty in his hand, the mana flowing through it, and the sword energy manifesting above—all of it was connected as one.

The chaos pouring from his inner core pushed voraciously into the enemy’s interior.

The Cut of the Soul and the Heart seized the monster’s core.

It swelled its body enormously, spreading lamentation and screams as an attack.

But it had no effect on Yuri.

An existence created on the basis of human despair could produce nothing beyond its own materials, and thus could not threaten him.

In contrast, the chaos Yuri wielded transcended what lay above and below the physical world.

Between Yuri and the monster’s core, a great lever was set. At its two distant ends, the fulcrum lay very close to the enemy.

Yuri waited until his mana had seized the entire wall. Then, the moment came.

Yuri detonated the mana.

Light erupted.

Cracks appeared across the wall, and from them leaked Yuri’s energy that could no longer be contained.

His whole body vibrated. But, driving the blade even deeper, he amplified the chaos.

He would bring it down completely.

It was at the instant Yuri was certain the wall would fall that a deep red invaded his inner world.

In a moment, his vision was dyed red. Screams echoed in his ears, and on his skin he felt as if the nails of those dying and clinging to him were digging into his flesh.

For a moment, Yuri lost concentration.

“Kugh…”

He opened his eyes.

Under a blinding glow, the ground beneath his feet was collapsing. However, he perceived that the malignant energy attacking him was preventing the total destruction of the wall.

He looked to the side.

The Murim Alliance was in the same situation. The wall, split wide open, was slowly tilting, but the malignant energy kept the surface bound together to the very end.

Almost completely destroyed—but not entirely. Literally.

He could have destroyed it, but by the slimmest margin, he had not.

“Damn it…”

At that moment, when Yuri raised his head and fixed his gaze on the interior of Zveta, something pushed him from behind.

At first he thought it was just a gust of wind.

But little by little his ears caught that it was the shouts of an army.

Turning around, he saw a multitude filling his field of vision. The entire Anti-Imperial allied army was charging madly toward the wall destroyed by the two elite forces.

The intact parts of the wall extended tentacles to stop them, but the human tide surged over them like a tsunami.

There was no fear in them.

If an ally fell, they stepped on his body to advance; if they themselves died, they cleared the path for those behind.

In the front line, Ainzer shouted at the top of his lungs,

“Charge!”

Knights clad in mana charged alongside Ainzer and attacked the wall. At times they cut it with sword energy, at others they rammed it with their bodies, making the wall—already barely standing—begin to waver.

The Empire did not remain still either. Tentacles emerged from the ground, piercing the bodies of several soldiers and lifting them into the sky.

Some swung spears and swords at the tentacles; others struck the wall.

Chaos broke loose.

Yuri shouted to rally those around him. Fortunately, the eighteen who had come to assault the wall were still alive.

“Bring it down!”

Soon after, with a strange rumbling like the last breath of a living creature, the wall collapsed.

Tentacles emerged from the breach to try to restore it, but it was useless. The Anti-Imperial alliance surged en masse into the interior of Zveta.

The end of this long battle was in sight.

“Keep advancing! Everyone must get inside!”

Yuri was already in the front line.

It was a strange thing.

Beyond the wall there was nothing—only endless mist that barely allowed one to see the face of the nearest ally. But Yuri kept moving forward without fear, encouraging the others.

He felt certain they could win.

“There’s a chance of victory.”

At his words, Jared responded,

“Oh, good news. But what makes you say that?”

“They tried desperately to keep the wall from falling at the end.”

The best place to hold off the enemy was this wall. The Empire would have tried to maintain it at all costs. But in the end, it was breached.

If Cedric had had some other stratagem and that’s why he had allowed the wall to fall, he would not have spent energy trying to prevent its collapse.

The black magic that struck them at the end was dangerous, but it also showed just how desperate Cedric was.

“Master, ask if the East is all right.”

“The leader of the Murim Alliance says that it’s now difficult for him to fight freely. He used most of his energy to bring down the wall. The rest are fine.”

“Understood.”

As they made their way through the mist, no particular buildings were visible.

Originally, Zveta had not been like this.

Whatever had happened, everything had been razed, leaving a completely barren land.

And in the distance, a hazy silhouette could be seen.

A tower.

And beneath it, spread out everywhere, were countless cocoons.

Yuri let out a murmur upon seeing the scene beyond the mist. It was different from the view from atop the wall. At that time, he hadn’t seen that tower either.

The closer they came, the more imposing the tower became, rising toward the sky. He had seen it before.

It matched the landscape that had invaded his mind when he touched the demon’s grimoire.

At its highest point, something that resembled an eye rose.

“Your Highness.”

“Mm?”

“Those cocoons.”

Jared spoke.

“I don’t know what they are, but we should destroy them before anything comes out of them.”

“That’s what we’ll have to do, isn’t it?” Yuri replied.

He didn’t know what those cocoons had been created for, but surely something ominous was hidden inside.

Perhaps it was the process of birthing a monster. Better to destroy them before they took shape.

“Destroy them all!” Yuri shouted.

The Anti-Imperial Alliance army advanced toward the tower, tearing through the numerous cocoons around it.

When they burst, blood poured out from within.

The inside was laid bare—grotesque, incomplete monster bodies exposed in raw form.

Even soldiers hardened by a thousand battles twisted their expressions.

“The situation is in our favor,” Yuri murmured.

The fact that they weren’t well-prepared was an advantage. He hadn’t expected the interior to be so unprotected.

After Inariel had wiped out the troops with Meteor and broken the wall, there had been barely any resistance.

“Tell them to advance at a steady pace. There’s no hurry now.”

“Understood.”

After giving the order, Yuri lifted his gaze toward the towering structure before him. They had almost arrived.

He gripped Guilty tightly.

It was time to eradicate the black magic and make Cedric pay.

***

Cedric had his eyes closed.

“What should we do?”

Eugen was bowing before him.

The throne was occupied by Cedric, who did not respond.

“We should act right now…”

Cedric raised his hand, and Eugen fell silent. An invisible force pressed against his facial muscles, preventing him from moving his lips.

Unable to speak, Eugen prostrated himself with his forehead to the floor.

“Mmgh… mmgh…”

When he let out a pleading sound, Cedric waved his hand and the force restraining him dissipated.

Eugen bowed again and withdrew.

Left alone, Cedric leaned his head back against the throne’s rest.

“So, they’ve finally arrived.”

He exhaled deeply, scattering a red mist. His consciousness rose and then sank again.

“Still…” he murmured.

“Has the moment not yet come?”

His eyes hardened. He gripped the throne’s armrests so tightly his hands turned pale.

Suddenly, the door opened again and someone entered. Short in stature, hood pulled low, and walking with a limp.

Cedric smiled.

“Cory.”

“Lord Cedric.”

Cory bowed and knelt on one knee.

“Everything is ready. What shall we do?”

“For now, wait.”

At the response, Cory was silent for a moment before cautiously asking,

“Is it not all in place yet…?”

“That’s right.”

Cedric replied in a soft voice, so different from the one he used with Eugen.

“I have accepted the power of that, but it still hasn’t given me everything. I don’t know why its mood has changed. I paid exactly the price it asked.”

“This is the first time I’ve heard you say you don’t know, Lord Cedric.”

Cedric smiled faintly.

“I can’t know everything.”

As Yuri had suspected, Cedric was not in perfect condition.

He had met all the conditions of the contract to summon the god from another world, but it had not given him everything that was promised. The contract was not yet fully fulfilled.

Cory said,

“Is it really necessary to wait until it gives you everything? In any case, your power is already close to that of a god, Lord Cedric. Hehehe…”

“That’s true.”

Although he hadn’t obtained everything he wanted, Cedric already possessed a power close to that of a god.

He was simply pondering why that god wasn’t reacting.

“It’s noisy outside.”

He was aware of what was happening in front of the tower—the cocoons that created monsters were being destroyed by the Anti-Imperial Alliance.

Their faces were brimming with euphoria, believing they had gained the upper hand. What a pathetic expression.

Cedric despised them.

Without understanding anything, they behaved like monkeys, letting themselves be swept along by their emotions depending on what was right before them.

The human race was far too imperfect.

“Well, it’s time to make our entrance,” Cedric said.

Whatever the logic of action of the god from another world he had summoned, the contract would be fulfilled.

First, he would eliminate those enemies.

The climax could wait.

Cedric rose.

“Cory.”

“Yes.”

“Let’s go. Let’s greet Yuri.”

Cory lifted his head.

Beneath the hood, his deformed eyes lit up with life.

“Yes!”