The Anti-Imperial Alliance had maintained a blockade line along the Empire’s border until recently. That was why, as they approached the Empire again, they expected to see a familiar landscape.
However, something unexpected occurred.
Jared, marching at the vanguard alongside Yuri, was the first to show confusion.
“This is…”
He looked around uneasily.
“It’s changed. This place wasn’t like this before…”
The scenery was not what they had anticipated. A road they did not recognize stretched ahead, and plants they had never seen before were growing.
Trees much larger and sturdier than normal spread their branches, blocking the view in every direction, and the roots protruding from the ground made the way forward difficult.
Most disturbing of all was a strange stench that constantly assaulted the senses.
Yuri looked up. For some reason, even the sun in the sky seemed to have grown hazy.
“Can it change this much in just a single month?”
“Black magic can achieve anything.”
“I see…”
“It seems corrupted. Stay alert, we keep moving.”
Said Yuri.
“It doesn’t seem like there are enemies nearby.”
There was still no word from the knight who had been sent ahead as a scout. Yuri spurred his horse forward, extending his perception to keep watch on the surroundings as he moved.
He could hear the murmurs of the soldiers behind him.
“Yes, this is the same place from back then.”
As they continued, the remnants of the defensive line the Anti-Imperial Alliance had once set up came into view.
But it was different from before.
“It’s strange. It hasn’t been that long…”
Muttered Jared, his tone sour. Yuri replied.
“This is the kind of enemy we’re facing.”
The traces left by the Anti-Imperial Alliance looked as though decades had passed, even though only weeks had gone by.
Objects abandoned by the soldiers were weathered, and, covered by unfamiliar plants, had already become part of the landscape.
All around were bleached bones of those who had fallen in battle.
With a chilling feeling, the Alliance troops crossed their former defensive line and fully entered Imperial territory.
Then Laurent, marching behind them, spoke.
“Yuri Briol.”
“Hmm?”
“You feel it, don’t you?”
“Of course.”
Laurent, who had once been corrupted by Cedric, reacted to black magic with sharper sensitivity than the others. Only Yuri, who mastered the Cut of the soul and the heart, could perceive something similar.
“It seems they’ve prepared a welcome for us.”
Beyond the defensive line, another world emerged.
The landscape was grotesque.
It was like a painting by an artist with a twisted imagination.
The knots in the trees were deformed into the likeness of human faces screaming, and the branches rose up sharp as thorns, jutting out in all directions.
The birds perched on them all had red eyes, watching them as if on guard.
The road on the ground twisted unnecessarily, to the point that looking at it too long could make one dizzy.
From time to time, unknown beasts crouched near the road, watching warily.
Yuri remarked.
“If we leave it like this, the entire continent will end up like this, becoming more and more warped.”
“Yes.”
“We must win, even if only for our families.”
While he spoke, in the distance the scouting knight was returning.
“Come back.”
As he drew closer, the faces of those around Yuri tensed.
The mounted knight had no head.
Even so, he remained upright, holding the reins as if still alive.
The horse stopped right in front of the vanguard. Both rider and mount stood motionless.
“T-this is…”
Everyone was startled, but Yuri was the first to act. He drew his sword and swung.
The knight’s torso was split apart and fell to the ground, from which something like a snake came crawling out.
“It’s the same thing as before.”
Growled Jared, gritting his teeth.
From the knight’s body emerged a tentacle, identical to the ones they had already grown sick of seeing. It detached itself as an independent entity and slithered across the ground.
Yuri thrust forward with an energy strike, but the tentacle dodged.
It then writhed as if in a spasm, and pierced the horse’s hide, burrowing inside.
The animal’s eyes turned red and its breathing grew labored.
“Damn you!”
Jared leapt from his horse and attacked.
The beast dodged several times before trying to kick him with its hind legs. The movement was so fast the hoof grazed Jared’s hair.
“Damn it!”
Jared delivered a powerful slash. The horse’s body was cleaved in two and collapsed. Its entrails spilled out, and among them appeared the severed tentacle.
“Damn it…”
Shaking the blood from his sword, Jared grabbed the carcass by a leg and hurled it to the roadside.
Immediately, wild beasts pounced on it to devour it.
“Don’t look.”
Said Yuri.
“We don’t have time for that.”
Though they had been in Imperial territory for only a short time, it was enough to understand this land had completely changed.
Everyone was tense, and that tension was useful.
“All units, battle positions!”
Ordered Yuri firmly.
The Alliance was marching in a long column, so they were not in battle formation. However, the unsettling nature of the place kept everyone on high alert, and the impact of the attack did not cause chaos.
“Enemy attack!”
The war horn sounded. Tirbo, carrying the Alliance’s standard, planted it in the ground and drew his sword. The other soldiers did the same.
Soon, unknown enemies began to appear.
“Did they come out of an underground tunnel?”
“I don’t know.”
“But they emerged from the earth.”
“Could be, or maybe they were just buried.”
“Those aren’t human anymore.”
“Do they look human to you?”
Imperial soldiers suddenly emerged from the ground, surrounding the Alliance.
They were human, but not entirely. Some had claws, others flailed tentacles.
Their deformed bodies tore through their uniforms, which hung in tatters.
“Disgusting…”
Both sides hesitated to strike first.
The tension was such that it felt like the fighting could erupt at any moment.
And it was Yuri who broke that silence.
“What are you waiting for?”
He dismounted and strode forward, swinging Guilty with force.
A semicircular arc of cutting energy rose up, and the enemies blocking his path spewed blood in unison as they were split in half and collapsed.
Screams more akin to beasts than humans rang out.
The battle had begun.
The Anti-Imperial Alliance’s formation was attacked from both flanks, but they defended themselves, covering each other’s backs and cooperating as much as possible.
“This is only the beginning! Do not give up an inch of ground!”
Yuri shouted as he pressed forward. The enemies blocking him had grotesque appearances, but they were not noticeably stronger than the Imperial black army they had faced before.
However, their way of attacking was strange, making it harder to counter.
Before, at least, it had felt like fighting other humans, but now it was more like battling wild animals.
Facing enemies that stabbed with tentacles, slashed with claws, or bit into bare flesh with bared teeth was no easy task.
Yuri’s eyes darted quickly.
Even if their shapes had changed, there had to be a leader. He expanded his senses.
Entering the domain of the Cut of the soul and the heart, his gaze swept over the enemy. Finally, he found a figure emanating an aura of black magic much stronger than the rest.
It stood at the rear; at first glance it seemed to be advancing with the Imperial troops, but in truth its eyes were constantly moving and it was muttering something.
Yuri charged toward him, Guilty in hand.
But the Imperial troops interposed themselves again.
He dodged the tentacles that lashed out from all directions and cut them all in a single strike, but they regenerated immediately.
Changing tactics, he decided to cut through their bodies directly instead of the tentacles, pushing forward.
At that distance, it seemed far too close, but Yuri’s speed was beyond the range of any enemy reaction.
Each time he swung his sword, chunks of flesh flew through the air.
After several dozen cuts, he opened a gap in the enemy formation.
Shattered bodies littered the ground, and those blocking him were either dead or crawling, mutilated.
He kept advancing.
The enemy leader seemed to realize he had been discovered and turned to flee.
At the same time, Imperial troops piled up in front of Yuri to block his way.
“Where do you think you’re going!”
Yuri leapt.
He descended, aiming straight for the fugitive’s back, but the latter turned and smiled.
His mouth, torn wide, reached all the way to his ears.
“Idiot.”
It rang out surprisingly clearly in the continental tongue. The pronunciation was perfect; his appearance was monstrous, but it seemed he had not lost his reason.
Suddenly, a great impact struck Yuri.
Just before stabbing the fugitive in the back, he was hurled sideways and rolled across the ground, crushing several Imperial soldiers along with him.
He got up immediately, finished off the fallen enemies with Guilty, and looked up.
Someone was standing there.
“Hey.”
Yuri called out. Judging by the attire, he looked like the commander of one of the Empire’s numerous numbered squadrons.
But now, corrupted by black magic, he had lost his human form.
He wore black armor and a black helmet, but the body visible through the gaps was no longer human.
Moreover, the sword he wielded was fused to his arm, resembling a sharpened bone more than a forged weapon.
“What’s your name?”
Yuri asked, Guilty in hand. Against all expectations, the other answered.
“Valphua.”
“I think I’ve heard that name. You’re a knight commander?”
“Yes.”
“And why are you like this?”
“Like what?”
“You’re not human.”
“What is it to be human?”
Red eyes glimmered beneath the helmet.
“I don’t know. That’s too philosophical to answer.”
“There’s no need to obsess over something you can’t fully understand.”
From Valphua’s other hand sprouted another sword, also fused to his body. He began to advance.
Facing an enemy with two blades instead of hands was a first even for Yuri.
“Alright. Fine.”
Yuri tightened his grip on Guilty and smiled.
“Let’s fight.”
He rushed forward.
Valphua crossed his two swords to block Yuri’s strike, and Yuri took the chance to kick him in the abdomen.
While Valphua staggered, Yuri raised Guilty overhead to deliver a downward blow.
The other blocked again.
Yuri attacked, Valphua defended.
The exchange continued.
Yuri swept his leg to trip him and quickly glanced at the enemy leader, who was moving away.
At first, the leader had been watching the fight, but upon seeing Yuri gain the advantage, he fled immediately.
Truly the kind of man Yuri despised.
Yuri dodged an upward slash from Valphua and asked,
“That your boss?”
Valphua did not answer. Instead, tentacles emerged from his body.
“I’m getting sick of those tentacles.”
“You know something?”
Valphua suddenly spoke.
“We’re only here to buy time. The Empire’s real army is something else.”
“Oh, really?”
“You’ll never be able to defeat it.”
“If they’re so strong, why are they spending every day stalling for time?”
“To be complete.”
Valphua raised both swords.
“It won’t be long. If we can hold out just a bit more, He will be complete. To die for that is an honor.”
“Very loyal, huh? This ‘He’ you’re talking about is Cedric, isn’t it?”
Valphua didn’t answer. Yuri clicked his tongue.
And cut.
It was so fast that Valphua didn’t even realize he had died.
In an instant, Yuri closed the distance and split his head into four pieces, moving past the falling body.
“I will kill Cedric.”
____
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