Chapter 315: Rift (2)

Darkness spread.

His entire field of vision turned pitch black.

Yuri had fought monsters created from grimoire parchments before.

He thought he had at least partially grown accustomed to the aura of black magic.

However, the energy Cedric was releasing was completely raw—far more intense than anything he had experienced before.

His voice reached him directly.

[ I remember the first time I saw you. You were so small, and now you’ve grown like this. ]

“Save the nostalgia for the other world.”

Yuri swung Guilty forcefully toward the darkness that filled his vision.

The Cut of the Soul and the Heart was the natural enemy of black magic. The blackness split apart, revealing Cedric standing on the other side.

Yuri surged forward as if pushed by a gust of wind, slashing without hesitation.

He felt the crunch of bone and the tearing of flesh.

Blood spurted.

Had he finished him?

No.

Twisting the blade to break his ribs, Yuri shook his head and looked up.

It couldn’t be that easy.

He fully released the energy of the Cut of the Soul and the Heart. Mana exploded in all directions, distorting the entire space.

Amid the swirl of black magic and sword energy, Yuri’s eyes searched for Cedric.

His vision was tinted red.

The body that formed Cedric was torn to pieces.

But—

[ Not yet. ]

Cedric had not died.

Amid the chaotic scene, Yuri spotted a dark silhouette moving slowly.

He immediately lunged after it.

He sharpened his sword aura to the maximum. The Cut of the Soul and the Heart never let its prey escape, even if it had no physical form.

He slashed, then slashed again.

The black silhouette split into two, then into four. His speed was such that the human eye could not follow it.

Yuri’s intent was to completely destroy Cedric’s soul so that he could never rise again.

However, at a certain moment, his sword slowed.

His body felt heavy, as if trapped in a mire.

The cut fragments of the black silhouette scattered like gravel and clung to his body, refusing to come off due to their great viscosity.

Cedric’s voice whispered in his ear.

[ I have transcended, Yuri. ]

Yuri slashed instantly to his side, but Cedric was no longer there.

[ Unlike you “monkeys,” I am no longer confined to a physical body. ]

An alarm rang in Yuri’s mind.

Without hesitation, he released mana throughout his body. The black masses clinging to him detached as they were engulfed in the explosion.

He looked around but could no longer sense Cedric’s aura.

Yuri shouted.

“Everyone, be careful!”

The others, who had just been moving toward Cedric, still didn’t understand what was happening.

One of the eastern warriors, looking around in confusion, suddenly coughed blood and collapsed.

“Keugh…!”

Behind him, Cedric was smiling.

He looked exactly as before Yuri had killed him—completely intact.

[ To me, a physical body is nothing more than a disposable resource I can recreate again and again. ]

“Cedric!”

Yuri charged and sliced his neck. The body fell to the ground, and Francesco, who was nearby, smashed it apart with his sword.

Cedric didn’t react at all, as if it were a corpse, and was killed right there.

But then—

“Aaaah!”

Jared shouted.

Cedric had appeared beside him and struck. A black hand, like a claw, seized his body.

Then, countless threadlike tentacles extended, piercing into his flesh.

“Bastard!”

Moyongchan, who was nearby, rushed in and cut Cedric, severing his torso from his legs.

Even as he was being attacked, Cedric moved his hands toward Jared, and the tentacles invading his body writhed even more violently.

“Aaaaghhh!”

Jared’s screams grew louder. He writhed endlessly but could not break free from the black hand Cedric had created.

His eyes rolled back.

“Jared, snap out of it!”

Moyongchan stabbed Cedric repeatedly. The body was torn into dozens of pieces.

Even so, the fingers floated in the air, moving as if a puppeteer were controlling his marionette.

Cedric’s body completely scattered, and the black magic surrounding Jared vanished.

Moyongchan shook him by the shoulders.

“Jared, are you alright?”

“Ah…”

With a clouded gaze, Jared suddenly thrust his sword at Moyongchan.

“What—!”

The attack was so sudden he couldn’t react in time.

Clang!

“…”

Moyongchan swallowed hard. The strike aimed directly at his chest was blocked by a sword that slid in from the side.

The tip of Jared’s sword trembled against the opposing blade.

Moyongchan gave thanks.

“I appreciate it, Laurent.”

“You must be careful.”

“I will.”

Laurent kicked Jared in the face.

“Kugh!”

Then he snatched away his sword, threw him to the ground, and pinned his back with his knee.

Jared screamed and thrashed like someone possessed.

“His body has been taken over by black magic.”

“That means…”

As they spoke, Cedric didn’t stop. He continued attacking, and every time he was counterattacked, he switched bodies and withdrew.

“Cedric! Over here!”

Yuri caught up to him again.

Cedric, who had raised tentacles to attack around him, arched a brow and faced him.

Yuri unleashed the Cut of the Soul and the Heart at full power, adding the force of chaos to confront him with everything he had.

His sword cut not only the body but also the mind and soul.

He cleaved not only Cedric’s body but also what lay within. The skull, along with the brain and what was beyond, were cleanly severed.

Cedric’s eyes clouded over.

“Die, Cedric.”

Yuri believed he had destroyed the core residing in his body. But he was wrong.

Just like before, Cedric appeared elsewhere, completely unharmed.

What Yuri had pierced wasn’t Cedric’s soul, but merely the remnants of black magic he had been scattering.

Yuri clenched his teeth.

“Damn it!”

If even the Cut of the Soul and the Heart didn’t work, how could he possibly fight him?

Meanwhile, Cedric had already advanced into the area where the Anti-Imperial Alliance army was gathered.

From the ground, black tentacles surged like a tidal wave, sweeping through in all directions.

Many died, and those who were caught lost control of their bodies.

Seeing Cedric—who would not die and kept reappearing elsewhere to unleash more black magic—everyone, including Yuri, was shaken.

They had no idea how to fight him.

Yuri entered the soul domain, relying even on instinct to keep his focus fixed on Cedric.

“…”

Cedric was creating and discarding bodies again and again. Creating a human body was no simple feat.

To craft a perfect vessel capable of holding a soul, even high-level mages like Inariel, Hernando, or Maryrose had to pay a steep price.

But for Cedric, it was as natural as breathing. He had already devoured countless lives, claiming both souls and bodies.

Black magic could transgress even the territory of the forbidden without difficulty.

Each time he appeared, thick tentacles like the roots of a colossal tree sprouted from the ground, covering it completely. Soldiers caught by them were either crushed to death or driven mad like Jared, losing control of their bodies.

The battlefield had descended into chaos, allies fighting one another.

Every so often, enraged knights sacrificed themselves to stab Cedric, but he would simply change bodies.

Cedric was, quite literally, fighting the entire Anti-Imperial Alliance on his own.

Absorbing the life force of countless victims to continue his slaughter, in Yuri’s eyes he resembled a demon descended upon the earth.

“Cedric…”

Yuri murmured his name and lifted his gaze. He could not simply stand by.

“Yuri Briol.”

At that moment, Inariel approached.

“Lord Inariel.”

“You must be thinking about how to fight that.”

“Yes. What should I do?”

“Let’s see…”

Inariel said,

“He may look alone, but he’s not. He controls more lives than our entire army. He’s killed many to turn them into his sustenance.”

Yuri nodded.

Just as Inariel said, Cedric had absorbed the strength of the entire Imperial Army.

It was as if the Imperial Army and the Anti-Imperial Alliance were fighting each other.

“Think about it simply. Two armies face each other. To win, what must you do?”

“Kill the enemy.”

“Exactly.”

Inariel took a breath before continuing.

“There’s no other method. Kill while you die. If you kill that body tens of thousands of times, maybe he’ll run out of resources.”

It meant they had to keep killing him again and again.

Even as they spoke, the chaos only grew. Because Cedric could appear anywhere, the troops were all disoriented and, in order to survive, were forced to fight their own allies.

Yuri took a deep breath.

There was no other choice—only to kill.

“Let’s go.”

The rest of the Ten Greats who were with Yuri, as well as the Eastern warriors, began moving.

“Chase and kill Cedric’s main body at all costs. Everyone else, handle the rest.”

Moyongchan relayed Yuri’s words to the Murim warriors, and soon they all dispersed.

To avoid losing Cedric, each took up a position in an assigned area.

Yuri took the largest zone.

“Kraaa!”

A soldier under Cedric’s control charged Yuri like a madman, swinging his sword.

Yuri struck him in the jaw to knock him unconscious, but the man lunged again like a zombie.

In the end, Yuri had to kill him.

Guilty cut through his neck.

Even without a head, the body twisted until Yuri crushed his heart underfoot. When the chest burst, it finally stopped moving.

It was an unpleasant feeling.

With Guilty in hand, Yuri scanned his surroundings. In several places, Cedric’s tentacles were emerging from the ground.

In the distance, he saw Jose drive his sword into Cedric’s body. Cedric, wearing a calm smile, fell—only to reappear elsewhere.

Killing him didn’t matter. They had to keep killing him until it did.

But would Cedric really not have foreseen this?

While cutting down another soldier who rushed him, Yuri began thinking of a better method.

“Yuri Briol. Don’t you say the Cut of the Soul and the Heart can even cut the soul?”

Hearing the voice, he turned and saw it was Laurent.

“And Jared?”

“I tied him up and buried him halfway. Lord Inariel said he’d call the mages to treat him.”

“He’s not in any danger, right?”

“No.”

“Good.”

“And that guy can’t be cut with the Cut of the Soul and the Heart?”

Yuri nodded.

“It doesn’t work on him…”

“Why?”

Yuri blinked.

Why indeed?

The Cut of the Soul and the Heart could cut anything, being the nemesis of black magic. The same applied to souls separated from the body. Yet Cedric wouldn’t vanish even when cut.

A thought crossed his mind.

“I was wrong.”

“What?”

“He’s not switching bodies.”

“Then?”

“Well, partially. What I mean is, that body isn’t controlled by Cedric’s soul. The real Cedric is somewhere else.”

“You’re saying that’s just a decoy pretending to be the main body?”

“That’s what I think. When I stabbed him…”

Surprisingly, Laurent nodded.

“I see. Then how do we find the real body?”

“I’ll take care of it.”

“I’m not convinced.”

“Trust me.”

Yuri smiled faintly, patted Laurent’s shoulder, and opened his senses to the fullest.

His perception spread.

Yuri focused all his energy on finding Cedric’s location.

His vision blurred.

The noise of the battlefield faded away.

He concentrated desperately.

His sharpened senses received signals from all over the world.

Then—

“Yuri Briol.”

“Hmm?”

“Are you looking for me?”

Suddenly, Laurent said something incomprehensible.

“Hm?”

The instant he repeated it, Yuri understood.

It wasn’t Laurent.

“Huh?”

It had all been an act from the beginning.

Laurent—or rather, Cedric controlling Laurent’s body—thrust a stab.

“Kugh!”

Yuri felt his abdomen pierced and bent forward.

The blade twisted, shredding his insides.

He couldn’t help but spit blood.