Sibylla raised her sword.
The trailing royal robe seemed, at a glance, an unlikely match for cold steel, but on her, it fit perfectly.
Watching her, Yuri imagined what it would have been like if Sibylla had rightfully become queen.
It would have been quite splendid.
At times she could be irritable, but by nature she was a righteous person.
She would have been a ruler who did not lean to either side. Perhaps the relations between Briol and the Holy Kingdom would have been better than ever before.
Yuri let out a laugh.
To dwell on impossible assumptions was nothing more than mental self-gratification.
If she had been the rightful heir to the throne.
If Larsson had not pressured her.
If Cedric had not been tainted by black magic.
All of it was meaningless thought.
The scales had already tipped.
For the sake of her survival, Sibylla had embraced black magic and chosen the path of cooperating with the Empire. There was no way to turn back, and so the paths of the two would remain apart, never to cross again.
That was reality.
"Sibylla."
No answer came. Yuri gave a bitter smile.
"It's a pity it's come to this."
Knights waiting outside hurriedly rushed in, surrounding Sibylla.
Yuri gauged the distance.
The cavern's chamber was wide enough that they could fight with plenty of space between them. Stepping back, Yuri spoke.
"Jared, Simon, Guinness."
"Yes."
"The situation's bad. Survive as best you can. Sorry for making you fight so suddenly."
That they were forced into battle so abruptly was, in part, because of Yuri's own stubbornness. He had stepped forward, wanting to stop Sibylla as soon as possible.
"No need to apologize," Jared replied.
"We understand Your Highness's feelings. We too are saddened that Lady Sibylla has come to this. As comrades, it's our duty to bring an end."
"Yes."
"That's right," Simon and Guinness agreed.
"To free a comrade in pain is also our duty."
Wandering the battlefield, one would sometimes meet those waiting for death in agony. Granting such a one a peaceful end was also a knight's task.
Of course, the burden weighed heavy on the heart.
But it was unavoidable. One simply bore it on one's shoulders, until the day one's own turn came.
"A fine resolve," Yuri said with a smile.
"With such determination, even Sibylla's heart might soften. I think I see her eyes welling up already."
"Cut the nonsense."
At Sibylla's signal, the knights began to advance.
From hiding, Francesco, Umstein, and even Fenek drew their weapons.
But the enemy showed no sign of stopping.
Yuri glanced at Francesco.
"A Holy Knight appears and nobody reacts?"
"Beats me."
"Hey! You're not even afraid of a Holy Knight standing right here?"
One of the enemy knights shouted back.
"Don't be ridiculous. Holy Knights don't look like some bandit."
Francesco clutched his chest, as if his heart had been wounded.
"Utterly useless," Yuri muttered.
Sibylla pointed her sword.
"Attack."
There was no more time to idle. The knights rushed forward. As befitting those guarding the king's side, they showed no openings.
But what truly put Yuri on edge was something else.
"This is…"
Yuri summoned the force of the Heart-Soul Slash.
The black aura radiating from the knights clashed with his Heart-Soul Slash, each pushing against the other as if wrestling for dominance. An unseen struggle unfolded over control of the space.
The feeling was identical to that of the Empire's black army, which he had tangled with to exhaustion in his past life.
Yuri's lips twisted.
Already, the Empire—and Cedric—were steadily preparing to recreate the carnage he had endured before.
Sibylla was nothing more than a piece on the board for that purpose.
Yuri raised Guilty. There was no trace of a smile left on his face.
Within his heart, the Heart-Soul Slash boiled, manifesting through the chaos on his blade in an even more destructive form.
When Yuri swung his sword, blood spurted from a knight's chest.
That sharp strike seized the atmosphere of the entire chamber.
Sibylla found Yuri stronger than she had expected.
Not only that, Jared, Simon, and Guinness had also reached a different realm than before. Jared had continuously absorbed Yuri's teachings while at his side, and Simon and Guinness had Moyong Chan as their teacher.
Led by Yuri, the three knights of Briol seized the initiative against the numerically superior foe.
Screams rang out.
Watching this, Francesco gave a wry smile.
"So this is what Briol is capable of. Ha ha…"
Ever since becoming unable to channel mana, he had been incapable of mustering beyond a certain amount.
But that did not erase his accomplishments. He knew well how disciplined Briol's knights were.
Especially Yuri Briol—he far exceeded Francesco's expectations.
"That guy's already worthy of the ten strongest. Like father, like son. A monster, through and through."
"Really?"
"Yes."
Fenek sounded impressed.
"He truly is remarkable. The third prince of Briol—no, the royal younger brother."
But there was no more time for chatter. Knights charged at them as well.
A fierce battle followed.
Blood and flesh sprayed through the air, screams echoing.
Francesco could no longer wield the overwhelming power he once had. He was allowed only a handful of mana, and even that he forced out through pain.
But it was enough.
He had been a Holy Knight among the ten strongest, a man who had reached the pinnacle of knighthood.
"Are you all right, Umstein?"
"Of course!"
As the saying went, dwarves excelled in metallurgy and weaponry—Umstein too wielded his axe with great skill.
But the difference in numbers was unavoidable.
Gradually, Yuri's group was pushed back.
Avoiding the swords of several knights surrounding him, Yuri glanced sideways.
Jared was holding up well, but Simon and Guinness were beginning to struggle.
Francesco too seemed to be straining—though his swordsmanship toyed with the enemy's openings as if drawn with precision, the difference in power behind each blow was stark.
Yuri tightened his grip on his sword.
If they could not win even this, the battles to come with the Empire would be meaningless.
His eyes deepened.
His entire vision blazed white.
The Heart-Soul Slash raced through his veins, followed by a turbid sword aura.
The energy of chaos revealed random possibilities, and Yuri's subconscious began to seek the optimal outcome.
The path appeared.
Deflecting two incoming swords, he stepped forward, slamming both shoulders into the chests of two knights.
Armor crumpled as the pair collapsed.
Yuri burst through the encirclement without stopping.
Again, several knights surrounded him. Though they had him on all sides, the formation was looser than before. In their haste, they were full of openings.
Yuri targeted the weakest among them.
He brushed aside a clumsy incoming strike, then drove Guilty into the opponent's chest and shoved forward.
Covered in the knight's coughed-up blood, Yuri advanced, then kicked the body aside as he wrenched Guilty free.
The encirclement broke.
The remaining knights rushed to chase Yuri, but tangled with each other and fell.
Yuri immediately turned, slashing down vertically at the head of a knight who was just rising to his feet. Keeping a bit of distance, he split it only about a quarter of the way, and through the crack, the contents spilled out.
Another knight thrust his sword in panic.
Because of the distance, it was not hard to avoid. Yuri bent back as if he had been waiting for it, and the moment the blade's tip grazed his chin, he cut off the opponent's elbow.
The man collapsed with a scream.
Thanks to his near-supernatural sense of distance, Yuri was skilled at using the move known as "slash-and-counter," evading first and then immediately attacking.
Because of this, the knights, afraid of a counter, did not dare to take the initiative against him. Even when they did extend their swords, it was half-hearted. If their movements grew large, Yuri's sword would slither after them like a snake.
The initiative had shifted to Yuri.
"What's wrong, why are you all standing still? Already scared? Hm?"
Taunting his foes, Yuri feinted toward the knight on his right, then suddenly struck the one on his left.
Fooled by the quick switch, the left-side knight failed to react in time. He leaned back, but his shoulder was cut deeply.
When he sat clutching his wound, Yuri immediately kicked his head. The sound of a watermelon bursting rang out.
Yuri promptly hurled the corpse backward. Two knights collided with it and went down.
He leapt high and brought his blade down swiftly. Two dying screams followed in quick succession.
In an instant, he had killed several.
But Yuri did not slow his rhythm or pause to catch his breath.
Having absorbed the memories of an old hunter, he had become an expert in mechanical slaughter. Those weaker than he could never hope to stop him.
He held overwhelming dominance over his prey.
Yuri taunted the enemy.
"Hey, don't make this boring. Come at me properly. Feels like I'm fighting children."
As Yuri rampaged, the knights' entire formation began to collapse.
More forces were drawn to stop him, and as a result, the pressure on the rest of his group lessened.
At last, Sibylla stepped forward.
"Yuri Briol!"
She attacked without warning.
Yuri raised Guilty to block. The weight behind her sword was enough to make his bones ring.
"Using my full name—how cold of you."
"Don't pretend you're at ease."
"And you'd be offended if I called you Sibylla Arsaint, right?"
"I said, shut up!"
Their swords clashed several times.
Yuri let out a soundless breath. This was not the strength of the Sibylla he knew.
She was fast and heavy.
It was not her own ability—this was the work of the black magic coursing within her.
As they locked blades, something suddenly rose from her back and struck Yuri.
His body flew far and slammed into the wall.
"Kh!"
Yuri groaned. Pain surged through his whole body, and blood welled up in his throat.
He spat blood onto the ground, staggered to his feet, and forced a smile onto his face.
"Sibylla. Looks like you finally found the wings you'd lost."
Sibylla gave no reply. From her back, a strand of black aura undulated as if alive. Those who wielded black magic always used those tentacle-like things.
"Oh? You only found one?"
"I told you to shut up!"
Yuri looked around.
With Sibylla stepping in, the knights he had been holding back had moved to attack the rest of his group. Because of that, the battle was turning against them.
Reinforcements were surely coming from outside as well.
If time dragged on, things would only get worse.
"Haa…"
With a heavy expression, Yuri stared at Sibylla.
Sibylla, too, looked at Yuri.
Neither averted their gaze. Amid the noise of battle, the two stood still, eyes locked.
Sibylla spoke first.
"Stop looking at me."
At that, Yuri broke into laughter.
"Hahahaha…"
For a while, he shook with laughter, then roughly swept his hair back.
"Sibylla. Why'd you do it? If Larsson was giving you trouble, you could have told me."
"I handle my own problems."
"But you could have at least discussed it. Between us."
"We were never that close."
"That stings."
Yuri raised a finger and began tapping Guilty's hilt at regular intervals.
The speed gradually increased.
His body was preparing to accelerate.
But only his body was ready for battle—Yuri's mind was still fixed in place. Thus the aura of the Heart-Soul Slash merely stood behind him, growling.
Sibylla spoke.
"Yuri Briol. Stop any foolish thoughts and draw your sword."
Taking the first step toward him, she added,
"What's wrong is wrong."
She was right.
They were no longer what they had been.
In their struggle not to be swallowed by the waves of the world, each had fought with everything they had, and in the end, they stood on opposite sides.
That was all.
Yuri's finger stopped.
His grip closed perfectly around Guilty's hilt.
A cold anger rose within him—not toward Sibylla, but toward Cedric, who had brought them to the point of killing each other.
"Fine, I'll kill you. All of you."
Yuri charged at Sibylla.