Chapter 105

‘…!’

A fierce surge of energy rippled through the air, so intense that fine hairs rose all over his body!

Yuwon, who had fainted for a moment after swallowing the elixir, sensed this and snapped his eyes open.

The sky, wide open above the Grave of Swords, greeted him.

‘Did I faint again… At this rate, I’ll get into serious trouble someday for picking up and eating anything.’

Beep– Beepik–

The Hatchling of the Dragon-Scaled Serpent that had been guarding him let out a cry upon seeing Yuwon awake.

Seeing the creature like that, Yuwon let out a small laugh and gently patted its head.

“Right, right. So you were watching over me. Thank you.”

The hatchling flicked its tongue as if pleased by Yuwon’s touch.

Putting the creature back into the breast pocket of his robes, Yuwon focused his mind on the enormous force that had awakened him.

‘What is this power…!’

Not even once during his life as Yurion had he ever felt such a colossal presence.

‘Something unusual is happening.’

The moment Yuwon realized something was wrong, his intuition began sending warning signals. His intuition acted before he did.

A tingling sensation crawled along the back of his neck, as though the edge of a blade had just brushed against it.

There was no visible threat before him, yet Yuwon’s body tensed on its own, bracing for combat.

Thud–! Thump-thump–!

His heart pounded violently, pumping blood rapidly through his entire body. Following the rougher rhythm of his heartbeat, blood rushed through his brain at high speed.

Feeling the ominous atmosphere, Yuwon checked his physical condition at once.

‘The effect of the medicine…?’

He detected the unfamiliar flow of magic coursing through various parts of his body.

It was not his own, so it felt foreign—yet this magic was impossibly pure, flowing through every one of his meridians.

‘With this kind of pure power, I could make it mine with just a bit of effort…’

This was clearly good news. However, despite that fact, Yuwon frowned.

‘Damn it… My internal energy won’t gather properly.’

While checking his condition, he tried drawing up his internal energy—but it refused to obey.

The new magic introduced into his body by the medicine had filled every pathway through which his internal energy usually flowed, severely restricting its movement.

‘Barely three parts out of ten still follow my will… It’s definitely medicine I swallowed, but today it’ll act as poison.’

Depending on timing, place, and usage, medicine could become poison and poison could become medicine.

Today, the effect he had taken in became poison that blocked his path forward.

Something clearly ominous was happening, yet his body wasn’t cooperating.

“…For now, I should go. I need to return to the Fifth Prince’s Palace and find out what is happening.”

Yuwon ought to sit cross-legged immediately to organize the wild magic roaming freely throughout his body and make it his own—but right now, he had no time to spare.

‘If I were to do that now…’

Yuwon turned his eyes toward the distant direction where magic surged like a storm. He couldn’t see it, but he could feel it.

‘I’ll die.’

Somewhere not far from him, somewhere within the Imperial Palace, terrifying forces were clashing violently.

As Yuwon took a step, intending to leave the Grave of Swords—

‘A little too late…’

The step that should have taken him toward the exit returned to its original place.

Rather than walking forward, Yuwon stopped completely and drew the White Dragon Sword hanging at his waist.

Srrring–

In the center of the Grave of Swords, sunlight shattered into fine fragments upon the pure white blade emerging from its sheath. Then, Yuwon’s firmly closed lips parted.

“Since you’ve been found out, come out.”

The hidden presences that had been stalking him crept closer, their killing intent directed squarely at Yuwon.

Srrrk–

At Yuwon’s summons, the enemies decided there was no need to remain concealed any longer.

One by one, they revealed themselves.

There were at least fifteen of them, all dressed in black from head to toe. Yuwon narrowed his eyes, examining their capabilities.

‘Where did such strong people come from…?’

Judging by their aura alone, they surpassed even Hastings and Gillian.

A dozen or more such fighters were gathered to target Yuwon—an unwelcome situation, to say the least.

‘If only my body were in perfect condition, I might’ve tried facing them… Luck is not with me today.’

Soon, the one who seemed to be their superior stepped forward and spoke calmly.

“I have heard much about Your Highness the Fifth Prince’s excellence, but to think you would notice us immediately upon our approach… It’s a remarkable achievement for someone your age.”

At the man’s words, Yuwon replied brusquely.

“You’ve covered your faces, so introductions aren’t needed… I doubt you’ve come this far just to praise me, so tell me—why are you here?”

“If you ask why we came… I am sorry, Your Highness. You will have to die here. We hold no personal grudge. It’s simply that Your Highness has grown too exceptional, and because of that, the decision for the next imperial throne has been accelerated. Thus, for us, there was no path other than this one.”

“You speak boldly of killing me. You must have some sturdy backing. If my brothers had this much strength, they would’ve used it earlier, so you’re not men from the princes… Where are you from? Who ordered this?”

“…That, I cannot say. My apologies, Your Highness.”

“Oh, no need to apologize. If I kill you one by one, someone will eventually talk.”

At Yuwon’s confident response, the man let out a small laugh.

“To speak so even in this situation… You truly are extraordinary, just as the rumors say. No wonder you surpassed the other princes and reached this point. Then we too shall fight with full strength. Please do not hold it against us…”

Instead of replying, Yuwon infused magic into the White Dragon Sword. Seeing that, the man stopped speaking and focused entirely on his task.

“…Attack.”

Clang–!

As if the man’s words were a signal, all the black-clad men drew their swords and hidden weapons simultaneously.

Every blade pointed toward Yuwon alone. Yuwon’s eyes gleamed fiercely, like those of a predator entering battle.

‘There’s no benefit in dragging this out with my body in this condition. I’ll go all out from the start…!’

His internal energy pathways were blocked by the medicine’s effect.

The internal energy Yuwon could currently use was barely three-tenths of what he would have in perfect condition.

Deciding he had no room to divide his strength clumsily, Yuwon launched himself fiercely from the very first move.

In an instant, Yuwon’s eyes flashed—then he vanished.

‘Hrk…! What is that…!’

The enemies had no time even to react to Yuwon’s movement.

The glowing streak of his gaze drew a long tail in the air, and at its end Yuwon struck down upon them.

Swaek–! Seogeok!

The White Dragon Sword carved a long arc through space.

The enemies caught along its path were cleaved cleanly in half before they could comprehend what had happened, their bodies rolling across the floor.

Whatever training they had undergone, even as two of them died, they did not let out so much as a small scream.

“…!”

Two with one strike.

The enemies silently recoiled at the sight created by Yuwon’s single slash.

They had treated the so-called Fifth Prince as little more than a child, but that notion was corrected in an instant.

‘So this is the Fifth Prince… He’s no ordinary one. Looks like we’ll have to risk our lives…’

‘How does someone that young possess such power… Did even a lion’s cub gain the acknowledgment of the White Dragon Sword…?’

Seeing the enemies hesitate, unable to move recklessly, Yuwon smiled faintly.

“Two for now. There are still plenty left, so until fewer than five remain, I may as well cut down as many as I please.”

Yuwon had cut so swiftly that not even a single drop of blood clung to the blade of the White Dragon Sword. It still gleamed pure white, as if freshly drawn from its sheath.

From the enemies’ shifting eyes, as they glanced between Yuwon and the sword, he could tell they were shaken.

‘I’ve succeeded in seizing the initiative. Impressive… Even if individuals are shaken, the group does not falter.’

Yuwon saw it clearly. His display had indeed shocked them—but not enough to cause the chaos he had hoped for. The real problem, however, lay in Yuwon’s current physical condition.

‘So this is all I can do after barely warming up my body…’

Just one exertion of internal energy made his organs feel as though they were shaking apart.

‘I need to end this quickly. Before they notice that something is wrong with my condition, I need to ride this momentum and kill every last one of them.’

With that in mind, Yuwon let out a subtle provocation.

“How long will you stand there like that? You said you came to kill me, yet now you’ve lost your courage?”

The enemies did not react even to his provocation. Yuwon had not yet realized it, but considering that the ones targeting him were the Owls of the Imperial Family, their composure was unsurprising.

Seeing this, Yuwon changed his thinking.

‘These bastards aren’t ones that can be dealt with easily, no matter what tricks I use. I may have no choice but to kill them all…’

Given his abnormal condition, Yuwon wanted to avoid a direct confrontation as much as possible, but seeing their posture, it seemed there was no avoiding it.

‘Leaving the others aside… that leader. Strong. Perhaps on par with the master of the Shadows…’

Rumble–!

At that moment, a streak of lightning flashed across Yuwon’s mind.

Everything made sense at last.

‘The Shadows…! So the Owls of the Imperial Family have chosen another path…!’

Having roughly grasped the situation, Yuwon finally spoke the name aloud.

“…Owls. So it was you.”

“You are perceptive, Your Highness. Very few people even know the exact name of the group called the Owls. Did you deduce that much from just a few words?”

“…As far as I know, you are not the leader of the Owls. This massive clash of two forces… Marquis Bradman and… is it him.”

“There is some truth and some error in that.”

“Judging by your tone, I suppose you don’t intend to tell me which is which.”

The man smiled instead of answering.

Beneath the mask, his lips curved like a crescent moon. From that brazen smile, Yuwon gleaned the answer.

‘Don’t tell me… His Majesty is personally involved. If that is truly the case, then no one in the Imperial Palace can be considered safe. Blood will flow greatly today…’

If both the Emperor and the one meant to become Emperor were attacked at the same time, it was far from a trivial matter.

It was not the Crown Prince, nor the Second Prince. Nor was it the Fourth Prince.

‘…Someone else among the outsiders around the Imperial Family has risen in rebellion.’

Having arranged his thoughts, Yuwon opened his mouth again.

“Then let us end the idle talk and finish this.”

Yuwon readied his sword once more and pointed its tip at the enemies. His two eyes, cold and blue like the winter sea, tracked them sharply.

“I have somewhere I need to be.”

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