Chapter 68: Final (2)

The elite orc’s attack was fierce.

Yuri dodged the blow and drove Guilty forward. A mana-infused punch came at him in return.

“Tch.”

He ducked to evade it and glanced around. Everyone was fighting in their own way.

Even after gathering the highest-level warriors of the Alliance, they couldn’t easily defeat their opponents.

That spoke to the superior level of the elite orcs blocking their path.

“Kahahaha! Is this all!?”

Jose of Brusen crushed the skull of an elite orc with his massive sword. Several more rushed at him immediately.

He faced them all at once. Without a doubt, someone who would one day become one of the Ten Greats.

The Imperial knights moved without a sound—especially Graham and the commander of the Third Squadron, who had already brought down several orcs and were pressing forward.

They couldn’t afford to lag behind. Yuri refocused on the orc before him.

“Akkuaakkai!”

“So you recognize me too?”

“Akummetum che kua!”

Yuri kept dodging and wearing down his opponent. Slowly, but it wasn’t an impossible fight.

“Kh…”

The orc threw his axe. Yuri dodged it, but a second strike came immediately after. This enemy didn’t rely on brute strength alone—his combat technique was refined.

“Impressive.”

But Yuri had also grown by fighting alongside the Alliance. He observed the subtle openings between the orc’s attacks. At first they were too slight to exploit, so he provoked the orc into overextending.

He faked a mistake—slightly stumbling. A minimal disruption that didn’t break the rhythm of the fight.

That caused Yuri’s stance to appear unstable. The orc stepped in to attack. His muscles tensed as he shifted his weight onto his leg.

In that moment, Yuri saw it. Between the flank and belly—a tiny opening. It formed just as the orc curled his body to launch forward.

A chance shorter than a blink.

“Die!”

Yuri shouted and thrust Guilty forward. At a glance, it looked reckless. But the blade slipped into that tiny gap as if drawn by a magnet.

The orc’s mocking expression froze. His thick skin was pierced.

Guilty sank deep inside.

“GRAAAAH!”

The strike was so acrobatic it threw Yuri off balance.

The orc howled like a beast and raised his axe for a counterattack. But then, something strange rang in his ears.

At first like wind—then like a buzzing hum. Something spun rapidly, grinding from within.

He felt heat rising from his abdomen. And when he realized what it was… it was already too late.

The orc dropped his axe and collapsed.

“GRAAAAAAH!”

Mana swirled inside Guilty like a vortex. Like a millstone, it shredded the orc’s insides completely. The rotation intensified, tearing a massive hole in the enemy’s belly.

“A variation of the Spinning Whirl—Small Spiral.”

It was a technique derived from the rotating storm he’d created earlier. It only needed a tiny opening to inflict lethal damage.

He stepped over the orc’s corpse and pushed forward. Okua, in the distance, now looked closer.

His eyes were still fixed far ahead—likely watching Moyongchan.

The two of them continued their silent battle, incomprehensible to Yuri.

“How long do they plan to keep up that stare-down?”

Yuri could read levels and engage in tactical battles through eye contact too. But what Okua and Moyongchan were doing went far beyond that.

While he thought this, another orc attacked. Yuri fought back, but sensed something odd.

This orc was weaker.

A chill ran down his spine. He couldn’t pinpoint it, but something was wrong.

Behind him, monsters were ravaging the Alliance. In front, elite orcs blocked the way. And amid it all, Okua had yet to step onto the battlefield even once.

Yuri kicked another orc in the chest and looked at Okua again.

He was larger.

Yuri’s eyes widened in shock. He was bigger than the first time he saw him.

He’d always been tall—but now his body was swelling.

A black mist emanated from his body.

Suddenly, the image of the blind shaman appeared beside him—then vanished.

“No…”

Yuri’s eyes went wide.

“We’ve been tricked.”

He realized something was very wrong. He summoned Cut of the soul and the heart and unleashed its energy, slashing down the orc clinging to him with Guilty.

The energy of the cut swirled around him.

He fixed his gaze.

『You figured it out?』

It was the voice of the dark shaman he’d seen at the camp.

『But it’s already too late.』

Yuri abandoned the idea of clearing the elite guard to let Okua and Moyongchan fight one-on-one.

Instead, he sprinted straight toward Okua.

“Yuri!”

“Your Highness!”

Voices called from behind. But Yuri ignored everything and charged.

Two orcs tried to stop him—he took them down without hesitation. He dashed forward, straight toward Okua.

That’s when Okua lowered his gaze and looked at him.

“Okua!”

As he drew closer, Yuri saw something he hadn’t noticed before.

Okua was guarding a pit. From it, dark energy surged endlessly.

That black mist rising from the pit flowed directly into Okua, empowering him. The more time passed, the stronger he became.

“Is that…?”

Okua swung his long arm. Though he held no visible weapon, Yuri instinctively sensed overwhelming danger. He angled his sword and placed a hand at Guilty’s center.

Clang!

Guilty vibrated violently, and his body was hurled to the ground.

Blood gushed from within. But he couldn’t stay down. Yuri got back up.

From the start, everything had been wrong. Why had Okua only watched? Why had Moyongchan waited for a one-on-one?

What they’d said about Okua growing stronger with time—this was it.

Yuri muttered:

“Black magic…”

Regular magic could be dispelled. But black magic was different. Since the beginning, Okua had clouded everyone’s vision with it.

Yuri hadn’t suspected, trusting Moyongchan.

Before him appeared the dark shaman’s figure.

『Die as a sacrifice.』

The being smiled. At the same time, Okua’s lips also curled upward.

Yuri, instinctively, swung Guilty at the shaman. The shaman’s body split in two—then reformed.

His expression twisted.

『That strange sword…』

The shaman waved his hand, and Okua began to approach. The earth trembled.

Yuri shouted toward where Moyongchan should be.

“Are you going to stay out of this forever!?”

But there was no response. He gritted his teeth and raised his sword. He understood what he had to do.

He had to cut through what no one else could. Only then could he summon Moyongchan.

He unleashed the full power of Soul and Heart Severance. He didn’t care about physical limits.

He ignored the risks of overheating his mana system. His eyes turned bloodshot. He was about to see what he needed to see.

His vision changed. Colors faded as if evaporating. Everything became black and white—a desaturated world where only densities existed.

And within that world, Yuri saw black lines stretching out like tentacles.

Then he understood what lay in the pit Okua had been guarding—humans turned into sacrifices.

Now it made sense why black magic couldn’t be dispelled—because it wasn’t ordinary mana-based magic. It was energy drawn from human sacrifices.

“Disgusting.”

It was revolting. Orcs were revolting. But this black magic was something even worse.

His heart cried out. Guilty vibrated as though an earthquake was shaking through it.

But Yuri didn’t stop. The veins in his eyes burst, and his vision flared even brighter.

Everything else vanished. All that remained was a massive black mass.

Faces appeared and disappeared within it, crying and moaning.

Someone save me…

It hurts so much…

Get me out of here…

Aaaaaah…

The wails of despair echoed endlessly. That was the power that gave black magic its form.

The souls of the dead. Yuri fought back nausea and raised his sword.

He couldn’t destroy the entire mass. But he could cut the dark tendrils extending from it.

He saw one thicker than the rest, like a central trunk within the entire web.

He raised Guilty.

In this world, Guilty in his hands had no definite form—it was a wedge-shaped spear of light.

Yuri leapt toward the black tendrils. A pale mass rushed at him, but he didn’t care.

Suddenly, he recalled his grandfather’s voice:

‘That means it’s time to use that power.’

That’s right. He finally understood the will of Erich Briol, the creator of this mana technique.

To cut that cursed power, he needed the proper tool.

“Cut of the soul and the heart”

Yuri swung the beam of light.

And thus, he severed the black magic.

***

Moyongchan watched the battlefield, his face grim.

The Alliance was holding strong against the orcs. And the performance of Yuri Briol—his disciple—was dazzling.

The boy truly had potential. Moyongchan also wanted to leap into battle. But he had to conserve his energy for the moment he faced Okua.

He was waiting for the perfect opportunity to go all out against that cursed being.

“Okua…”

It seemed the Alliance was about to gain the upper hand. But then, monsters under the control of dark sorcery emerged, plunging the battlefield into chaos.

Moyongchan watched people die.

He clenched his fist. To kill Okua, he had to endure it.

Finally, Yuri and the strongest warriors of the Alliance launched the final assault. They were fighting the elite orcs guarding Okua.

Just a little longer. If they could eliminate the orcs, then he could fight Okua.

But then, Yuri broke through the enemy lines and charged straight for Okua.

“What is that fool doing?”

If he fought Okua, only death awaited him. Only Moyongchan could stop that creature.

To do so, he had to set the stage for a one-on-one duel.

“Idiot…”

Should he intervene? But if he acted out of emotion, it would ruin the greater objective.

He clenched his fists. Stopping a catastrophe like Okua required sacrifices.

He was about to convince himself of that—when suddenly, Yuri’s sword shone white and transformed into light.

And cut something.

He didn’t know exactly what, but something massive and dense was torn apart. The sound was so loud that even Moyongchan, far away, could hear it.

It was a strange sound—as if the world itself had split. Then Yuri was struck by Okua’s attack and sent flying.

He spat blood.

“Ah…”

Upon seeing it, Moyongchan blinked. A thought suppressed deep in his subconscious awakened.

“Ah… ah…”

Why was he still standing there? It was fine to conserve strength to fight Okua.

But… was it really right to just wait, doing nothing, even as the battle stalled?

The more time passed, the more Okua’s curse grew. Why had he done that?

Suddenly, Moyongchan roared with all his might.

“Hyaaaaah!!”

His energy exploded. All remaining darkness within him evaporated. The confusion lifted.

And he understood.

From the very beginning, in facing Okua, he had fallen under a curse. That evil energy had clouded his judgment, making him fixate on the wrong ideas.

He felt an overwhelming rage. A master of the Blue Star, the last of his line, had been manipulated by dark magic.

And he had stood still while his disciple spat blood. With a furious roar, Moyongchan howled.

“RAAAAAH!”

His lion’s cry shook the plains. And before the echo returned, he was already in the middle of the battlefield, deflecting Okua’s arm that was swinging down toward Yuri.

He heard the whisper of his fallen disciple.

“Cough… Took you long enough…”