Heart-Soul Slash.
Gert was cut down.
His king was cut down.
All heart and soul were cut down.
The mass where all of Adelvine's despair had been entangled collapsed. The Devil's Flower lost its vitality and withered in an instant.
The resulting black mist billowed and shrouded the sky.
Then, suddenly, through the mist, pillars of light stretched down one after another, piercing the heavens.
Pale, glittering forms began rising through that light.
"Ah..."
It was like a scene from a sacred flame.
Yuri had no idea what that sight meant.
Were Adelvine's souls departing toward wherever they were meant to go, or was it merely the final combustion of life dispersing into nothing?
Either way, it was so beautiful it evoked a sense of sanctity in those who watched.
Yuri's companions stood beside him.
None of them said a word.
Though they hadn't seen the past like Yuri had, they could all guess the situation. The victims of Adelvine were finally being freed from the black clutches.
Jose opened his mouth.
"Your Highness."
"Sir Jose."
"What on earth is happening in this world?"
He was looking up at the stream of souls ascending along the light. Since his chin was raised high, Yuri, who was shorter than Jose, couldn't see the expression on his face.
Yuri reached up and placed his hand on Jose's shoulder. Due to the size difference, it looked as if he was barely able to rest his hand there, but he didn't mind.
Yuri said,
"The time has come for knights to do the work of knights."
"For knights to do the work of knights, huh..."
Jose let out a low chuckle.
"Hearing you say it like that makes it feel a little better."
The black mist gradually dispersed, and the pillars of light began to fade.
The blue sky started to emerge.
Sunlight poured down.
The funeral for Adelvine had come to an end.
Yuri walked toward where the Devil's Flower had vanished. There, something like a small lump of flesh, identity unknown, lay shriveled with its roots clinging to a tattered parchment.
It was the same as what they had retrieved from Okua.
"Cory."
"Yes."
"Can you use seal magic?"
"Yes, I can."
"Cast it on that parchment. Don't touch it."
"Understood."
Only after Cory sealed it multiple times with magic did Yuri finally remove the lump of flesh and tuck the parchment into his coat.
He still sensed faint demonic energy, but the energy of the Heart-Soul Slash was suppressing it.
With this, Mariloz's work would become much easier.
Jared suddenly spoke.
"One of the ten strongest seats is going to be vacant. Don't tell me, now that Prince Yuri has cut down Gert, you're taking his spot?"
"Are you crazy?"
"Isn't that usually how the seats are passed on?"
"This is different."
Yuri looked around and spotted a sword lying broken on the ground.
It was Gert's sword.
As if it had suddenly experienced the full passage of time that had been suppressed until now, the blade was rusted and toothless.
Yuri picked it up and thrust it into the ground.
"Gert finished what he had to do, and when it was time to go, he left on his own."
"What will happen to Adelvine?"
"If we say nothing, it will remain as it is. The fact that Gert is gone will naturally become known, so let's not say anything."
"Understood."
And thus, the battle of Adelvine came to a close.
The group all sank down to the ground where they stood.
Only Yuri remained standing, reflecting on the battle that had just taken place. The memories Gert had passed to him still lingered.
Then suddenly, he noticed that Cory didn't look well.
"Cory, are you okay?"
"Yes..."
"You don't look okay."
"Honestly, I'm not..."
"Then you should've said something."
"Hehe..."
Yuri touched his forehead. His body was burning hot like a furnace.
"What's going on?"
Cory had collapsed on the ground, sweating profusely. The group gathered around him, examining his body.
"Why is he so hot?"
"Does it happen this suddenly?"
"This doesn't feel like just a fever."
"This is..."
Jose spoke as he stroked his chin.
"I believe Cory is suffering from a mana sickness."
"Mana sickness?"
"Yes, let me check."
Jose placed the tip of his finger on Cory's forehead and closed his eyes.
"There's an unknown energy inside him clashing with Cory's mana."
"That's mana sickness?"
"Yes. I've only heard about it. They say this happens when an incompatible energy enters the body."
"How'd that happen? Did demonic energy get into him earlier?"
"Mana sickness isn't caused by an outside force. It's something that arises from within."
Yuri had heard a similar term from Moyong Chan before.
Deviation into madness.
Cory spoke up.
"I think… I pushed myself too hard earlier..."
"Earlier? When?"
"W-when I was forming the letters of the core. I'm not even sure how I did it..."
"Sir Jose, how do we treat this?"
"I don't know either."
"Damn it..."
Yuri placed his hand on Cory's body and tried channeling the energy of the Heart-Soul Slash into him.
If it was a wicked energy, the Heart-Soul Slash should be able to drive it out.
But it was useless.
Instead, the three energies tangled and made things worse.
"Urgh!"
"S-sorry!"
Yuri immediately pulled his hand away.
"Damn it, this is why you always need two mages."
"Excuse me?"
"If one gets hurt, the other can heal them. Why?"
"Ahh..."
"What were you thinking just now?"
"N-nothing."
Yuri carried Cory on his back. He felt heavier than before, probably due to his increased muscle mass. But there was no time to worry about that.
"Let's run. To the nearest village—no, a temple..."
But Yuri had to stop before he could even take off running.
"What now, what the hell is that..."
Something was flying in from the distant sky.
A being with crimson wings.
It circled several times in the sky, as if observing Yuri's group, then slowly began to descend vertically.
Yuri had seen that being before, within Gert's memories.
"So it really was Cruar..."
The Ten Strong did not consist of only humans.
There was Inariel, an elf, and Gert, a Death Knight.
There were two more who were not human.
One of them was Cruar, the last dragon.
"…My god."
Everyone was speechless.
The red dragon stood about three meters tall, with wings that looked twice as long. When it folded its wings, its long, serpent-like body was revealed. Its sunlit scales shimmered in different shades of red depending on the angle.
Yuri raised his gaze even higher.
A face with two horns and a long snout was staring down at him.
Its bright yellow irises narrowed, capturing the figures of Yuri's group in its eyes.
Its mouth opened, revealing sharp teeth.
[Cruar, enters.]
The voice was unlike that of a human, but it was clearly in the common tongue of the continent.
Caught off guard, Yuri's group stood dazed, looking up at the being.
A silence hung in the air for a moment.
Cruar's mouth opened again.
[The great dragon has gone through the trouble of leaving its nest to descend here, and yet, is no one going to clap or bow their heads...?]
It sounded like a mutter to itself.
Cruar turned his head as if looking elsewhere, glancing sidelong at Yuri's group.
Still receiving no reaction, he murmured again.
[No greeting? This is awkward… If you keep standing there like that, the great dragon Cruar might accidentally breathe fire...]
Finally understanding, Yuri began clapping loudly.
"T-the great dragon Cruar has come! Unbelievable, such an honor! I'm so very pleased!"
The rest of the group still looked bewildered, but Simon, born an illegitimate son of a baron and well-trained in reading the room, picked up the cue instinctively.
He took the baton.
"A-ah, no! To be granted an audience with the great dragon Cruar, what luck! This lowly human Simon offers his greetings!"
Then he flung himself face-down on the ground.
At last, realizing the situation, the rest of the group began greeting Cruar one by one.
"Haha, to meet a dragon face-to-face, I, Jose Aratur, am deeply honored!"
"For a country bumpkin like me, raised as a commoner, to meet Lord Cruar! I can die without regret!"
"Laurent Flandre, son of Count Francaise, offers greetings to the great dragon Cruar!"
"Ahh, such an event to witness… I feel like I've lived my life just for today!"
"H-hello... Please forgive me for not standing up, I'm sick..."
Only then did Cruar, who had been pretending to look elsewhere, lift the corners of his mouth.
[Ahem, hm.]
Each time he cleared his throat, embers flicked out.
[To be welcomed like this, it seems it was worth coming. Greetings, humans.]
Cruar waved awkwardly with a clawed hand.
Yuri didn't let his guard down.
He seemed a little dim, but this Cruar was notorious for breathing fire when rubbed the wrong way. There had been an incident where he turned an imperial village to ash, prompting the Emperor to place a bounty on his head.
Still, Yuri had faith.
"It's an honor to meet you, Lord Cruar. On behalf of the group, I greet you again."
[Oh, you seem to be the leader. Human. If you act rudely just because your status is high, you might end up as roasted meat on my table tonight...]
"Surely not. I am Yuri Briol, third prince of Briol. It is an honor to meet the great dragon Cruar."
[Briol, Briol...]
Cruar muttered the name, then suddenly flinched.
[Briol… could you be that monster human's son?]
"If you mean Fiore Briol, then yes, he is my father."
Cruar's face stiffened.
[Hmm, the son of that monster human...]
Though he was the last remaining dragon, he was not an absolute power.
There were still nine others on the continent considered his equals, and Yuri's father, Fiore Briol, was regarded as the strongest among them.
As far as Yuri knew, Fiore and Cruar had crossed paths once before.
Cruar, staring into the air, muttered in a slightly smaller voice.
[Hmm, hrmph… The son of that monster human, how troubling, but I am a benevolent dragon to all, so long as one shows me proper manners, I shall treat them well in return...]
"Of course. I have long admired the great dragon Cruar's reputation."
When Yuri bowed his head, Cruar's expression brightened.
[Yes, yes. You are a polite human.]
"Thank you for saying so."
Yuri smiled and asked Cruar,
"However, great dragon Cruar, you are known for rarely leaving your nest. May I ask what brings you before us...?"
[Ah, yes. There was indeed a reason I came all this way.]
Cruar's eyes turned. His yellow pupils flashed with light.
At the end of his gaze was Cory, lying on the ground, groaning.
[That half-blood human.]
"Pardon?"
[It's because of that half-blood human.]
Cruar took a step forward. The ground trembled beneath his weight.
[The reason that half-blood human is sick right now is...]
Jose interjected.
"Isn't it mana sickness?"
Cruar scrunched his nose.
[If you interrupt the great dragon Cruar, I might accidentally breathe fire and turn you into a perfectly roasted steak...]
"M-my apologies."
[It's similar to mana sickness, but qualitatively, it's a different kind of illness.]
Cruar extended his hand. A chilly energy radiated from his sharp claws and enveloped Cory's body.
[If someone who's never walked before suddenly tries to get up and run, what happens to their legs?]
"They'll hurt, I imagine?"
[Exactly. If you admire the great dragon Cruar's brilliant metaphor, it might improve my mood...]
"To compare it to legs, that makes it so easy to understand!"
"Cory must've used something he's never used before!"
"Wow, so that's what happened!"
[It seems you liked my explanation.]
Cruar's eyes narrowed gently.
He pinched both of Cory's cheeks between two claws. As his lips were pressed inward, a small gap opened.
Cruar stared carefully into the gap.
[A very, very rare phenomenon, only possible because he is a half-blood between human and orc, has occurred in this one.]
Having understood Cruar's nature, Simon spoke.
"We mere mortals have no idea what the great dragon Cruar knows. If you could share even a bit of your knowledge, someone like me might just begin to grasp it..."
[Indeed, only a great dragon like me could know. I shall explain. If you lend your ears to what I'm about to say, I might feel even better...]
Everyone raised a hand and cupped it around their ears, presenting them toward Cruar. The corners of Cruar's mouth lifted once again.
He spoke.
[This half-blood human was born with a Dragon-Speech Airway .]
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