Chapter 174

A forest blooming like an oasis within the Southern Desert. Yuwon walked alone through the Nameless Forest in silence.

Chirrr—

The intermittent cries of insects and the calls of small forest birds. Aside from that, the forest was so quiet and peaceful it bordered on utter stillness. The sound of Yuwon’s footsteps rang out with unusual clarity, breaking the silence.

Step—step—

Each heavy step fell at a steady rhythm, his gaze sunk deep and沉. For some reason, Yuwon’s expression was far from ordinary. At that moment, he was lost in profound contemplation.

‘Standing on the battlefield is only a matter of time now. Before long, I will stand against the Empire.’

Separated from his companions by coordinate interference, Yuwon had been left alone. Having spent so long going wherever he went with others, this rare solitude stirred thoughts he had never truly examined before, throwing his heart into turmoil.

‘How much blood will I have to spill while fighting the enemy from now on? And because of this war, how many people will be forced to shed tears of blood… Am I truly prepared to make that much blood flow for the sake of my own desire?’

The decisive battle against the Empire. What lay ahead was a path of brutal thorns, impossible to imagine clearly.

As the moment of decisive battle—once distant—came close enough to grasp, Yuwon felt it carved into his bones just how arduous the road he sought truly was. He agonized, and agonized again.

‘There is no way to protect everyone. In war, only victory and defeat remain. Once war begins… someone will die. Those who trust me and seek to protect the Empire will also be wounded and die along the way….’

That thought made fear seize Yuwon’s heart. Fear—of all things! He was someone who had lived forgetting fear even in the face of death, yet the moment he imagined precious people being hurt or killed, the long-forgotten emotion of fear suddenly reared its head.

‘Can I… stake their lives on this?’

Those who trusted Yuwon and guarded his side, and those he would have to protect from here on.

Terrien, the knight who had once broken his own sword and wandered.

Hastings, who followed after Marcellus and became Yuwon’s most reliable shadow.

Bernid, a half-brother bound by blood they could no longer sever, though their beginning had been an ill-fated one.

The Valaris father and daughter, who maintained unwavering loyalty toward the Empire even in times of chaos.

Marquis Carson, who abandoned everything he had built in his life to choose loyalty to the Empire until the end, and even the allies of the Great Jungle who readily agreed to stand with Yuwon.

As he thought of them, an unconscious, faint smile bloomed on Yuwon’s hardened face. Yet that smile faded just as quickly as it had appeared. The heavy weight of responsibility pressed down upon his shoulders.

‘…It isn’t just them. From those whose names I barely remember to those I have never even seen, countless people are following me in trust. Just because I am Yurion Aphahiel.’

In the northern lands of Valaris, nearly twenty thousand soldiers were bracing themselves for death as they stood against the Empire’s hundred-thousand-strong army. Among those twenty thousand, how many did Yuwon personally know?

‘What on earth are they believing in, to trust me like this… How ridiculous. I used to think banding together was a cumbersome thing only the weak did….’

A life utterly opposite to his past one, where he had been discarded after arousing jealousy and fear. Once accustomed to solitude, Yuwon was no longer alone.

‘If I lose this war, everyone who believes in me will meet a miserable end.’

The humiliation awaiting those who followed Yuwon if he lost the war was as clear as day. This was a fear he could feel only because he was no longer alone. It was an unfamiliar emotion.

‘Is this truly the right thing to do? That I—someone who seized Yurion’s body—would command a war where tens of thousands of lives hang in the balance, in Yurion’s name… If I were merely occupying his body and living in comfort, that would be one thing. But do I truly have the right to bear something of this magnitude?’

The moment he questioned his own worth, Yuwon’s steady stride came to an abrupt halt. Standing still, he spread both hands and stared at them.

Hands that, across his previous life as Tang Yuwon and his current life as Yurion, had taken so many lives he had long since given up counting—today, they felt strangely unfamiliar. As though they belonged to someone else.

As he stared blankly at his outstretched hands, a thought flashed through Yuwon’s mind—one Tang Yuwon would never have entertained.

‘If I alone were sacrificed and everyone else survived…? What if I was truly born with some absurd fate, like the reincarnation of the Heavenly Slaughter Star or an Evil God, and because of me even those meant to live end up dying?’

The thought crossed his mind that perhaps this tragic end was the fate of the Aphahiel Empire, and that Yuwon himself might be the spark igniting unnecessary conflict by defying that fate.

Having taken on another’s name and body as Yurion Aphahiel and charged forward without looking back to reach this point, the blood-soaked destiny awaiting him ahead was enough to make even Yuwon hesitate.

‘If it’s not too late… perhaps it would be better for me to quietly exit at this point.’

At the final moment of his previous life, he had sworn that if he were granted a new one, he would seize rather than be robbed—even if it meant crushing the enemy’s hand. Yet even that resolve proved difficult. The memories of the life he had lived as Yurion seized Yuwon’s ankles on the eve of the decisive battle.

‘I kept denying whatever the world called me, yet in the end I became exactly what they said. Was my fate destined from the very beginning to call forth blood…?’

Complex thoughts continued to intertwine endlessly in Yuwon’s mind. While he was lost in that deep contemplation, a small, nameless snake of the forest slithered toward him like it was swimming and came to a stop by his side.

Sssl—

“…Hm? What is it? Do you have something to tell me?”

At Yuwon’s question, the snake blinked and nodded its head. A tiny, palm-sized snake—small and cute. But what it wished to convey to Yuwon was anything but cute.

“Is that so? A message all of a sudden. How intriguing. Go on, tell me.”

Snapping back to his senses, Yuwon reached out and lifted the snake.

Hiss—hiss!

Perched on Yuwon’s hand, the snake flicked its split tongue to convey its meaning. Words that no ordinary human should have been able to understand were delivered to Yuwon with perfect clarity, not a syllable missing.

“Hmm… At a time like this, in a place like this, there’s another person…?”

Leaving it alone felt strangely unsettling, a prickling sensation at the back of his head. Thanks to that, Yuwon was able to set aside his deep 고민 for the moment.

“Let’s go. Guide me.”

Though they had once pointed blades at one another, the two had never actually met. Thus, the meeting between Yuwon and Gion came to pass.

By chance, in a land no one expected. Like fate.

“I’d like to ask for directions.”

After hearing the snake’s message, Yuwon immediately moved locations. His first words to the concealed Gion were an utterly ordinary request for directions.

In truth, he had already obtained all the information he needed from the woodcutter, so asking for directions was merely a pretext to continue a conversation with this suspicious man.

At Yuwon’s greeting, Gion turned his head and replied.

“I’m unfamiliar with this road myself, so I’m hardly in a position to guide anyone. Is that alright?”

Already aware that there were other uninvited intruders in the forest besides Colbus, himself, and the woodcutter, Gion reacted to Yuwon’s appearance as though it were no surprise at all.

“You’re an interesting fellow. Speaking casually from the very first meeting.”

“There’s no need to show respect to someone who’d collapse in shock if they knew who I really was. Just being able to speak comfortably with me like this should be an honor you remember for the rest of your life.”

It was an answer so shameless and arrogant it bordered on madness. Yet to Yuwon—Aphahiel’s legitimate successor and Emperor—it sounded merely laughable.

“Well, do as you please. Judging by your voice, we seem to be about the same age, so I’ll speak comfortably too. Since you started talking casually first, that much should be fine, right?”

Yuwon’s reply shifted from half-formal speech into blunt casualness. Gion might have been Gion, but Yuwon himself was not kind enough to indulge a brat who spoke so freely upon first meeting.

“Haha. You’re a bold one. The woodcutter I met earlier knew his place and went on his way. Looks like you’ve got something you’re relying on.”

At Gion’s reply, a faint smirk crept onto Yuwon’s lips beneath his robe.

“At a time like this, in a place like this, I can at least protect myself. So there’s nothing to be afraid of. Wouldn’t you say the same?”

“Indeed. You’re not wrong. Very well. I have no intention of seeing blood today, so I’ll overlook that bit of discourtesy. I was bored anyway, so I’ll indulge you.”

Yuwon answered with a note of mockery.

“Indulge me, you say… I’m so honored I hardly know where to put myself.”

“I wonder if you’ll still be able to say that once you learn who I am.”

“An empty cart makes the most noise. I’m not particularly curious.”

Yuwon’s response was sharp.

“Ha! Hahaha! You’re not just a puppy ignorant of fear—you truly are confident. I thought you were merely bold, but it seems you really do have something to rely on. Just who are you, exactly? What kind of person are you, to be here like this?”

“There must be a reason we’re both hiding our faces, so let’s not ask such things. Unless…”

“Unless?”

“You reveal your identity first.”

What was so amusing, no one could say. The smile never left Gion’s face.

“Heh. If I reveal my identity now, this little amusement would be ruined. Instead, how about this? We each ask one question of the other. What do you say?”

Meeting in a suspicious place without knowing each other’s identities, Yuwon himself was curious about the man standing before him. It wasn’t a bad proposal.

“…Fine. We’ll do that. But let’s add another rule. We take turns asking questions.”

“That’s only natural.”

“And one more. Whoever asks a question must also answer that same question themselves.”

“Hm… So if you ask about identity, you’ll have to reveal yours as well? That’s rather interesting. Very well, I accept.”

“No lies?”

“This isn’t a contest to decide victory. There’s no reason to go that far for mere amusement.”

At Gion’s reply, Yuwon nodded as though satisfied. The two quickly reached an agreement.

“Good. Then may I begin?”

“As you please. Since I’ll have to answer my own question anyway, there’s no need to rush.”

Tricked by Yuwon’s ploy, Gion readily yielded the first move. Beneath the deeply pulled-down robe, a faint smile spread across Yuwon’s lips.

‘Got you.’

Yuwon’s first question followed immediately.

“Then this is my question. Who are you?”

From the start, Yuwon had no intention of hiding. He had merely set a snare so his opponent could not escape.

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