Chapter 316: Awakening

Yuri, clutching his abdomen, stabbed Laurent with Guilty.

Cedric, who was occupying Laurent’s body, did not dodge. From the start, since it wasn’t his body, instead of defending himself, he focused on driving the sword in deeper to injure Yuri’s body more severely.

“¡Kugh!”

Yuri let out a groan.

An unbearable pain overwhelmed him, and unable to resist any longer, he collapsed to his knees. A voice sounded from behind him.

“Yuri!”

“Your Highness!”

His consciousness began to fade. Without the strength to stay on his feet, Yuri knelt down.

Cedric smiled, lifting one corner of his lips.

“I knew Laurent would be useful one day.”

“You bastard…”

“Did you think I did it just to bother Laurent without any plan? Well, maybe partly.”

When he distorted Laurent’s body with black magic, it seemed he had left a measure in place to seize control whenever he wished.

From Laurent’s mouth came Cedric’s voice.

[Your friend is resisting a lot. Even now he is going mad.]

“What did you do to Laurent…?”

[Don’t worry, I just set him aside for a moment.]

Cedric grabbed Yuri’s shoulder, lifted him slightly, and yanked out the sword that was embedded.

The inside of Yuri tore apart again.

He coughed up blood.

“¡Keugh…!”

He tried not to lose consciousness, but it was useless. The blow had been too precise. He needed to find a way to reverse the situation, but his mind was scattering.

Everything was blurry.

His mind and body felt like they were melting.

[When you wake up, everything will be calm.]

Yuri forced his eyelids to stay open. But he couldn’t endure.

Everything sank downward—his eyelids, his body, and his consciousness.

His vision turned black.

In the distance, he faintly felt the vibration of the surrounding air.

Cedric, in Laurent’s body, seemed to be fighting the others. Jose’s excited voice, Moyongchan’s roar, an incomprehensible Eastern language, and confused screams passed by his ears.

Darkness enveloped him.

Calm arrived.

He heard nothing, felt nothing. Far from the outer chaos, his body and mind sank into a sensation close to peace.

He had always been on guard.

For a long time.

Since when?

Before restarting his life.

No—even before wandering as a mercenary.

Even before the Empire attacked Briol.

Since the day he met that woman, when it seemed the world had taken on a different color.

Although he was a prince, Yekaterina was an imperial princess, and so uncertainty about the future always nested in his heart.

He always tried to do something. His body and mind never stopped.

Then war broke out, and from then on it was an exhausting race without rest.

He fought against the Empire, and after Briol’s fall, he became a mercenary, sank into pain, and after being killed by Laurent, he struggled to prevent the tragedy.

“And now I ended up getting stabbed.”

Yuri felt his abdomen. It was intact. That meant this wasn’t reality.

He saw nothing.

Maybe it would be good to stay like this for a while longer.

“Haa…”

He sighed deeply.

Even though it was a critical moment, he felt a strange calm. He knew it was Cedric’s trick, but he couldn’t help it.

Lying still, many things went through his mind. Only by letting go of everything could he understand certain things.

Forgotten memories returned one by one.

Things he hadn’t understood before now began to make sense.

“Right… that happened too.”

Yuri remembered the days with Yekaterina. There were good and bad moments.

They even argued over silly reasons. Back then, he hadn’t understood why she got so angry.

There were his mistakes and hers. Times when they were both inexperienced.

Suddenly, Yuri sat up abruptly.

“…”

He fixed his gaze on a point in the darkness. In his hazy memories, something was slowly emerging.

He stayed still, silent, for a long while.

Then, slowly, he touched his chest.

Before, he had always naturally worn a necklace—a relic his mother had left him. He had given it to Yekaterina as a symbol that he was giving her his all.

“…”

Yuri blinked.

And now he stood up completely.

He rose firmly.

The tranquil darkness surrounded him. As he took a step, his body began to rise.

As if inviting him to remain there forever, the darkness kept him suspended.

It was like being underwater.

While floating, he reflected again.

And murmured.

“I will get out of here.”

At some point, Guilty was back in his hand. It was always there when he needed it.

Then, suddenly, the darkness around him grew heavy. It let him fall, and the pressure crushed him completely.

He couldn’t move a single finger.

If he tried to move, the darkness grew heavier and more solid. If he stayed still, the darkness softened and caressed his skin.

Anyone else would have given up. But Yuri gripped Guilty tightly.

He invoked the power of Chaos.

The extreme of Chaos he had reached while fighting a god from another world had elevated him to an even greater level.

Even while lying down, he slashed with his sword.

It was enough.

The darkness split, and dense Chaos flowed outward.

Covered by it, Yuri stood up firmly.

***

Cedric had created a darkness that was easily torn apart.

Yuri passed through it and emerged outside.

In one corner of the battlefield, Laurent lay on the ground. It seemed Cedric had abandoned his body.

Yuri looked away.

“Cedric.”

He was still darting about, sowing chaos in the Anti-Imperial Union. Some, mentally dominated by tentacles, were fighting their own allies; others were flying to try to capture him; and Cedric, scattering black magic and tentacles.

All of them, under a black sky, created a blood-soaked hell.

Yuri gripped Guilty.

The chaos in his hand adjusted and harmonized countless possibilities. And, in an instant, Yuri detected Cedric’s location.

His entire body transformed into chaos.

Moments later, he appeared right at his side.

[Huh?]

Cedric let out a stupid-sounding voice.

Yuri thrust Guilty in without hesitation and, twisting the blade, pulled it out. Cedric’s chest split open and, instead of blood, a black liquid like darkness gushed out in torrents.

[How…?]

Cedric kept making foolish sounds. Yuri swung Guilty and severed his neck. His head and body separated.

Yuri’s sword split his head in two, his body in two, making a total of four pieces.

Darkness poured out like dense smoke. The amount was so vast it was hard to believe it came from a human body, and it spread instantly.

Yuri raised Guilty.

The energy of the Cut of the soul and the heart that resided in it transformed into light under the blessing of chaos.

Yuri’s sword, capable of cutting and killing even the formless, annihilated Cedric’s remnants.

The darkness was torn apart.

Then it happened.

[Dragon Voice Authority — Kill.]

Suddenly, a colossal power struck Yuri’s back. He felt death envelop him without warning.

The cause was unknown.

It was only a command pushing toward the inevitable end everyone must face someday.

Yuri raised his blade and, spinning on his heel, slashed in all directions.

The Cut of the soul and the heart roared fiercely.

Empowered by chaos, that force erased even the very concept contained in the words.

After executing several sword dances, Yuri saw before him a small figure with its hood pulled low, watching him with a vacant expression.

“Cory.”

“Di… die.”

Cory opened his mouth again.

This time, death struck with greater force. But the chaos coursing through Yuri’s body awaited his decision, postponing the sentence.

When Yuri refused, the Dragon Voice Organ dissolved into an empty language.

“Your Highness!”

Jose lunged forward and decapitated Cory, who was standing in front of Yuri.

The hood slid off, revealing a grotesquely deformed face that spun through the air before hitting the ground heavily.

The world fell silent.

Everyone on the battlefield looked at Yuri.

Finally, someone murmured.

“We’ve won.”

He raised his arms and shouted.

“We’ve won!”

“Victory is ours!”

“Long live His Highness Yuri!”

“Long live!”

“Long live Yuri Briol!”

The battlefield, which moments ago had been full of screams and wails, now erupted in shouts of hope and joy.

Everyone chanted the name of Yuri Briol. Some prostrated themselves in tears, others ran to kiss his feet.

It was the victory of the Anti-Imperial Union.

Cedric had died by Yuri’s hand, and the wicked black mages who followed him had also been wiped out.

It was all over.

***

Yuri stood on the balcony railing, looking at the crowd.

Everyone reached out their hands toward him.

“Phew…”

“Your Highness.”

Jared approached from behind as Yuri sighed.

Jared, who had been possessed by Cedric, now bore a scar on his cheek, but he had recovered and walked as before.

“I never thought I’d see this day. Me, I mean. Phew…”

“Shut up.”

After killing Cedric, many things had happened. The Empire had plunged into chaos.

The citizens, once bewitched by black magic, regained their senses and finally realized the deplorable state of their nation.

The only remaining member of the imperial family was Yekaterina, who took leadership and handled the postwar recovery.

As punishment for the war, the Empire lost vast territories and privileges.

But even so, it remained the Empire.

That it did not collapse entirely was, after all, thanks to Yuri.

“Your Highness.”

“What?”

“Congratulations on your wedding.”

As the sole imperial noble, Yekaterina became Empress.

And her husband was none other than Yuri Briol, leader of the Anti-Imperial Union and the hero responsible for both the beginning and the end of the war.

No one on the continent wished to challenge his will.

“Thank you.”

The wedding was about to take place.

“I just saw Lady Yekaterina a moment ago.”

“Oh?”

“I thought I’d go blind. Seriously, congratulations.”

Yuri smiled.

He leaned against the railing, looking at the crowd shouting his name.

Since killing Cedric, everything had flowed without setbacks. There was only happiness.

Had there ever been another time like this?

Soon, the orchestra began to play, and the master of ceremonies, with a magically amplified staff, began his speech.

[The bride of this blessed wedding is about to enter…]

Yuri felt around his waist.

He was in formal attire, so Guilty shouldn’t have been there.

“Your Highness, what are you doing?”

“Wait.”

“Lady Yekaterina is entering right now. Look, so beautiful…”

Jared didn’t finish the sentence.

“Your Highness?”

At some point, Guilty had appeared in Yuri’s hand.

“What…?”

“Thanks for the break.”

Yuri plunged the sword into Jared’s chest.

He stared silently, mouth agape, before collapsing, bleeding a black liquid.

“Why now?”

“I was going to leave later. But this isn’t right.”

Yuri shook his head, back to the railing.

“It’s not proper to see the bride in her dress before the wedding.”

Jared smiled.

“Oh, really?”

“Yes.”

Yuri raised Guilty.

“So let’s end this.”

[When did you know?]

Now Jared spoke in Cedric’s voice.

“From the beginning.”

[From the beginning?]

“There’s something you don’t know. And that’s why you lose.”

[I see…]

Jared chuckled low, then suddenly stood. The wound in his chest had regenerated.

Looking intact, he spoke to Yuri.

[Know that even if this is false, it doesn’t mean you can wake up.]

“Oh, no?”

[Destroying a life is not the same as breaking an existence. Could you destroy this happiness, Yuri? Why not stay here and be happy?]

“Happy?”

[Look behind you. There’s your wife, the most beautiful in the world. I won’t touch anything. Live this happy life with her…]

Cedric trailed off. He stared straight into Yuri’s eyes.

After a long silence, he spoke again.

[How…?]

Now he had his true appearance.

[How has your soul…?]

“My soul?”

[…Lasted this long?]

“This long?”

[Much longer than a human life.]

“It’s because I dream every day.”

The world began to crumble. The blessed wedding, the castle balcony, all vanished.

Yuri smiled broadly and stabbed Cedric in the chest.

“Thanks to that, I’m already sick of waking up in the middle of false happiness.”