Chapter 192
Chapter 192
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 192
Chapter Title: 78. Confrontation (2)
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Yuri flinched and stumbled back at those words.
Franchese had Rolang.
"Don't touch Rolang."
"That kid's going to die soon anyway. You want to save him?"
"Yes."
"Then drop your sword."
Yuri released Guilty without hesitation. Cedric smiled.
"That's right. You value people. That might be the biggest difference between you and me."
Cedric smiled as he spoke.
"Yuri, humans are so terribly flawed, aren't they?"
Yuri gritted his teeth.
He had never once shown Cedric any negative emotions.
Even in this situation, where Cedric had been revealed as the enemy, Yuri couldn't muster any hostility toward him.
Yuri forced the corners of his mouth into a twist.
"Don't spout obvious nonsense."
"Why is it obvious?"
Cedric spoke to Yuri with the same gentle expression as always.
"Yuri, did you know? Humanity's current production is more than enough to feed everyone. And yet, somewhere out there, the poor are starving to death, and children are rummaging through trash cans."
"So?"
"What about war? Is there anything more foolish and irrational than killing each other? But wars never disappear. You know better than anyone what a battlefield is like, Yuri."
"You're the one who started the war, brother."
"No, that's not it."
Cedric stroked Yuri's cheek.
Yuri realized it then.
It wasn't just his own hesitation that kept him from moving.
An inexplicable aura emanating from Cedric had ensnared him.
"Humans are made wrong. They're overflowing with foolish instincts. They receive the gift of reason, yet they submit to sloth and greed. If left alone, they'll turn the world into even more of a bloodbath."
"Why are you saying all this?"
"It means someone has to stop it."
"And that's you?"
Yuri glared at Cedric.
"What, you get your hands on some black magic and suddenly think you're a god? Is that why you want to do whatever you please?"
"No."
Cedric shook his head.
"Yuri, I don't want you misunderstanding me."
"What?"
"First off, I'm not drunk on the power of black magic. If I hadn't obtained it, I would've found another way. It's just a difference in process. It just so happened that black magic, this efficient tool, fell into my hands, so I'm using it."
He leaned toward Yuri with a serious expression.
"I've been sick of this world from the start—this species called humans. It needs fixing."
"You're human too, brother."
"True. But Yuri, you'll feel it someday too."
Cedric shook his head slowly.
"This world is filled not with humans, but with monkeys wearing human shapes."
Yuri could feel the deep disgust in his eyes.
"Living among monkeys who think they're human, pretending to be one of them... it's truly revolting."
"Then am I a monkey too?"
"Not all of them. Especially you, Yuri—you're different."
Cedric slowly removed his glasses. His bare face was revealed, and it felt strangely chilling, unlike his usual soft impression.
"Of course, I'm different too. Yuri, you're the one exception I've met."
"Don't talk nonsense."
"Of course, you'll try to stop me."
"Obviously."
"I'll look forward to it."
Cedric cupped Yuri's cheeks with both hands.
Then he leaned in close and whispered,
"Please, shatter my predictions again this time."
Their eyes met.
Cedric gave a sly smile and turned away.
Yuri, frozen in place, shouted,
"Stop! Where are you going!"
Yuri kept yelling.
But Cedric didn't stop. He opened the door to the office and walked out.
The door closed.
At that moment, the aura binding Yuri's body vanished.
And the world changed.
"Huh?"
Yuri stood alone in a black void. Endless darkness filled every direction.
"Here."
A unfamiliar voice came from behind as he turned.
A man appeared like a hallucination.
He wore black clothes and a mask covering his face, revealing only his eyes.
"Who the hell are you?"
Yuri snapped irritably.
"Who?"
No answer came.
Yuri ran a hand through his hair and sighed.
"Jeez..."
In an instant, he swung Guilty at the man.
He unleashed a massive surge of mana, layered with chaotic sword energy. He thought it would cleave him instantly.
But it was blocked.
Yuri's eyes widened in shock at the opponent's realm.
He was strong.
The man in black suddenly seemed enormous.
It felt like the entire space was filled with his presence.
"Who are you?"
Yuri gripped Guilty tightly as he asked.
Someone with such overwhelming energy was rare even among the Ten Strongest.
Yes, like Fiore.
He felt that level of pressure.
Several names flashed through Yuri's mind and faded. Then he realized who stood before him.
"Shadowless Sword."
The Tenth Strongest who hadn't revealed himself yet.
The emperor's sharpest blade.
Now that Cedric's black magic beast had seized the imperial palace, it wasn't surprising he'd summon the Shadowless Sword.
"Right?"
The Shadowless Sword replied curtly.
"Yes."
"You here to stop me?"
"By his will, I won't kill you."
It was an insulting remark.
Yuri gripped Guilty and drew upon the energy of Heart-Soul Severing.
The blade began to vibrate.
The aura of Heart-Soul Severing swirled around him like a storm.
Unrevealed, he was already a powerhouse at the Tenth Strongest level.
"You can't stop me without killing me!"
Yuri charged forward and swung. But he was pushed back by the Shadowless Sword's counter.
Yuri didn't stop and thrust again.
The clash of steel echoed in the dark space.
"Damn it!"
He gave his all, but nothing went as planned.
Yuri gritted his teeth. He couldn't let himself be helplessly stopped like this.
He thought of Cedric.
From the moment they'd faced each other, the rage buried deep in his heart began to boil over.
He'd been deceived.
He'd trusted him his whole life, across his past and present lives, and he'd been betrayed.
The trajectory of his entire existence was denied.
Bloodshot veins filled Yuri's eyes.
His core overheated, sending Heart-Soul Severing's mana into savage waves. Within it, chaotic energy spread like ink.
Infinite possibilities, capable of becoming anything.
It manifested atop Guilty.
Yuri swung.
Like air caught in a vortex, the surrounding darkness coiled around Guilty. Through the whirlpool pattern, the boundary between inside and outside faintly appeared.
Yuri's attack tore through the Shadowless Sword's domain and sliced his body.
In an instant, his clothes split at the chest, blood spraying.
But it wasn't fatal.
The Shadowless Sword retreated, and the blackened space around Guilty returned to normal.
Yuri panted heavily.
Throwing his words back at him, he forced a smirk.
"Hey, I won't kill you either."
His condition wasn't good enough to bluff leisurely, but he tried anyway.
"That attack just now..."
But the Shadowless Sword was shaken.
"How did you do it?"
"What're you talking about?"
"How are you wielding that power?"
"Speak plainly."
Suddenly, the Shadowless Sword attacked.
"Talking and attacking?"
The Shadowless Sword's momentum grew fiercer. The intensity was different now. Each clash sent bone-rattling pain through Yuri, forcing him back.
To survive, he heightened the chaos density.
His mind and body warped under the overload, but Yuri ignored his own well-being.
Shaking off the encroaching heart demon at the edge of his vision, Yuri swung at the Shadowless Sword's neck.
Clang.
The blades collided.
Blood poured from Yuri's mouth.
The Shadowless Sword's mask split.
Yuri licked his lips and looked up. As the cloth fell, the Shadowless Sword's face was revealed, a scar on his cheek.
"You're..."
Yuri said.
"An Easterner?"
Yes.
Like Moyong Chan, the Shadowless Sword's features were subtly different from continentals.
The Shadowless Sword, looking down at Yuri, spoke.
"My name is Dan Socheon."
"Didn't ask."
"And the Heavenly Demon who leads the Demonic Cult."
It was sudden. Yuri stared at him in bewilderment.
The Shadowless Sword, Dan Socheon, eased his momentum and lowered his blade.
Yuri furrowed his brow.
"Good pronunciation. Did you go to some language academy?"
"I'm the Heavenly Demon. That's easy for me."
"And a guy like you comes to the West to play hunting dog?"
"Even I can't escape the Demonic Cult's laws."
"What laws?"
"Demonic Cult members must obey the one who possesses the divine relic. Even the Heavenly Demon."
"Did the emperor have it?"
"The emperor was just a collaborator. He promised to find the relic in exchange for my aid. But..."
Dan Socheon spoke with an expressionless face.
"Your brother has the Demonic Cult's relic."
"My brother—no, Cedric?"
"Yes."
"What's the relic?"
"Dark Heaven Evil Spirit Grimoire."
"Uh..."
It was a hard-to-grasp name. But Yuri somehow knew.
"You mean the devil's grimoire?"
"Some call it that."
Yuri opened his mouth, then closed it.
That abomination had originally been in the East. The scattered pieces were falling into place.
Yuri gripped Guilty tightly and said,
"Why tell me this?"
"Because of the power you're using. It's something your ancestor, the Sky-Splitting Swordmaster, fought against the Heavenly Demon of that era, Sun Wukyung, who created it."
Yuri invoked Heart-Soul Severing, then layered chaotic energy onto Guilty.
Infinite possibilities rippled within the murky aura.
"This power?"
"Yes."
Dan Socheon said.
"Sun Wukyung was the greatest Heavenly Demon."
"But he lost to our ancestor."
"Greatness isn't determined by strength."
Yuri felt a bit embarrassed for poking at him when he spoke wisely.
"So?"
"He sought to overcome the Dark Heaven Evil Spirit Grimoire."
"Isn't it a divine relic?"
"It's also a demonic beast."
"You know about it."
"The Demonic Cult reveres the relic but also fears it."
According to Dan Socheon's explanation, the Demonic Cult knew the Dark Heaven Evil Spirit Grimoire was a demonic beast beyond human control.
So successive Heavenly Demons absorbed the leaking demonic energy from its sealed cave to elevate their demonic arts.
A way to utilize the dregs.
And Sun Wukyung sought to surpass that limitation.
To sever the immeasurable evil energy dwelling within and truly seize its essence, he developed a new martial art.
That was the Divine Art of the Heavenly Demon.
"But he delved too deep into chaos and fell to heart demons, going mad. That led to the martial alliance's muster, and the Demonic Cult's downfall. Your ancestor, the Sky-Splitting Swordmaster, was there then. He had a long talk with the dying Sun Wukyung and took the Dark Heaven Evil Spirit Grimoire. I came to the Western Continent to retrieve it."
It was a tangled karma.
Erich Brioll hadn't just killed the Heavenly Demon; he'd taken the principles of chaos in the Divine Art of the Heavenly Demon and the devil's grimoire as well.
"Perhaps this is heaven's arrangement too."
Dan Socheon closed his eyes.
"A devil born from decoding the Dark Heaven Evil Spirit Grimoire... and to counter it, you appear, inheriting the Divine Art of the Heavenly Demon."
"Not the Divine Art of the Heavenly Demon—it's Heart-Soul Severing. An improved version."
Dan Socheon ignored Yuri's words.
"I don't know what happens next, but your brother seems to have a unique brotherly affection for you, so struggle as much as you can."
"You seem skeptical about this situation. Why follow him?"
"Because it's the law."
Dan Socheon approached Yuri.
Yuri tried to gather energy again, but his body wouldn't respond. The prolonged conversation had deepened his internal injuries.
"Sleep, and when you wake, the real fight begins. For now, accept the difference in power."
"Wait."
Yuri held out his hand. Dan Socheon asked,
"Something to say?"
"Aren't you worried about heart demons? That Moyong Chan guy was obsessed with it. Any prevention methods?"
Dan Socheon chuckled.
"You thought you could gain without loss?"
In that moment, Yuri felt the difference between martial artists like Moyong Chan and Demonic Cultists like Dan Socheon.
The Demonic Cult didn't fear downfall.
They sought strength, embracing sacrifice.
Even if their futures shattered from demonic arts, they wouldn't stop.
Yuri grinned soon after.
"Of course not."
Dan Socheon reached out. Yuri couldn't resist as his throat was gripped.
He couldn't breathe.
His consciousness faded.
Just before blacking out, Dan Socheon asked,
"Your brother asks: Do you really want to save your friend?"
"Of course. What nonsense..."
"He seemed to want death himself."
"Shut up..."
"Sometimes death is sweeter than life."
"I don't care about that..."
Yuri forced a smirk.
"Tell him to save him..."
And he lost consciousness.
Gazing at the limp Yuri, Dan Socheon muttered,
"A man suited for the Demonic Cult."