Chapter 314: Rift (1)

Cedric could not comprehend this situation.

The god from another world had betrayed him.

It was something impossible.

They had made a contract putting their very existence as collateral. That could not be broken, not even if one tried.

The god from another world, who wandered through the endless void, greedily desired human life force, and Cedric had agreed to offer him as many lives as he wanted.

That was why he created Zveta.

He imprisoned humans in a pit and held sacrifices to offer their lives.

There had not been even the slightest shortage in the quantity the god demanded.

Then, why?

“Why the hell did he betray me, and why is he still intact?”

He could not understand it.

If the god from another world had betrayed him, he should pay the price. However, he had returned without issue to the outer space.

Annoying.

There was a time when that feeling had seemed refreshing to him. But now, it truly irritated him.

“Yuri Briol.”

It had to be because of that man.

Every time he was involved, everything went wrong.

Before, at least, it had been manageable. He had even enjoyed facing an opponent who did not move according to his will.

For him, everything had always been far too easy, to the point of boredom.

Yuri had been like a game given to him for distraction. But now, his patience had run out.

He was no longer just interfering with part of his plan, but overturning it completely.

Ever since that enormous group called the Anti-Imperial Union emerged, the atmosphere had turned strange.

He had not thought such an army could be formed, so it had surprised him a little.

From his perspective, those monkeys in human form did not have the intelligence nor the unity necessary to achieve it.

But Yuri had done it.

So Cedric brought out an even greater weapon—the god from another world.

And now, even that had collapsed.

“Yuri Briol!”

Cedric clenched his teeth and shouted. Since he almost never showed his emotions, Eugen, who was beside him, was greatly surprised.

“L-Lord Cedric?”

“Damn it.”

“What happened to the god from another world…?”

“He’s gone.”

“Can’t you summon him again?”

“No.”

“Is it because he still hasn’t told you his name?”

“Exactly.”

“Ah…”

Connecting with an existence that wanders through the void is nearly impossible. Even for Cedric, master of black magic, it was something he had barely achieved after crafting an orichalcum statue and performing a long ritual.

To summon such a being again, one must know its true name.

In the case of an entity that wanders the void, the true name holds great significance.

But the god had not allowed him that.

If Cedric had completed the deal and received all the power, he would have been able to know it, but with the contract broken, that was no longer possible.

In short—

“There is nothing more to expect from the god from another world.”

Cedric stood.

He was in his private underground palace. There he kept what was most important to him.

“But it doesn’t matter. I only summoned him to achieve an overwhelming victory, but I can win just as well on my own.”

The demonic grimoire.

It existed.

Although he had used its pages to sow chaos across the continent, the black magic of the original had not weakened in the slightest.

On the contrary, it had been imbued with a deeper darkness by absorbing the overflowing pain and hatred in the world.

Until then, the very destruction of the continent had been food for the demonic grimoire.

Heir to black magic and owner of the demonic grimoire—Cedric Briol.

He had never thought he could be defeated. Not even now that the god from another world had abandoned him.

He still held in his hands the most dangerous thing in human history.

“All who have possessed this have become lunatics.”

Cedric left the main hall and made his way to the center of his underground palace, where the demonic grimoire was kept.

A thick, black book.

On the altar made of human bones, covered with a cloth sewn from human skin on which the facial features were intact, as if screaming, rested the demonic grimoire.

The black magic was so intense that the bones of the dead chattered and moved.

Eugen could no longer endure its presence and stepped back.

Cedric, on the other hand, advanced quickly, as if facing something he greatly longed for. His expression softened.

“Ah…”

When he had discovered the demonic grimoire in the underground of the royal palace of Briol, fascination had overwhelmed him.

If he could offer those monkeys in human form as sacrifices to create a more perfect world, he would do so without hesitation.

Cedric took the grimoire with both hands.

Madness flooded him.

His mind was dyed red.

“Haa…”

An ordinary human would go insane instantly upon touching it, but not him.

He understood the demonic grimoire perfectly, so far from being lost, he could evolve into a higher being.

While mastering the overflowing magic, Cedric turned around.

Eugen was prostrate.

“Eugen.”

“Yes.”

“Come here.”

“I… I do not dare…”

Not even this situation, in which the crown prince of the Empire was bowing to him, stirred any emotion in him.

The power relations of monkeys meant nothing to him.

He was going to set everything in order.

“Come.”

“Yes.”

Eugen approached cautiously, still keeping his back deeply bent. Cedric placed a hand on his head and, in a voice as if caressing him, said:

“Well done.”

“Huh?”

“I will give you a reward.”

“Thank you.”

“Raise your head.”

“Yes.”

“The reward I will give you is…”

Cedric smiled.

“The privilege of serving me forever.”

“Huh?”

At the same time Eugen’s eyes widened, Cedric’s hand closed around his neck.

Eugen, startled, tried to stop Cedric’s hand, but as if he had committed a great offense, he stopped, trembling.

“Ahhh…”

“Aren’t you happy?”

“P-please… Lord Cedric…”

“Eugen. For a monkey, you were useful. I mean, foolish enough to be easy to use.”

From Cedric’s hand, black mist began to emanate, corroding Eugen’s body.

Eugen opened his mouth wide, but no sound came out. He writhed desperately.

“Offering the soul of a crown prince is of great help.”

Not only his healthy body or his excellent sword skills, but also his symbolic status as crown prince had great value as a sacrifice for black magic.

Cedric felt denser magic than ever and offered it to the demonic grimoire.

Upon receiving the offering of an heir to the Empire, the grimoire was filled with joy and transformed that energy into demonic magic.

Cedric raised the grimoire with both hands. The black magic flowed into him.

He felt a momentary dizziness, but soon calmed down. Cedric smiled. For him, that sensation was all too familiar.

“Good.”

His voice once again took on laughter.

Even if the god from another world had left, that did not change the outcome.

He had sought the power of the outer universe to achieve overwhelming victory and absolute dominion, but even with only the demonic grimoire he possessed, he would have no problem exterminating the Anti-Imperial Alliance—that pack of monkeys—and creating a new world.

Cedric murmured the name of his dear younger brother.

“Yuri Briol.”

The voice with which Cedric spoke that name no longer held any warmth.

It was his way of acknowledging that until now he had been an adorable younger brother, but now he had become his one and true enemy in this world.

He would kill him without fail.

“I suppose we’ll have to decide who is right.”

Cedric spread his arms.

The demonic grimoire floated in the air, stopped in front of his chest, pierced his clothes, and merged into him as if it had no physical form.

From all the orifices of Cedric’s body, black mist began to emerge.

[Ha, ha…]

His voice became strange, as if two voices overlapped—one his original, and the other rough and deep.

Cedric’s body rose.

When he was about to fly toward the underground ceiling—

“Lord Cedric.”

A voice echoed.

Cedric’s gaze shifted.

“I-I will go with you.”

[Cory.]

Cedric smiled faintly. His body settled back onto the ground.

“What were you doing?”

“I-I…”

“I see.”

“Sometimes… I was in the laboratory…”

“Hehehe…”

“Yes…”

“Good. There are no rules to the game. Pleasure is for whenever one desires.”

“Yes.”

His gaze swept over Cory from head to toe—a small body, a limp leg, an unpleasant appearance, but with a Dragon Voice Organ inside.

What kind of magic would he gain if he kept him? Looking at him like prey, Cedric turned his gaze away.

Unlike Eugen, Cory did have use.

Now that his inside was as deformed as his outside, he could exploit him in many ways.

“Cory.”

“Yes?”

“When this war ends and a new world opens…”

“Yes… hehehe…”

“You will be my lieutenant. Second in command.”

“R-really?”

“That’s right. You will be able to do whatever you want.”

“T-thank you.”

Cory prostrated himself on the ground.

While looking at his small nape, Cedric continued.

“But first, we must get rid of the trash on the surface. Cory, will you help me?”

“Yes!”

“Will you help me kill Yuri Briol?”

“Of course!”

Cory did not hesitate in the slightest.

Cedric smiled in satisfaction. During his stay in Zveta, Cory had completely sunk into darkness.

“Good.”

Cedric extended his hand toward Cory.

“Take my hand, Cory.”

“Aah…”

For those corrupted by black magic, shaking Cedric’s hand was an act of great significance.

Cory, moved, lowered his head and reached out his hesitant hand.

“T-thank you.”

Cory’s hand, deformed as if burned, contrasted with Cedric’s, white and clean.

The two hands, so different, clasped.

“Cory.”

“Yes.”

“This world must have tormented you.”

“I-I…”

“Those who were no different from you hated you just for your appearance.”

“Yes…”

“The world I will create will be different.”

Then, darkness enveloped their bodies.

“I will give you a magnificent new world.”

And thus, their figures vanished.

***

Yuri approached the black core that had been exposed in the melted body of the monster.

From it emanated an intense dark energy.

“That is…”

Yuri extended Guilty to sweep away the remnants that had not yet completely melted and speared the core on the tip of his sword, throwing it at his feet.

Inside the core was a fragment of parchment.

“A demonic grimoire.”

Yuri summoned the power of the Cut of the Soul and the Heart and drove it into the ground.

The blade pierced the parchment.

As if it were its last attempt to resist, the black energy writhed violently, but it could not overcome the power of the Cut of the Soul and the Heart and disappeared.

The scream of the trapped resentment echoed in the air.

“Ugh…”

Those nearby stepped back, covering their ears.

“Are you scared of that?”

Yuri shredded the parchment into pieces and said:

“Soon you will have to live through something much worse, and you will see it with your own eyes.”

“I feel as if my head is being torn apart… Was that a demonic grimoire?”

“Yes.”

Yuri looked up.

“Right, Cedric?”

Everyone flinched and drew their swords upon hearing it. At some point, Cedric had appeared.

He looked no different from when he was in the palace of Briol, with glasses, a gentle smile, and an upright posture.

“That’s right.”

Cedric looked around.

The knights of Briol shuddered when they met his gaze.

Despite the situation, he was identical to how they remembered him, which made it all the more terrifying.

“Ha, ha…”

Cedric removed his glasses and carefully put them away.

“Yuri.”

“Cedric.”

“I truly cherished you.”

“I truly respected you.”

“What a pity…”

Cedric extended his hands.

“…That I have to kill you.”

“I don’t pity it in the slightest.”

They both moved at the same time.

Cedric brought his hands together in a seal, and Yuri launched himself forward, pushing off the ground.

A roar shook the place.

The world cracked apart.